An opening sketch, often featuring an actual news story, but with fake network logos (often parodying CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC News, C-SPAN, or PBS NewsHour), followed by a comic segment parodying the story. Sometimes the sketch is a song parody. During the early years of the show the cold open usually featured Colbert and some of his producers like Liz Levin or Paul Dinello.
Stephen Colbert Gets All Up in Your Faith (September 15, 2015–present)
A segment in which Colbert talks about news referring to different religions and spiritual beliefs, such as Buddhism, or the First Church of Cannabis. The title is a play on the phrase Get All Up in Your Face, which means to confront somebody in an aggressive way. It functions in a similar way to This Week in God, an early The Daily Show segment hosted by Colbert. Described as the show's "eternal segment", it only has had four editions so far.[2]
Covetton House (September 18, 2015–present)
Covetton House is Colbert's take on celebrity luxury brands, especially Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop. Each sketch typically features everyday products with fancy names and jacked-up prices. Some items were available for sale at Goop's website, with all proceeds going to charity.
First Drafts (February 16, 2016–present)
Colbert invites a member of the audience up to read holiday/special event cards and their "first drafts", which poke fun at the event in question. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Colbert's wife Evelyn McGee took the place of the audience member. In the first edition, producer Paul Dinello handed Stephen the cards.
Cyborgasm (October 11, 2017–present)
Colbert shares the latest news about technology, discussing things like Artificial Intelligence, robots, and often mocking the most absurd new products.
Meanwhile (September 26, 2018–present)
Colbert jokes about lesser-known and funny news, such as Philadelphia Flyers' new mascot Gritty and Buffalo Wild Wings' new BBQ pumpkin spice wings, that he claims he could not fit into the monologue. The segment always starts with an elaborate metaphor explaining the segment. In the period during the COVID-19 pandemic when the show was not taped in the Ed Sullivan Theater, it was called "Quarantinewhile," a portmanteau of quarantine and meanwhile.
Kids' Questions (May 14, 2020–present)
Colbert answers video questions submitted by children. The sketch typically begins and ends with Colbert complaining about the title. (The sketch has had numerous titles, including Stephen Takes Your Kids, Stephen's Re-Education Camp, Stephen Colbert Is Watching Your Children, Stephen Doesn't Care About Your Kids, Stephen Colbert Is Short And Punchy. and Stephen Colbert Talks Down to Children.)
Space News (June 24, 2021–present)
A segment of the opening monologue telling jokes related to outer space. Space News is now a stand-alone segment.
That's Yeet Dabbing on Fleek, Fam! (September 9, 2021–present)
Stephen covers youth-related issues and trends, though because of his age, he will bring writer, and "Certified Young Person", Eliana Kwartler to help. Kwartler will often use the explanation as a ruse to get a raise, which Colbert always denies. In the first edition, writers Glenn Eichler, Felipe Torres Medina, and writer's assistant Cara Washington fulfilled this role.[3] Earlier pieces talking about youth-related issues also featured Kwartler.[4] A similar segment, focused on fashion trends is called Stephen Colbert's Slay Your Fleek.[5]
Rich, Please! (October 26, 2022–present)
Stephen talks about news related to billionaires, and their plans to prepare for the apocalypse. It usually ends with Colbert suggesting a social uprising. The title is a play on the phrase Bitch, Please! and the graphics feature a wad of cash, named Cashy, as the segment's mascot. An earlier version of the segment was called Rich People. They Are Just Not Like Us. Us Pay Taxes.[6] During quarantine a similar segment, focusing on the woes of late-stage capitalism, such as water scarcity, and the unlimited power of corporations, was titled Uh-Oh.[7][8]
The Sound of Science (February 23, 2023–present)
Stephen covers the latest science-related news. The title is a play on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound of Silence", with the graphics featuring Colbert as both members of the duo, and the first line as the theme song.
Bedtime Stories: On occasion when Colbert has an author on the show, he ends the episode by asking the author to read him a bedtime story. Authors who performed the sketch with Colbert include Jonathan Franzen and John Irving.
The Big Furry Hat: Colbert dons a giant hat that comes down from the ceiling and makes a series of humorous proclamations that people must follow (e.g., "Actor Paul Rudd must begin aging like the rest of us"). On November 13, 2015, John Cleese joined him wearing a bigger and furrier hat.[1]
Brain Fight With Tuck Buckford: During the child custody trial of InfoWars host Alex Jones, Colbert introduced a new right-wing pundit character by the name of Tuck Buckford as the host of a fictional show titled "Brain Fight" beginning with the April 17, 2017 episode. The sketches are based on infamous segments of Jones' radio show which have Colbert parodying his over-the-top style of reporting, mocking his alt-right views and conspiracy theories, including certain personal aspects of Jones' life based on testimonies from the court trial.[9]
Cargo Unchained: A monologue segment discussing the recent shortages of worldwide consumer products, named after the film Django Unchained.
