![]() ![]() ![]() It should have been a short-lived high-concept lark-instead it became a 10-year parody of talking-head cable news that often made its points more skillfully, and dug deeper with guests, than many of the shows it mocked. It’s undeniable that The Colbert Report is one of the most influential comedy programs of all time. All of those approaches owe a debt to The Daily Show, where Colbert’s character first debuted, and arguably to Colbert himself. His peers, meanwhile, have found their lanes: Seth Meyers is analytical and precise at Late Night, Samantha Bee is righteously furious on Full Frontal, John Oliver is an impassioned activist at Last Week Tonight. It’s difficult to define Colbert’s current style as a political comedian. But unfortunately it was only a moment of incisiveness that Colbert failed to follow through on. “Honest to God, it’s not all the same emotion.” In that moment, Colbert offered a glimpse of the new persona he’s tried to carve out over a year at The Late Show-a sort of arch conscience for America, less sarcastic than his predecessor David Letterman, and less cynical than his former partner Jon Stewart at The Daily Show. “Some people are angry, some people are scared, some people are …” “Disenchanted?” O’Reilly offered. ![]() Colbert, to his credit, challenged that assertion, the only real moment of tension in a more than 10-minute conversation. but everybody’s angry in the country, everybody’s mad,” O’Reilly said, a catch-all argument that many of his Fox News associates have trotted out to explain Trump’s victory in the Republican primaries. It’s an approach both noble and misguided, but a year into his Late Show run, it’s kept him firmly out of the zeitgeist.Ĭolbert kicked off his Monday night episode by discussing Trump’s frequent assertions that the upcoming election is “rigged,” an alarming undermining of the country’s democratic norms that has many pundits worried. To stand out in a crowded landscape, Colbert has pursued even-handedness and empathy, a drastic swerve away from his former public persona. Ultimately, it was a notable reminder of just how much things have changed for Colbert since he cast off his late-night character and joined CBS. O’Reilly, clearly far more at ease, pontificated on the state of the Trump campaign while dodging any discussion of some of its biggest controversies. The conversation was civil, at times energetic, but mostly bland. On Monday night O’Reilly went on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to talk about the state of the Republican Party and Fox News. Well, I might be afraid of you.” The same day, O’Reilly went on Colbert’s show the combative tension between the two remains genuinely thrilling to watch. “What I do, Bill, is I catch the world in the headlights of my justice,” Colbert bragged to a smirking O’Reilly. Colbert has frequently acknowledged that O’Reilly was the chief inspiration for his on-screen persona, and it was hilarious to see the imitation go up against the real thing. Almost 10 years ago, Stephen Colbert appeared on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor in character as the Colbert Report host-a pugnacious, egotistical super-pundit who tolerates no criticism. ![]()
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