Stephen Colbert to go live and uncensored on Election Night for Showtime

Showtime CEO David Nevins says Stephen Colbert will “say a couple of curse words” during The Late Show host’s live Election Night special.

Following the live Late Show episodes covering the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and his upcoming live coverage following the debates, Stephen Colbert is set to go live again, but for another network. The host is in talks to do a comedy special on CBS’ sister network Showtime on Election Night, when he has the night off from his late-night talk show. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Showtime Networks CEO David Nevins made the announcement at the TCA summer press tour on Thursday.

“We’re working very hard to do a live election-night comedy special with Stephen Colbert,” Nevins said. “Stephen wants to do it, the studio wants to do it. The thought is, do a live special, Colbert unfettered. He promised me he’ll say a couple of curse words, which is important. We’re figuring it out. It’s something we’ve been trying to get him to do for a while.”

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He added that Colbert would film the special at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City where The Late Show is shot, and that it will likely air at 10 p.m. for an hour or longer depending on what’s happening. Nevins continued, “It will be interesting to see what Colbert does with no commercial breaks, no language restriction. He’s kind of excited about it.”

Showtime has been following the presidential race with its docuseries The Circus: Inside The Greatest Political Show On Earth since the primaries. The show follows Bloomberg Politics and features managing editors Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, co-authors of the New York Times best-sellers Game Change and Double Down, as well as campaign strategist Mark McKinnon as they hit the campaign trail with the candidates. It will return with new episodes in September to cover the first presidential debate.

Colbert saw a ratings increase for his first week of live episodes covering the RNC, which was his second attempt at broadcasting live after hitting the air following this year’s Super Bowl. Those episodes generated some of his most viral clips to date, including Jon Stewart’s rant against Donald Trump supporter Sean Hannity, the return of hisThe Colbert Report persona and the segment “The Word,” and Laura Benanti’s impersonation of Melania Trump the night after she was accused of plagiarizing Michelle Obama during her speech at the Republican convention.

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The news comes a day after CBS revealed that the comedian will go live for three broadcasts after the upcoming presidential and vice presidential debates, including on Monday, September 26 after the first meeting between Trump and Hillary Clinton; Tuesday, October 4 after the VP debate; and Wednesday, October 19 after the third presidential debate. The second debate is schedule for Saturday, October 8, when the show is off the air.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will return Monday, August 22 on CBS.

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