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Craig Ferguson is welcoming Stephen Colbert to CBS.
The Late Late Show host congratulated Colbert, who was named heir to David Letterman‘s Late Show Thursday during a taping of his show.
“First of all, before we begin tonight, may I congratulate the lovely Stephen Colbert on getting The Late Show?” Ferguson said Thursday. “Isn’t that lovely? Congratulations, Stephen! A fine addition to the CBS cavalcade of stars.”
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Earlier, Ferguson tweeted his well wishes.
Congratulations to the hugely talented and fragrant and lovely @StephenAtHome on the new gig. Welcome to the CBS funhouse.
— Craig Ferguson (@CraigyFerg) April 10, 2014
It is unclear what Colbert’s ascension to The Late Show means for Ferguson, whose contract for The Late Late Show expires at year’s end. He has followed The Late Show since 2005. CBS Entertainment chairman Nina Tassler told The Hollywood Reporter that discussions about the 12:30 hour had not begun.
“Craig is our 12:30 guy. We’ve been focused so intently on 11:30. We’re dealing with one hour of late night at a time. We’ll have conversations about 12:30 very shortly. But our first order of business was to shore up 11:30,” Tassler said.
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She added that Ferguson was “was incredibly gracious” about Colbert getting Letterman’s spot.
On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon joked, “I have a big announcement: Starting in 2015, I will be the new host of the Colbert Report on Comedy Central!”
He added he was “very happy” for Colbert.
“He’s very funny. He’s a good friend. Now, a lot of people in the media are already talking about there being a new late night war — and I just want to say there’s not going to be any war. It’ll be a dance off. A late-night dance off! Get ready, Stephen,” Fallon said.
Check back later for what the other late-night hosts said about Colbert’s new gig.
Email: Aaron.Couch@THR.com
Twitter: @AaronCouch
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