When Stephen Colbert holds forth at New York?s Ed Sullivan Theater later this afternoon for his first taping at the helm of CBS? ?Late Show,? he will no doubt do something, maybe even many things, that will make people chuckle. Behind the scenes, however, it?s not clear that executives at CBS ? or any other network that has invested in a late-night program in recent months ? have much cause to smile.
On TV, late-night has always been a place for funny business, whether it be Johnny Carson?s Art Fern or David Letterman?s Alka-Seltzer suit. Now, after Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon and a cadre of new hosts with no direct ties to the genre?s landmark Carson era have hit upon new methods to make the shows resonate, the entire enterprise of the time-slot has grown exponentially more serious. TV?s primetime schedule usually draws the most notice, but as Colbert debuts on CBS around 11:35 p.m. this evening, it is late-night that has perhaps become the most competitive time slot on TV.