Stephen Colbert makes his Late Show debut tonight, becoming only the second person to host TheLate Show other than David Letterman, the show’s creator. And, unlike his Emmy-winning The Colbert Report, Colbert won’t be hosting the show as the grandstanding conservative character he portrayed for a decade, but as himself. Talk about pressure.
Colbert’s late night rivals give him advice in the Vanity Fair-produced video below. Some of it makes sense, most of it doesn’t, and Colbert reacts to it all with the same unfazed look.
Jimmy Kimmel tells him to be rude and wear too much cologne. Trevor Noah, who will take over The Daily Show on September 28, reminds Colbert to be careful about what he tweets. Bill Maher suggests Colbert play a character because “no one wants to see you.”
John Oliver has no advice, and James Corden recommends saving “the best bits of your show for the last four minutes.”
Conan O’Brien, who was hired by NBC in 1993 to create his own late-night show to compete with Letterman, urges Colbert to buy “valuable real estate.” He should know—in the early years, NBC was constantly threatening to cancel his show.