Cartoon Donald Trump: In the March 30, 2016 episode, Colbert declared that based on his behavior in the presidential debates and town halls, Donald Trump had become a "cartoonish version of himself". In response, Colbert interviewed a "slightly less cartoonish" version of Trump—an animated caricature of him portrayed with a childish demeanor.[10][11] The character was designed by Tim Luecke, voiced by Brian Stack, and is controlled using Adobe Character Animator—which allows Colbert to interact with the character in real-time. Late Show tested the technology with a character of Colbert's "Irish ancestor" (which was intended for, but cut from a St. Patrick's Day episode), and a sketch involving a cartoon bluebird who supported Bernie Sanders (in reference to a Sanders rally in Portland, Oregon where a bird landed on his podium).[12][13][14] After Bill Clinton stated in his 2016 Democratic National Convention speech that the Republicans had created a "cartoon" version of her, Colbert introduced Cartoon Hillary Clinton.[15][16] Both Cartoon Trump and Cartoon Clinton have made appearances as recurring characters in later episodes, and Cartoon Trump was featured in an animated short during Colbert's election night special for Showtime.[17][14] Showtime later announced that Colbert would executive produce a satirical animated series based on the sketches;[18] the series, Our Cartoon President, premiered in January 2018.[19]
Chopper Talk/Chair Chat: In "Chopper Talk," Colbert discusses Trump's interviews in front of an operating Marine One helicopter. The spinoff "Chair Chat" focuses on interviews where Trump is sitting down.
Doin' It Donkey Style: Stephen covers 2020 Democratic candidates for President. The segment begins with two animated flag-colored donkeys saying a one-line summary of a Democratic policy position (like "equal pay").
Gaetz Gate: Updates on the controversies surrounding Florida Representative Matt Gaetz.
Goin' Viral/Catch a Third Wave: Endless Bummer These segments provided updates on the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally titled "Goin' Viral," it was renamed "Catch a Third Wave" in the fall of 2020, and given an animated opening with a cartoon coronavirus on a surfboard.
The Late Show Figure-It-Out-a-Tron: In a parody of Glenn Beck's use of chalkboards, Colbert brings out a chalkboard with names of people implicated in an ongoing scandal written all over it. He then tries to figure out the links between these people by drawing lines connecting their names. These lines form a humorous and often crude drawing related to the scandal, such as a penis or swastika.
Midnight Confessions: Colbert examines his conscience to his audience. He starts with a disclaimer that while the things that he confesses are not technically sins, he still feels guilty about them. Done from a fake confessional. Its popularity resulted in a book being written based on it.
Piano 1-0-Fun! with Jon Batiste:Jon Batiste hosts absurd instructional videos.
Real News Tonight: A parody of television newscasts, anchored by "Jim Anchorton" (John Thibodeaux) and "Jill Newslady" (Jen Spyra), that consists entirely of overly-positive fake stories designed to praise Donald Trump.[22][23] In August 2017, when Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump began producing Real News Update videos that similarly presented positive coverage of Trump, Colbert presented an edition of Real News Tonight which interspersed clips of Real News Update to make Lara interact with the Jill and Jim characters as a "special correspondent".[24] On June 18, 2019, the Jill and Jim characters attended a rally launching Trump's 2020 re-election campaign at the Amway Center in Orlando, interviewing supporters for a segment that aired on the June 20 episode. Their press credentials had been revoked at the last minute, but they still managed to make it inside the event by registering online (a process which also exposed exaggerated claims surrounding the attendance of the rally).[25][26]
Romansplaining with Stephen Colbert: A segment similar to "Meanwhile", focusing on stories dealing with relationships and romance. The title is a portmanteau of "romance" and "mansplaining".
Seditionist Round Up Roundup: Colbert details the latest arrests of rioters from the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol. Segment opens with a cattle, horse, or sheep making animal-themed puns about the rioters.
Slams: Colbert will joke about a particular item in his monologue, do a dance (to an excerpt from the Deee-Lite hit "Groove Is in the Heart"), and then a stamp-like logo comes on-screen with the slam message and a deep voice reading it off.
Stephen Talks with God: Colbert talks with God, as portrayed as an animated character projected on the ceiling of the Ed Sullivan Theater.[27]
The Vax-Scene: Updates on efforts to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine to as many people as possible. The segment begins with cartoon syringes singing parodies of famous musical numbers imploring viewers to get vaccinated.
WERD: Colbert chooses a word or phrase as a theme for a rant on a topical subject or news item while humorous captions displayed in a sidebar either highlight or sarcastically undercut what he is saying. The segment is based on "The Wørd", a segment Colbert performed throughout the entire run of The Colbert Report. Colbert introduced The Wørd segment on The Late Show on July 18, 2016.[28] During the July 27, 2016 episode, Colbert indirectly stated Comedy Central had objected to his use of elements from the Report on Late Show; subsequently, the segment has been done under the name "WERD".[29]
Wheel of News: Colbert spins a wheel with random topics of news to talk about. Based on Wheel of Fortune.
Recurring sketches with guests
Big Questions with Even Bigger Stars
Colbert and a guest sit under the stars and have absurd conversations about topics. Such conversations include killing baby Hitler, what Santa does the rest of the year, and whether they would rather have feet for hands or hands for feet.
The Questionert (pronounced "questionnaire") is a series of 15 questions designed to get to know celebrities. They include "What is your least favorite smell?", "What number am I (Colbert) thinking of?", and "Describe the rest of your life in five words". Many of these are pre-recorded and aired on special Friday episodes.
Colbert and a guest host a community calendar of events in the guest's hometown. Based from Colbert's special appearance at Only in Monroe, a local public access program in Monroe, Michigan, with Eminem as his guest.
Colbert and his lead guest try to help find homes for dogs up for adoption by making up stories about them (such as claiming one dog knows the lyrics to the Frozen song "Let It Go", but will not sing them).
