David Letterman Replacement: 5 Reasons Stephen Colbert Could be the Perfect 'Late Show' Pick

By Desiree Salas (media@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Apr 14, 2014 01:08 AM EDT

Tags David Letterman replacement, David Letterman retiring, David Letterman 2014, David Letterman Stephen Colbert, stephen colbert, Stephen Colbert replace Dave, replace Dave, Stephen Colbert late night, Why Stephen Colbert, Stephen Colbert perfect pick, Late Night with David Letterman

Nikki Finke was right.

"Who is she?" you ask.

Earlier, we talked about a leak via journalist Finke's sources on who's most likely to replace David Letterman. The Deadline.com founder tweeted the following forecast early this month: "Letterman 2015 Replacement: My sources say Stephen Colbert 'the only one on the air currently that CBS is considering.'"

Based on the recent official announcement about Dave's replacement, it appeared Finke was indeed right, after all.

While some may protest CBS' choice, having Colbert fill in Letterman's shoes is actually a sound and smart move.

"With haste and impeccable taste, CBS has picked the best possible candidate to replace retiring legend David Letterman. Hiring Stephen Colbert, whose agile mind, insanely quick wit and impressive interviewing skills will fit perfectly in the late-night talk show universe, was never less than the sublimely obvious thing to do," The Hollywood Reporter noted.

With that, here are 5 reasons Colbert's hiring is a master stroke:

He already has a following.

"Colbert has a built-in following that will likely grow when he drops the faux right-wing persona that was the cornerstone of 'The Colbert Report,'" THR said.
The young can relate to him.

CBS didn't go the awkward route and make an embarrassment of its replacement by "trying out candidates who are too young or too old in some awful faux-competition." He's the kind of host who "skews young enough" and has "the right mix of youth, humor, and persona" for the 11:30 time slot, THR added.

He also does satirical humor

And without the "sour aftertaste" characteristic of Letterman's zingers. Colbert also has "that same mixture of folksy charm, irreverence, and irony," according to Rolling Stone.
He knows sincerity.

Like Dave, Colbert knows how to do sincerity, which translates very well with viewers. Remember his on-air tribute to his late mother?
He's a lot into music, pop culture, and politics.

This means he knows how to be relevant and intelligently filter out what's worth talking about, as well as present such issues in a compelling way.