WOAH: Stephen Colbert to Take Over ‘The Late Show’ Next Year

It had been rumored that he was CBS’s frontrunner, but this is still pretty surprising stuff: Stephen Colbert will take over the Late Show in 2015 after David Letterman retires, the network announced today. Colbert has signed a five-year contract, but creative elements of the show and its location are both still to be announced.

Here’s the press release, via @ditzkoff:

Colbert’s been doing a character for the last nine years on the Report and there’s no way that continues when he hosts the Late Show. I’ll miss the satiric genius he brought to Comedy Central, but I’m excited to see how he does in a more traditional format.

Also, the #cancelcolbert morons just got the guy a promotion. Hashtag activism works!