After a long wait, Stephen Colbert finally returned to television last night with the premiere of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and it was a big, fun show complete with tons of treats for Colbert fans old and new: Jon Stewart and Jimmy Fallon cameos! Cool opening credits! A sweet tribute to David Letterman! Shameless product placement forced on Stephen by a demonic amulet! Fake movies to promote! Jon Batiste and special musical guests! The show also has plenty of nods in format and style to The Colbert Report, from the way Colbert announces himself and his guests during the opening credits to the “Stephen!” audience chant to set pieces like Colbert’s Captain America shield to Colbert directly referencing his old show when interviewing Jeb Bush: “I used to play a narcissistic conservative pundit – now I’m just a narcissist.” If the premiere is any indication of what we can expect from Colbert’s Late Show tenure, it looks like we’re in for a very fun ride.
Watch the cold open above, then check out some other clips below:
