Three and a half months after taping his final Late Show, Stephen Colbert says he’s been entertaining offers for what comes next.
“There’s some fun stuff to think about,” Colbert let slip in a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
Colbert declined to say what those offers entail, but made clear that he wants comedy—and the collaborative energy of a writers’ room—to be part of his future, even as he spends his first months after The Late Show pursuing projects far removed from the Ed Sullivan Theater.
Still, he added, “I’m in no hurry.”
Colbert spoke with THR as his collaborative scriptwriting software company Scripto announced a new $5 million seed round. The company, which Colbert co-founded with former Colbert Report writer Rob Dubbin, is led by CEO Josh Kline, the former chief strategy officer for Final Draft. Its backers include Colbert and his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, along with J.J. Abrams, Mark Cuban, and lead investor Todd Stiefel.
Scripto began as an in-house solution to the shortcomings of the software used by The Colbert Report and later followed Colbert to The Late Show. It has since spread throughout the comedy world, with Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver among its current users.
Colbert joked to THR that after enjoying his time as a late-night host, he’s ready for his “dream job: Tech Oligarch!”
That’s not his only post-Late Show Venture. Colbert conducted the interview from Wellington, New Zealand, where he’s working on the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past with his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, and longtime Lord of the Rings screenwriter Philippa Boyens.
But Colbert suggested neither screenwriting nor software has replaced what he left behind when The Late Show ended its run May 21.
What he misses most, he said, is working with other funny people.
“To be in the room full of laughter is an irreplaceable feeling,” Colbert told THR. “So I’d like to get back to that. I just don’t know what that’s going to be yet based upon the various things that I’ve talked to people about.”
