Stephen Colbert calls for unity as we all stay apart

Stephen Colbert tried to look past the politics of the novel coronavirus outbreak on a special edition of The Late Show.

Like much of the country, Stephen Colbert has been working from home this week. However, that didn’t keep the Late Show host and his bandleader Jon Batiste from trying to stay as connected as possible with fans.

We’ve already seen how late night hosts such as Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel, and Trevor Noah have been handling quarantine life. Others like Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and David Spade have tried to keep things as normal as possible by broadcasting monologues and condensed versions of their shows.

On The Late Show, Colbert has delivered jokes from his bathtub and had a chat by his firepit, and now. Much of the focus has been on the lackluster response to the novel coronavirus by President Donald Trump’s administration.

However on Wednesday night, Colbert approached the situation from a slightly different perspective. Sitting on his back porch, the comedian acknowledged the anxiety many people are enduring as well as the need to stick together. To help, he did his best to deliver jokes that had less to do with President Trump and more to do with Cats.

It seems like Colbert has adjusted to the Late Show‘s new normal. It can’t be easy to deliver a monologue into the camera with no live audience, no feedback, or no staff around for interaction. Colbert just has to have complete faith in the jokes he and his writers wrote. But knowing how important humor is right now, Colbert can be assured this content is appreciated by fans.

Colbert did touch on some political issues from his backyard. Containment efforts in New York City, Joe Biden’s primary victories, and President Trump’s tweets couldn’t be ignored. But Colbert had more pressing issues to get to like demand for a special cut of Cats.

Without doing the research, Colbert’s monologue probably sets the record for most uses of the word “butthole.” Maybe with the novel coronavirus shutting down so many things, there was no one at CBS to tell Colbert to dial it back.

Colbert signs off with an inspiring message to the country. He praises how so many people have looked out for the well-being of others during this crisis. Colbert also makes a point to thank his viewers and reiterate how important the audience is to The Late Show.

The entire Late Show staff and crew deserve thanks as well. The last three shows were unexpected but extremely valuable in helping many people cope with the situation. Stephen Colbert has ensured that his fanbase will stay as loyal as ever whenever The Late Show returns. For more information about COVID-19, visit the CDC’s website or the website for your state’s Department of Health.