‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Premieres In September

Stephen Colbert finally has a premiere date for his first episode of The Late Show.

It was announced in April 2014 that the Comedy Central funny man would be taking over for David Letterman at an undisclosed time in 2015.

Meanwhile, Letterman announced that his final show would be May 20, causing many fans to hope that Stephen Colbert would be sliding into the chair in mid-2015.

Alas, the wait will have to be a bit longer. On Monday, Mashable confirmed that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air its first episode on September 8.

So what will become of the late night talk show until then? Guest hosts? Reruns? Talking Dave into a couple of more months?

CBS added in a statement that they were planning to air encores of the network’s primetime shows in late night, this according to CBS Entertainment Chairman Nina Tassler.

Tassler also indicated that there would be Letterman tributes to come, noting that CBS is still “in conversations with Letterman about special programming leading up to his finale.”

As expected, Colbert had a thing or two to say about the new airdate, and his statement sounded a lot like the faux conservative character half of America grew to know and love.

“I have nine months to make a show, just like a baby. So first, I should find out how you make a baby,” he said.

The final episode of the Colbert Report aired in December and featured a star-studded sendoff.

On December 18, 2.5 million viewers tuned in to watch the very last episode, episode 1,447, making it the most watched episode of the series.

In the show’s finale, Stephen Colbert opened with this classic.

“If this is your first time tuning into The Colbert Report, I have some terrible news.”

The show ended with an ensemble of stars singing the tune of “We’ll Meet Again.” Jon Stewart was the first to appear holding hands with his former colleague and pal, singing along with stars such as James Franco, Bryan Cranston, Neil DeGrassi Tyson, Eliot Spitzer, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Katie Couric, Arianna Huffington, Tom Brokaw, Barry Manilow, Big Bird and the Cookie Monster, Michael Stipe, and former President Bill Clinton tweeting on his Twitter handle.

What do you think about the September 8 announcement? Is that too long of a wait, Colbert Nation, or do you think it’s a sign that the new version of The Late Show will be worth the wait? Sound off in our comments section.

[Image via Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com]