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In his first live âLate Showâ broadcast since the start of the Republican National Convention, Stephen Colbert promised the return of an old friend from his basic-cable days, but instead, viewers got to see two familiar faces: first, Jon Stewart, the longtime host of âThe Daily Show,â and then âStephen Colbert,â the unctuous conservative commentator that Mr. Colbert portrayed for nearly a decade on his Comedy Central program, âThe Colbert Report.â The guest appearances from Mr. Stewart and that other Mr. Colbert appear to have paid off for âThe Late Show.â According to preliminary ratings information on Tuesday, âThe Late Showâ was the No. 1 broadcast late-night show in overall viewership on Monday night, the first time the program has surpassed all its competitors (including Jimmy Fallonâs âTonightâ show on NBC and âJimmy Kimmel Liveâ on ABC) since Feb. 15. âThe Late Showâ announced in June that it would present two weeks of live broadcasts, Monday through Thursday, to air after each night of the Republican and Democratic conventions. Though the current iteration of the program made its debut to considerable fanfare in September, it has had trouble finding a consistent voice under Mr. Colbert, who succeeded David Letterman as host and who has tried to expand his horizons beyond the irreverent political comedy he performed on âThe Colbert Report.â Mondayâs installment of âThe Late Showâ on CBS began with an elaborate, pretaped musical number performed by Mr. Colbert, paying satirical tribute to the Republican convention in Cleveland and the partyâs presumptive presidential nominee, Donald J. Trump. (As Mr. Colbert sang: âThis week, you and me, we will witness history / As the R.N.C. crowns their orange manatee.â) |