I'm very interested by this. You can't keep doing the same thing forever, unless you're a Late Night host apparently. I don't see The Colbert Report surviving the loss of Colbert. All I'm hoping for is that the sarcasm and satire transfers over to Late Night, even if the political aspects are removed. I'm cautiously hopeful.
Have you ever seen Colbert on Meet The Press or Oprah's Next Chapter? He is absolutely delightful out of character. I can confirm this too when I saw him tape in midtown west. He's just a terribly genuine person whose utmost concern is the people around him. I think this is a perfect for the Late Show. The Colbert Report was not a fluke and it won't be his only spectacular performance as a person given he has already knocked off Second City and The Daily Show.