Stephen Colbert is preparing for his big CBS close-up. The new host of The Late Show has been filming test episodes of his new show, inviting guests and audience members into the recently revamped Ed Sullivan theater in an attempt to figure how his show will work. In a piece on CNN Money, attendees said what they saw over the past week or so “resembled an actual broadcast in many ways,” with Colbert chatting up guests including former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher, cartoonist Garry Trudeau, and former U.S. poet laureate Billy Collins and running through both monologue jokes and pre-taped pieces. Susan Pane, a New York-based dog groomer who attended a test run last Thursday, told CNN Money that Colbert seemed “genuine,” noting that he wasn’t using the “goofy persona that he had on The Colbert Report.”
Other interesting tidbits from the CNN Money piece include hints as to what The Late Show’s new set looks like, with attendee Scott Interante telling the site that the set is “two-level,” “beautiful,” and has a bit of a “mechanic shop aesthetic,” with Colbert entering through a garage door each night. The sign above the stage reads, “The Late Show With,” with CNN Money noting “the absence of the host’s name is deliberate, as the sign is positioned above where Colbert will stand each night.”
For those who can’t wait until the new Late Show premieres September 8, there’s always Waze. GPS app users can now opt for Colbert’s voice when choosing who reads them directions, though the comedian and host’s golden pipes will only be an option on the service through September 22. In a statement reported on by The Verge, Colbert touted the virtues of his “own dulcet tones,” with Waze noting it also recently added Neil Patrick Harris and New England Patriots’ star Rob Gronkowski to its voiceover roster.