Catch Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' Debut Online

It’s been a long time since audiences last saw Stephen Colbert on television, and now the wait is finally over. On Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert will take over The Late Show, which is clearly a television event not to be missed. The last episode of The Colbert Report aired in December, so he's had plenty of time to prepare for his next gig, which premieres at 11:35 p.m. on CBS. Does that time not work for you? Already have plans? I mean, I can't imagine what would be more pressing, but that’s OK because you can actually stream Stephen Colbert’s first episode of The Late Show for free.

In order to watch this inaugural episode with CBS All Access, viewers will need to sign up for the service, which usually costs $5.99 per month, but CBS is currently offering a free one-week trial. This offer is enticing for fans wanting to view Tuesday's big Colbert kickoff, and can decide whether they want to continue CBS All Access for the monthly fee next week.

With Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon also airing on Tuesday night at 11:35, streaming is going to be a key factor for Colbert as he enters the late night arena and competes for ratings with ABC and NBC’s successful, dueling network Jimmies. To get attention these days, late night TV has to do something memorable enough to carry over into the next day. YouTube, Twitter, and social media in general are huge components of the modern late night game, with videos going viral in the morning following the broadcast.

But, Colbert is used to this game after hosting The Colbert Report for nine years. And, he already has a budding YouTube repertoire under The Late Show handle, which features videos like the one above, in addition to a Colbr app setup for Google Play and iTunes. So for anyone who relies on streaming and chooses not to get a full CBS All Access subscription, these will be good resources to find clips and highlights from recent episodes of The Late Show.

There’s no doubt that these channels will have a lot of good material soon after looking at Colbert’s lineup for his week. His first guest ever will be George Clooney — quite an act to follow. Tuesday's episode will also feature Jeb Bush and Jon Batiste, with Scarlett Johansson, Elon Musk, Kendrick Lamar, Joe Biden, and Amy Schumer stopping by The Late Show later this week. There’s so much material, in fact, that the first episode is expected to run until 12:44 p.m., bringing nine extra minutes of Colbert. Sorry, James Corden.

I can’t wait to see what Colbert has planned, and whether that means catching the show live, on CBS All Access, or seeing trending YouTube clips on Wednesday morning, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to watch this all-new version of The Late Show.