CBS acted quickly in response to David Letterman's announcement last year that he would be retiring from "The Late Show." Within a week, the network had tabbed Stephen Colbert as his replacement and he officially took over this fall. But in an upcoming interview for "Face The Nation," which will air on CBS this Sunday, Colbert revealed that he was preparing an exit from "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central long before CBS came knocking.
"One of the reasons I stopped the old show is that I had a sense where the country is," Colbert said. "I think people don't really want constant divisiveness. I really don't think they want that. And that's what I was aping. And I thought, 'Ah, I can't really drink that cup anymore. Cause I don't think people really want to hear it."
On Comedy Central, Colbert mastered parody with his uninformed conservative character. Debuting in 2005, "The Colbert Report's" antics quickly became a nice compliment to the more analytical "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." However, after 10 years it obviously sounds as if Colbert believed the schtick was getting a little stale. Lucky for him, CBS had an opening.
While Colbert's ratings haven't matched the heights of Jimmy Fallon or Jimmy Kimmel, he has drawn larger audiences than the last days of Letterman's regime. And remember, Colbert has only been on the job for a few months. It takes some time to get your footing.
Regardless, Colbert wanted out of his Comedy Central gig and landed one of the most coveted positions in all of entertainment.
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" airs on weeknights at 11:35 pm ET on CBS.
