The Colbert Report was an American late-night news satire program that aired on Comedy Central. It was a direct spin-off of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, co-created by Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, and writer Ben Karlin. The show, which premiered on October 17, 2005, was a hit and quickly established itself as one of Comedy Central’s highest-rated programs. As a result, the network offered Colber a long-term contract within the show’s first month on air.
In the show, Colbert played a caricature of the personality-driven conservative political pundits dominating cable news in the mid-2000s. His character would hold court from a news desk — editorializing, ranting, and interviewing guests entirely in character. The program included recurring segments like “The Word,” where Colbert humorously addressed topics in the style of O’Reilly’s “Talking Points Memo,” with on-screen text that comically contradicted his arguments.
Other memorable recurring segments included “Cheating Death,” a parody of health and medical news segments; “Movies That Are Destroying America,” a film review bit in which Colbert criticized movies he had rarely or never seen; and “Nailed’ Em,” which covered minor criminal absurdities. The show also spawned the “Colbert Nation,” its fiercely devoted fanbase, and introduced the related neologism “wikiality” — reality as decided by majority vote.
Among the show’s most culturally significant moments was Colbert’s performance at the 2006 White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. During the dinner, he roasted President George W. Bush and the assembled press corps in character, delivering a performance that drew mixed immediate reaction. Additionally, in 2010, Colbert testified before Congress in character on the issue of immigrant farm labor — a moment that drew both praise and criticism for blurring the lines between satire and political activism.
The Colbert Report ended in December 2014 when CBS named Colbert the successor to David Letterman as host of The Late Show. The final episode aired on December 18, 2014, and drew an extraordinary roster of celebrity guests for a send-off befitting the show’s stature. The Colbert Report was replaced in its time slot by The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore, itself another spin-off of The Daily Show.
