Stephen Colbert guest-stars in quirky mystery series as murdered talk show host
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“Late Show” host Stephen Colbert played a murdered talk show host in the quirky crime series “Elsbeth.”
Colbert announced to viewers in July that CBS would cancel his show in spring 2026. The show’s cancellation follows a deal the network and its parent company reached with President Donald Trump after he sued over the summer for “election interference” after his 2024 rival, then-Vice President Kamala Harris, held a “60 Minutes” interview.
But the talk show host is making new headlines this week with her appearance on the season 3 premiere of “Elsbeth’s.” Colbert played the late-night talk show host of “Way Late with Scotty Bristol” who is murdered by his executive producer.
According to IMDb, “Elsbeth” is “A brilliant but unconventional lawyer, Elsbeth Tascioni, uses her unique perspective to make unique observations and corner brilliant criminals alongside the NYPD.”
COLBERT WON EMMY FOR ‘LATE SHOW’ AFTER CANCELLATION, SAID HE LOVED HIS COUNTRY MORE THAN EVER
Host Stephen Colbert’s show will be shut down in spring 2026. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
The cancellation of Colbert’s show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” recent controversies on late-night talk shows until the brief suspension of its programming. As culture writer Emma Fraser wrote in the Daily Beast, some “may get the impression that showrunner Jonathan Tolins is taking a ripped-from-the-headlines approach to the popular series.”
But the truth is more complex; showrunner Tolins reportedly wrote this episode before Colbert announced his show would be shutting down.
“The first thing he did was [Colbert] Carrie Preston, who plays the title character, said to me: ‘Wow, everyone’s going to think the Elsbeth writers have the biggest balls in Hollywood.'” Daily Monster.
CONAN O’BRIEN PREDICTIONS THE END OF NIGHT TV, MAKE BOLD PREDICTIONS ABOUT STEPHEN COLBERT’S FUTURE
Late-night host Stephen Colbert portraying a murdered talk show host seemed to some to be an eerily parallel to his actual show being canceled in real life. (Photo: Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images)
But while Colbert plays a talk show host who is literally murdered, his character doesn’t seem to be inspired by him.
“Scotty isn’t the most suave TV star or boss, so his executive producer, Laurel (Amy Sedaris), turns the paper shredder into a murder weapon,” wrote Fraser.
“Even though they have the same job, Scotty Bristol is not as loving, accepting, wonderful and welcoming a person as Stephen Colbert,” Preston said.
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Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Colbert are at the center of controversy that some say does not bode well for the future of late-night talk shows. (CBS/LateShowStephenColbert)
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