Colbert Says Goodbye 8 Months Early

Everyone in the world knows that Stephen Colbert is going to be taking over The Late Show for David Letterman when he retires in 2015. Well, except for "Stephen Colbert." He couldn't give less of a crap about that guy. Stephen Colbert stopped by The Daily Show on Wednesday night to say goodbye to himself and, as would be expected, he was in character as his alter-ego and it was hilarious. Colbert explained his decision to leave The Colbert Report to Jon Stewart saying, "It's become clear to me that I've won television" and went on to show clips of himself during his time on The Daily Show. He also mentioned that he heard that Letterman was retiring but that "they already gave the part to some fat guy."

The segment was awesome, but it raised one question: Why is he saying goodbye so soon? Letterman isn't retiring until 2015. Colbert appeared on The Late Show on Tuesday and mentioned that he'll be leaving The Colbert Report at the end of the year. He told Letterman, "When are you leaving? I should have asked!" If Colbert isn't leaving until the end of this year and it's only April, shouldn't his goodbye to Stewart wait until the end of the year? Or is this some sort of Colbertian scheme where the egotistical host will stop by to chat with Stewart every week until his show ends, always prepared with a new montage? Maybe Colbert was just riding the wave and wanted to get the goodbye out there while The Late Show switch is still in the news.

Whatever the reason, it was confusing and sent some viewers (me) into a mild panic that The Colbert Report would be ending sooner than it actually is. So let's make it clear: The Colbert Report is ending at the end of 2014 as Comedy Central has confirmed. Whether this means we'll be hearing the sad goodbyes for the next eight months, time well tell, but there's a good chance. "Stephen Colbert" loves "Stephen Colbert" and I have a feeling Stephen Colbert is pretty fond of him too.