Stephen Colbert is staying put at CBS.
The host of The Late Show has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him in place on the late night show through August 2023. His current deal was set to expire in summer 2020.
“Stephen Colbert is one of the most entertaining, influential and relevant voices in America today,” said David Nevins, chief creative officer of CBS Corp. and chairman and CEO of Showtime. “His monologue has become a vibrant part of the national discussion, and a spot on Stephen’s couch places guests from the worlds of entertainment, news and politics in front of late night’s largest and most desirable audience. We’re incredibly proud of the broadcast and thrilled to extend our relationship with Stephen for years to come.”
Joked Colbert, “I’ve been asked by CBS to host The Late Show until 2023, and I have every intention of honoring their subpoena.”
CBS now has both of its late night hosts locked into deals that extend into the next decade. The Late Late Show host James Corden signed an extension in August that runs through 2022.
Colbert has hosted The Late Show since 2015 and has had the most watched network late night show for the past three seasons. In 2018-19, the show also scored its first season-long victory of Colbert’s tenure in the key ad demographic of adults 18-49 — and the first for The Late Show since the mid-1990s — edging out NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
So far this season, The Late Show has held on to its total-viewer lead, averaging 3.31 million viewers over its first three weeks to 1.89 million for The Tonight Show and 1.84 million for ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The Late Show and The Tonight Show are currently tied in the 18-49 demographic at a 0.39 rating. Kimmel is at 0.33.
Colbert executive produces The Late Show with Chris Licht, Tom Purcell and Jon Stewart. He’s also an exec producer of Showtime’s animated series Our Cartoon President.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Hollywood Reporter
