In a stunning blow to Stephen Colberts everywhere, Neil Patrick Harris says he was offered Late Show With David Letterman, but turned it down. Harris told Howard Stern that CBS head Les Moonves asked him during some very preliminary talks whether he’d be interested in taking over for Letterman. Harris says he declined, saying he “knew what [his] skill sets were.” He also thought he’d “get bored of the repetition fast,” saying he’d have no “interest in doing monologue, commercial, sketch, guest, guest, guest, musical act, good night.”
Still, Harris says he would be open to doing another sort of late-night show, specifically a variety program (like Maya Rudolph). But he’d prefer it to be weekly, because he’d like to have time to prep and pre-tape segments, as well as to create excitement among both audiences and guests. Harris says CBS and Moonves expressed some interest in that idea, meaning it could still happen—just not in the 11:30 p.m. slot.