The late show Host Stephen Colbert was sure Chris Licht was the right man to work as a showrunner on his late-night CBS show when the couple met for a drink six years ago.
But Colbert said, “I wasn’t sure if I was going to like him, if we were going to be friends, because we’re all show folk here, and Chris isn’t.” I didn’t know if I would like him, but six years later I love you, Chris.
Colbert gave a brilliant farewell to his showrunner and possibly the man who helped turn his fortune up late into the night after Licht was appointed chairman and CEO of CNN Global, starting in May.
He joked that “he trained the next president of CNN.” “I believe that legally CNN now means the Colbert News Network. Apparently Chris is still under contract, so we’re going to have to do this as a baseball trade. If CNN takes Chris, I’ll take Wolf Blitzer’s beard, “he laughed.
The former host of Colbert’s report, who is behind NBC The evening show in the ratings, when Licht took office, he praised his humility.
“He arrived knowing what he didn’t know, which was something about comedy or show business, so he approached work with a level of humility that is rare among executives. But here’s the thing. There are bosses and then there are leaders. Your bosses tell you what to do. Leaders work as hard as you to do what needs to be done, and here’s what [Chris] I did. That’s why he won the respect of all of us here who live in the clown car, “he said. “We showed him what we really want to do, which is the show we are doing now, and he immediately started creating lines of communication, ribbons of responsibility and a respectable workplace that makes creative ambition possible at this speed. I am happy that CNN will benefit from all his wisdom.
Colbert pointed out that Licht had a “managerial” rather than a creative role – this is largely the responsibility of Tom Purcell, and said that the former head of the morning news “respects this line.”
But he added that Licht is particularly disgusted with a character on the show – the screaming Joe in the style of Kid Rock, American Dumbas, who Colbert and the writers really like, but Licht does not. This was supported by the assessments – it is known that Licht is a person who reviews the numbers minute by minute (something that I, as the person who covers the work late at night for Deadline, can confirm) and the team promised to leave him. Until tonight (see above), when he was taken out again to stand next to Licht, in tears of laughter.
Given that Licht was a “little ruler” who always said at staff parties, “Have a nice time, not a great time,” Colbert raised a commemorative beer for Chris Licht.
“We will miss all things for Chris… we will miss your fleece vests, your strange loyalty to the people of Untuckit. We will miss your stories about how many billionaires you know, and I personally will miss the frantic, waving hand gestures when I go 38 minutes with Neil DeGras Tyson or even mention Lord of the Rings. I know we will all really miss your confusion in Air Maraca white boy frat, but most of all, if I can, Chris, we will miss your persistence in the face of the opposition, whether or not you fight with a network about how many times we can say a hole in the CBS or urge staff to order a Meatball Shop for lunch, whether we like it or not, and for the record, we don’t.