The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is an upcoming American late-night talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert on CBS, the second iteration of the CBS Late Show. The show will debut in 2015, following the retirement of current Late Show host David Letterman.Carter, Bill, "David Letterman to Retire in 2015", New York Times, April 3, 2014. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
It has been reported by several media organizations that the show may see a complete overhaul in terms of its overall format, while still building upon the interview format. Discussions about the show are expected to begin taking place in earnest in August 2014, according to CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler.
==History==
CBS had previously attempted late-night talk shows with The Merv Griffin Show (1969–1972) and The Pat Sajak Show (1989–1990) but were unable to compete with NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and were cancelled due to poor ratings. For most of the 20 years preceding Late Show, CBS's late night fare consisted of movies, re-runs and specialty programming packaged under the title CBS Late Night and broadcast to middling ratings. When David Letterman became available after being passed over by NBC for the Tonight Show, CBS was eager to lure him and offered him a three-year, $14 million per year contract, doubling his Late Night salary.
In ratings, Letterman's Late Show topped Leno's Tonight Show for its first two years. Leno pulled ahead on July 10, 1995, starting with a Hugh Grant interview, after Grant's much-publicized arrest for picking up an LA prostitute. Leno also benefited from the lead-in provided by NBC's popular Must See TV prime time programs of the mid-to-late 1990s. Likewise the CBS network was hurt by affiliation switches in late 1994 relating to Fox picking up CBS's National Football League rights, stunting the Late Show just as it was beginning to gain traction. In February 2013, TV by the Numbers reported Late Show averaged about 3.1 million per show in season-to-date live-plus-seven-day ratings. A year later, average viewership was down to 2.8 million. Late Show also had the oldest audience among the various late night talk shows, which may have led to CBS's decision to pick a younger replacement to compete with The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. 
On April 3, 2014, Letterman announced his retirement on an unspecified date in 2015. Stephen Colbert will succeed Letterman as host in 2015, agreeing to a five-year contract. In contrast with Colbert's previous program The Colbert Report, in which he plays a fictional character also named Stephen Colbert, Colbert will host the show (which will retain the Late Show branding) as himself.Pergament, Alan (April 10, 2014). Choice of Colbert to succeed Letterman makes perfect sense. The Buffalo News. Retrieved April 10, 2014.
In terms of location, several municipalities are angling to acquire the Late Show, among them New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Connecticut.Hutchins, Ryan (April 11, 2014). The battle for Colbert's 'Late Show'. Capital New York. Retrieved April 13, 2014.
==Production==
In a statement released by CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler to reporters, it was reported that Colbert was "still very busy -- he's got his show on Comedy Central. We've had very early conversations regarding format. He's retiring his character on Comedy Central. He does want an interview format. Will he have a band, will he not have a band? He's thinking about a lot of these things now."http://www.zap2it.com/blogs/stephen_colbert_late_show_format_talk_show_cbs_david_letterman-2014-07
==References==
==External links==
*Official Late Night website at CBS.com