Stephen Colbert Won’t Change Top ‘Late Show’ Ranks After Chris Licht Departure

Brian Steinberg
·3 min read
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Meet the new team running CBS’ “Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” It’s largely the same team that has been managing the late-night program for years.

Colbert tells Variety he has no plans to bring another executive producer on board at present after Chris Licht left to take over management of Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN in the spring.

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“I am always open to producing the show in the most efficient manner. Right now, everything feels fantastic,” says Colbert in an interview to discuss “Pickled,” a new comedy-sports special he has produced with Funny or Die for CBS. “I miss Chris dearly as my friend. I wouldn’t want to run CNN.”

In September, Matt Lappin was named a co-executive producer of “The Late Show,” working alongside Tanya Michnevich Bracco Opus Moreschi, Barry Julien and Denise Rehrig. Lappin has worked with Colbert for more than 25 years, including on “Colbert Report” and “Strangers With Candy” at Comedy Central.

Licht joined “The Late Show” in 2016, part of a bid by CBS to pair the show’s host with someone who could take some of the organizational work of an hour-long late-night program off his plate. Colbert is known to be a hands-on leader, and ran “Colbert Report,” which aired from 2005 to 2014. At the time, Licht was known for his work in launching both “Morning Joe” and a retooled “CBS This Morning.” During his tenure at “Late Show,” the program focused intensely on having Colbert respond to the news cycle and book guests from the worlds of politics, business and journalism who might not have been the first call for a host like Johnny Carson or Jay Leno.

The executive-producer role has, in recent years, been a relatively steady one. Jen Flanz, the executive producer of Comedy Central’s “Daily Show,” has held that role since 2013, but has been with the program for more than two decades. Mike Shoemaker has been executive producer of NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” since the host debuted in the program in 2014. ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was for 14 years managed by Jill Leiderman, who left the show in 2020. Meanwhile, NBC’s “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” has experienced more turnover in the EP role than many of its rivals — Chris Miller, a longtime associate of Drew Barrymore, was named the venerable program’s showrunner in March of this year.

Colbert believes “Late Show” is faring well with his longtime lieutenant Tom Purcell as an executive producer. Jon Stewart, who was famously paired with Colbert at Comedy Central, is also an executive producer, though people familiar with the program note he does not have daily or direct duties. The program has been the most-watched among traditional late-night series for the past six seasons, giving CBS new credibility in the daypart.

“The show is going great. I don’t feel the need now, but I’m not precious about it,” says Colbert, when asked if he felt he required more executive producers, adding: “If we ever need to add somebody, I will.”

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