Stephen Colbert’s debut as the host of The Late Show is off to a great start.
Stephen Colbert averaged a 4.9 household rating and according to Variety, 123 percent increase over David Letterman’s final season premiere last year. Which is good news if you’re CBS.
The bigger story is that he doubled up current late-night king Jimmy Fallon, who pulled a 2.4 rating.
Colbert future ratings are still a mystery and it’s worth noting that Conan’s first Tonight Show in 2009 were also huge, and we all know how that turned out.
Stephen Colbert may be the future of television and as Project Casting pointed out, CBS needs it.