Iiiiit’s The Late Show, with… Scotty Britstol?
CBS has unveiled a first look at Stephen Colbert’s guest appearance on the procedural dramedy Elsbeth, which will find the longtime Late Show emcee portraying a late-night host named Scotty Bristol.
Colbert will guest-star in the season 3 premiere of Elsbeth, which is a spinoff of The Good Wife and The Good Fight that follows the astute but unorthodox attorney Elsbeth Tascioni (Carrie Preston) as she uses her unique observations to solve a new murder case every week. Also guest-starring in the episode are Amy Sedaris and Andy Richter (who himself knows a thing or two about late-night hosting).
Michael Parmelee/CBS
Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Stephen Colbert as Scotty Bristol on ‘Elsbeth’
“Elsbeth dives into the world of late-night comedy when backstage tensions rise between a talk show host (Colbert), his head writer Laurel (Sedaris) and her on-air sidekick husband, Mickey (Richter),” the episode’s synopsis tells us. “Also, Elsbeth meets a new police officer (Lindsay Mendez) who is an aspiring stand-up comic when off the clock.”
Colbert playing a fictional late-night host comes as he’s wrapping up his time as a real one. In July, CBS made the shocking announcement that it was canceling the Late Show franchise, which began with David Letterman in 1993. Colbert will continue his behind-the-desk duties until May, when he’ll sign off for the final time at the end of the broadcast season.
Earlier this month, news broke that Colbert would appear on Elsbeth as the titular host of Way Late With Scotty Bristol. As EW reported at the time, plans for Colbert’s guest appearance were set in motion months before The Late Show‘s cancellation.
In fact, back in February, Colbert welcomed Elsbeth star Wendell Pierce to The Late Show and, during their conversation, said he’d been dying to appear on a procedural show.
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“I want to be the body that’s found behind the pile of lettuce boxes or something like that,” Colbert quipped.
“I can make that happen,” Pierce replied. “I know a guy who knows a guy. We can get you on.”
Michael Parmelee/CBS
Stephen Colbert as Scotty Bristol and Amy Sedaris as Laurel Hammond-Muntz on ‘Elsbeth’
It seems Colbert got his wish about being on the show, but it remains to be seen if his desire to be a produce-concealed corpse has also been met.
Elsbeth returns for its third season on Sunday, Oct. 12, at 9:30 p.m. ET/9 p.m. PT on CBS. The show, which also streams on Paramount+, will be back in its regular time slot at 10 p.m. Thursdays starting Oct. 16.
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