The news that Stephen Colbert would become Letterman’s successor on The Late Show has had time to circulate over the weekend and, by now, anyone who cares has had time to form an opinion. Most online sources seem be taking the change as a good thing. The character Colbert created on Comedy Central could add new life to the Late Show format, which has been going stale for some time now.

Stephen Colbert
Will Colbert's humor survive the transition into network television?

But the naysayers have to ask – what if Colbert doesn’t bring his Comedy Central character with him? Unlike say, Jon Stewart, who would have been the obvious choice for the “Late Show” gig, Stephen Colbert has always played a character on The Colbert Report – a hilarious, well-acted, faux Conservative pundit, who was obviously created just for satire – not actual pop culture critique. That schtick wouldn’t really work on the Late Show format. A few gags here and there are welcome, but Letterman has, for the most part, hosted as Letterman during his 21-year-long tenure.

The question is – will Colbert be half as funny hosting as himself? Or are we destined to never see his Comedy Central routine ever again? The transition won’t be until next year, but many fans are already dreading it.

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David Letterman, The Late Show
Letterman won't be moving on from "Late Show" until next year, which leaves us plenty of time to speculate.