Stephen Colbert Live Election Special Set Up at Showtime

Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show on CBS, takes his act to corporate sibling Showtime to host the live election special Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going To Clean Up This Shi*t? It airs at 11 p.m. Nov. 8.

Bringing his “unique comedic perspective to the anything-goes nature of premium cable, Colbert will be able to do things he’s never been able to do in this campaign,” says Showtime, such as directly quote a candidate without being bleeped. The special will feature Colbert reacting in real-time to the election results as they come in. Showtime calls it “the perfect election night destination for people who want to see all the latest news, without actually having to watch the news.”

"It'll be all the political comedy you love from my CBS show, with all the swearing and nudity you love from Showtime," said Colbert.

Airing live from The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City with a studio audience, the one-hour program will also feature remote segments and surprise guests.  

Showtime Networks is part of CBS Corp. The network mentioned the special at its TCA press tour session in August, while acknowledging it was not yet, at the time, certain to happen.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.