STEWART & COLBERT Return! WGA Screwed?
January 8th, 2008
As he often does, Jon Stewart ended off THE DAILY SHOW by checking in with his Comedy Central co-hort Stephen Colbert. Sporting a lengthy strike beard that would put Letterman’s to shame, Colbert remarked, “I’m very alarmed by how prepared you seemed.”
Needless to say, Colbert isn’t the only one.
As much as I was thrilled for the return of my traditional nightcap of Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, this TV Addict couldn’t help but notice how ‘normal’ both shows seemed. Sure tweaks to both shows were evident, with Colbert interviewing 2 guests rather than his usual 1 and Stewart taking some not-so-subtle shots at the WGA leadership team for their side deal with LETTERMAN. The worrisome factor kicks in when one realizes that both THE DAILY SHOW and THE COLBERT REPORT still managed, emphasis on without writers, to combine for television’s funniest hour of political commentary.
Whether Stewart and Colbert can keep this up night after night is another issue entirely. Yet one can’t help but ponder the question that should be on everyone’s mind. Is their successful return not another nail in the WGA’s coffin? 
Loading ...
Josh Emerson Says:
January 8th, 2008 at 8:31 am
No, I don’t think so at all. Stewart and Colbert, no matter how great their shows are, are still a very small part of the WGA strike situation. We’re looking at a couple cable shows that get maybe a few million viewers. Combined, they still don’t reach the audience that Leno and Letterman do. Plus, you’ve gotta remember that the biggest effect the strike is having is on network scripted shows, and the talk shows returning aren’t going to change anything there.
I’d be MUCH more worried about the success of American Gladiators and other reality replacements. If these do well, it means the networks can hold out even longer without suffering all that much. We already know Fox will be fine.