Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday night that he does not think about returning to late night television, appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the night after his former show won its first Emmy for outstanding variety series. Asked by host Jimmy Kimmel whether he ever thinks about it, Colbert answered, "Nope!"
Colbert says he does not think about returning to late night after Emmy win
Stephen Colbert said on Tuesday night that he does not think about returning to late night television, appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" the night after his former show won its first Emmy for outstanding variety series. Asked by host Jimmy Kimmel whether he ever thinks about it, Colbert answered, "Nope!"
Colbert said late night television gave him "many fond memories" and that he no longer has to "think about the news every day." Kimmel told Colbert he seemed "like a different person," "happier" and "healthier" when he saw him at the Emmy Awards on Monday night. Colbert replied, "Like I don't drink a cup of poison every day?" and described the job this way: "A good part of the job is, as I remember it, to be lowered like carbon rods into a radioactive pool every day. And then to be pulled out and put in front of a camera. And to radiate it back at the audience at a nonlethal rad level."
Speaking with CNN correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister and Variety co-president and co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh after the Emmy Awards, Colbert said free speech is "alive and well" and said late night remains a crucial part of the television ecosystem despite challenges the genre has faced in recent years. "Because if you can't say something because you go to jail, that is a violation of free speech," Colbert said. He added: "I think that late night is just as funny and just as vital as it ever has been, and I love watching Jimmy and Jimmy and John and John and Seth and everybody else. And I think I hope it goes on for a long time because you get to work with people like this, and that's the greatest gift."
"The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" ended in May after CBS announced the series' cancellation. The show took home its first outstanding variety series award on Monday night for its final season, competing in the category against "The Daily Show" (Comedy Central), "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" (ABC), "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" (HBO Max) and "Saturday Night Live" (NBC).
- The source does not state why CBS cancelled "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert."
- The source does not state what Colbert plans to do next.
- The source does not give calendar dates for the Emmy Awards or the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" appearance, describing them only as Monday night and Tuesday night.
- The source does not resolve a garbled phrase in which Colbert is quoted saying free speech in is "alive and well," leaving the subject of that remark unclear.
- The source does not give the full names of the hosts Colbert referred to as "Jimmy and Jimmy and John and John and Seth."