Stephen Colbert Tells Jimmy Kimmel He Doesn't Miss Late-Night
Stephen Colbert does not miss late-night TV. “Nope!”
He gave that one-word answer to Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday, Sept. 15, in his first talk-show guest spot since leaving the desk himself, according to Variety. Colbert was on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” the night after winning an Emmy.
Colbert said life away from a nightly show means he no longer has to “think about the news every day.” Late-night hosts normally start each morning with the headlines, because the opening monologue depends on them. He sounded happy to skip that routine.
Then he made the break visible. He shaved off his beard live on air, an on-stage reset four months after his own show ended, according to Parade. It was quick. The audience cheered it.
The timing mattered. On Monday, Sept. 14, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” won outstanding variety series, the Emmy prize for talk, sketch and variety programmes. It was the show’s first win in that category. And it came for its final season, meaning no more episodes will be made.
That final season followed a cancellation, meaning the network ordered no further episodes. “The Late Show” ended in May after CBS announced the decision. In the Emmy vote, it beat “The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and “Saturday Night Live.”
The Kimmel booking came together fast. LateNighter.com first reported that Colbert would appear as a guest, and Kimmel then confirmed it on his own show on Thursday, according to HuffPost. ABC’s weekly schedule then listed Colbert for the Sept. 15 edition with musical guest Medium Build, according to ABC.
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs weeknights at 11:35/10:35c and episodes stream on Hulu. For the Colbert episode, ABC also listed Judith Hill sitting in with The Cletones, the house band that plays nightly on the show.
For viewers who watched the two hosts side by side for years, the moment had a simple charm. One host asked about the old grind. The other said he was glad to leave it behind.
