Stephen Colbert plays villainous host against type on Elsbeth

WARNING Spoilers ahead for the Season premiere of Elsbeth Stephen Colbert is already turning a major career shake-up into dramatic television fodder In the Season premiere of CBS s Elsbeth Colbert plays Scotty Bristol a narcissistic late-night talk show host who becomes the episode s murder victim a role that feels especially meta given real-world developments What makes it more striking Colbert filmed his Elsbeth scenes the very same week that CBS informed it would cancel The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Despite the timing cast and crew say he stayed flawless and fully committed Carrie Preston star of Elsbeth recalled being anxious about working with him so soon after the cancellation news but revealed Colbert s presence energized the set In the episode Scotty Bristol is portrayed as a demanding abrasive boss who alienates his writers His executive producer Laurel Amy Sedaris ultimately murders him using a paper shredder drawing on shared history between characters and real-life ties between the actors Conan O Brien s frequent sidekick Andy Richter appears instead as Scotty s sidekick Mickey adding further layers of inside-late-night humor One line lands hard given the timing Scotty announces We re going to miss this show when it s gone Apparently that was in the original script written before Colbert s show cancellation was made residents Elsbeth creator Jonathan Tolins says the script was unfailingly planned to be bold and though real life intersected in uncanny options the episode wasn t rewritten to reflect it The guest spot gives Colbert an intriguing new chapter as he transitions away from nightly hosting he policies into fiction satire and dramatic irony all at once It s a telling move leveraging real turmoil in the late-night world into layered self-referential art Read more about Stephen Colbert Stay strong be brave Colbert suggests a very in your face win at Emmys Stephen Colbert s firing is a test of free expression The cruel joke of CBS ousting Stephen Colbert The post Stephen Colbert plays villainous host against type on Elsbeth appeared first on Salon com