So this article by Joanna Robinson says that Stephen Colbert will debut as host of The Late Show on September 8. The headline on the piece calls that "almost a year" but it's actually a bit less than eight months from now or, if you want to get specific, eight months and 21 days since the final Colbert Report. I have a hunch that when the decision was made as to when to end that show, the deciders thought Mr. Letterman would be leaving after the February sweeps instead of the May sweeps.
Dave's last show is May 20. That means sixteen weeks before Colbert debuts and as the article notes, CBS plans to fill those weeks with reruns of prime-time series. Ms. Robinson writes, "It's interesting that CBS is choosing to go with reruns rather than hiring a roster of guest hosts like Judd Apatow, Drew Carey, Will Arnett (or, hey, maybe even a lady), as they are doing to cover the gap between Craig Ferguson's exit and James Corden's debut on The Late Late Show." I believe it was also suggested that Corden's show could start an hour earlier during that time period.
Why are they doing it this way? Because, I assume, some folks thought that putting anyone else behind a desk in that slot would feel like they were auditioning potential replacements for Colbert if he doesn't perform up to expectations. Certainly, some of the folks who are filling in at 12:35 — though probably not Drew Carey — will be feeling it's their chance to show what they would do with that show or a show like that. There would also be the problem of where to do that interim show and then you'd have to assemble a crew to do it. The place-filler show at 12:35 now is just using Craig Ferguson's old set, staff, logo, announcer, etc. Even non-Ferguson footage from his opening.
I watched Drew Carey's first week and there were some funny moments, many of them courtesy of his Price is Right sidekick, George Gray, who tagged along. Carey had some sharp monologue jokes but otherwise looked like he was watching someone's house for them while they were out of town and was eager to get back to his own home. On Friday, they had a last minute cancellation of their lead guest, Sharon Osbourne. So who did they get? They got the guy who's always available and will do anything to get in front of an audience — the same guy they called when that happened with Ferguson. That's right: Larry King. Next time I have someone cancel on one of my panels at Comic-Con, I'm calling Larry. I'll bet he'll be there in a flash.
I'm still curious about something. All this week, that timeslot will be inhabited by a nighttime version of the daytime show, The Talk. Then the following week, Jim Gaffigan and Judd Apatow are splitting the week. The CBS production schedule shows that Gaffigan and Apatow are recording their shows each afternoon of that week and then the shows air later each day. Okay, fine. But the schedule also shows that this week, Drew Carey is hosting three more shows. On Wednesday, for example, he has on Pauley Perrette, Josh Malina and Cathy Ladman.
The production schedule goes through February 20 and is filled with shows that will air ten or so hours after they're recorded. So why are they doing three shows this week with Drew? I can't recall a network ever taping a late night talk show six or more weeks before it was telecast.
And the other question arises when you look at the list of guest hosts that includes Will Arnett, Wayne Brady, Tom Lennon, Kunal Nayyar and John Mayer. Are they really going to not let any women host before James Corden takes over?