Guide Note

The Colbert Report is a nightly show on Comedy Central, featuring Stephen Colbert as a right-wing pundit in the model of Fox News broadcaster Bill O'Reilly. The show covers contemporary political, social and cultural topics.

Fast Facts

1. Pronounced: "Colberr Reporr"
2. New Episodes: M-Th, 11:30/10:30c
3. Network: Comedy Central
4. Current Season: 3
5. First Aired: October 17, 2005
6. Starring: Stephen Colbert
7. Theme Song By: Cheap Trick

After years of critical and commercial success, Comedy Central wanted to expand on the brand of The Daily Show. Jon Stewart and Daily Show producer Ben Karlin pitched the idea for The Colbert Report, along with Colbert, to network chief Doug Herzog. Reportedly, the one-sentence pitch was immediately pounced upon and an eight week initial run for the series was planned. After a month of strong ratings, Colbert and Comedy Central agreed for a year's worth of shows, and the series has been a fixture of Comedy Central's late night programming ever since.

The Colbert Report frequently makes reference to modern American culture, notably through the spread of ideas via the Internet. A Wikipedia-esque site, Wikiality, is a Colbert-themed encyclopedia where "truthiness" is more important than fact.

Colbert also initiated a web-based campaign, urging viewers to vote for him to win the name of a Hungarian bridge. Although Colbert did win the contest and was presented with a victory declaration from the Ambassador of Hungary, the bridge was ultimately named the Megyeri Bridge.