The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Even here in Australia we loved our Late Show from the USA but really??? Don't you have anything else to entertain us apart from your Trump hate speeches. I now only occasionally turn your show on to see if there are any changes to the format but alas, nothing has changed. Just to lay my cards on the table, I'm not a Trump fan either, but if I want constant political views, I'll watch an appropriate channel.

I have been an avid fan of Stephen since 2009, which says a lot about how much i like him, considering i am not an American. In fact, here in Greece the Colbert phenomenon is virtually unknown and only very few take the time to observe the late night scene where Stephen reigned supreme (ok, maybe along with Jon Stewart). Still, personally i always found his kind of satire being cutting edge and bold, and could always discern the intelligence and warmth behind the facade of the conservative pundit. Sadly what i saw these last two days (after months of waiting anxiously for the show) was not what Stephen really deserves. All this prancing around, the constant smiling without apparent reason, the extremely safe style of humor, the really inconsequential questions...all these just are not what Stephen is. Fallon or Conan(two people who i also like for different reasons) can do that, Stephen should maintain his unique style and avoid becoming one of the plenty. He doesn't need to pretend being a conservative, he just has to remain classy and dangerously smart. The only segments where the Stephen we love broke through, were Trump's critique and some parts of the Clooney and Bush interviews. Maybe he fears CBS or the "variety" character of the show are not appropriate for what he did so far, but i honestly believe that CBS should accommodate his style and not vice versa. I say all this with sincere care and choose to avoid rush judgment and vote based on what i hope the show will finally be when Stephen gets his balance back, as i am sure he will. Please consider this more of a friendly comment rather than any kind of judgmental rant. Until then Stephen, we will all be watching, supporting and hoping for the best!

I watch the 5-10 mins of monologues that get posted to YouTube regularly and love many of them. Always looking forward to the next one. Stephen is brill. I don't engage with the rest of the show - the music and interviews. Good stuff

Colbert's Late Show is a major disappointment. The review written by DVD says it all for me. He's a grinning, prancing shell now. Was he bought out of his hilarious, cutting-edge, truth-seeking "Report?" Is he paid now to deliver vapid lines that don't expose political lies and hypocrisy? I miss you, too, bold,relevant Stephen. I counted on you to shine a light on important truths. I couldn't wait to laugh so hard I cried when you exposed fools with self-serving policies. How often I thanked God, and yes, I am a Christian, that you and Jon Stewart were delivering important news with humor that connected with our brains. I can no longer watch the "real" you, sitting beneath your massive ego dome, proud and smiling. About what?

Okay, but incredibly disappointing after The Colbert Report.

I was skeptical when Stephen Colbert got offered the role of hosting The Late Show. The Colbert Report was one of the funniest, if not THE funniest, shows on TV. It was clever, edgy and didn't mind taking pot shots at politicians, esp right-wing ones and Fox News. Surely moving to a mainsteam show would mean Colbert would have to dumb it down and appeal to a wider audience?

Well, I gave it a fair chance but I fear I was right. The edginess has gone ("Oh, no, kids might be watching!") and his shtick has been dumbed down quite a lot.

Even worse, and something I did not see coming as I figured its is well beneath him, he is having to play all those stupid clickbait games that Jimmy Fallon does (and which makes Fallon's show such a waste of time). You know, get some major star in and instead of asking them intelligent questions, get them to do something stupid. Just so that there'll be dozens of clickbait posts the next day with "See Stephen Colbert get Victoria's Secret models to eat buffalo wings!", say.

There are occasional glimpses of the old Colbert. Some clever skits, biting satire and the pokes at right-wing politicians, but they are few and far between.

Best thing to do: watch the clever stuff, fast forward through the rest.