Everyone knows government hearings are a non-stop thrill ride. A laugh fest. A damn good time. But when you pair waggy fingered politicians, evasive witnesses, and the circus of the obstinate that will be trying to claw back the narrative by shouting about gas prices and border drug seizures (aren’t seizures a good thing?), well, the Jan. 6 hearings (and everything surrounding them) have the potential to be special. And by special, I mean brain vibratingly frustrating. Can Stephen Colbert make it all better? Can’t hurt!
On last night’s episode of The Late Show, Colbert announced that his show will go live (in its usual 11:35PM timeslot) following the Thursday kickoff of the primetime Jan. 6 hearings, no doubt amplifying the most jaw-dropping moments for an audience that never let go of the thought that treason is the pits.
In showing up live, Colbert is leaning into tradition following past live shows around Presidential debates and elections, which underlines the importance of these hearings, which he compared (in the above clip) to the Watergate hearings, the moon landing, and (jokingly) “the time Walter Cronkite was swallowed by a python.” It also indicates that we’ll be getting something closer to reality and news from a late-night chat show than we will from Fox News. As has been widely reported, the official news channel of my dentist’s office is choosing to refrain from showing the hearings in favor of broadcasting its usual cacophony of Karen screams and dog whistles as a part of a distance and distractathon. Again, tradition!
Right now, Simu Liu (Shang-Chi) is listed as Colbert’s guest, but you have to imagine a few friends will stop by to help Colbert try to make sense of the day’s reveals and mine laughs from the slow choke out of political norms by apathy and bad actors. Should be fun.
‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’ airs weeknight at 11:35PM ET on CBS.
