Stephen Colbert Says He Doesn’t Miss Late-Night TV in First Interview Since His Show Ended

Stephen Colbert returned to late-night television September 15 for his first interview since The Late Show ended, but he showed no desire to reclaim the host’s chair.

“Late night TV. I remember it well. Many fond memories of this,” Colbert joked as he joined Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

When Kimmel asked whether he ever thought about returning, Colbert answered, “Nope!”

“I have an opportunity to not think about the news every day, and I took it,” Colbert said. Kimmel said Colbert looked happier and healthier at the Emmy Awards, prompting his guest to compare hosting to drinking “a cup of poison every day.”

“A good part of the job is, as I remember it, to be lowered like carbon rods into a radioactive pool every day. And then to be pulled out and put in front of a camera. And to radiate it back at the audience at a nonlethal rad level," he said.

Colbert’s appearance followed The Late Show’s seven Emmy wins for its final season, including its first win for Outstanding Variety Series.

He and Kimmel recalled joining Jon Stewart and John Oliver for a photograph at the ceremony. The photographer dubbed their group the “endangered table,” a reference to Colbert’s cancelation and uncertainty surrounding late-night television as a whole.

Kimmel also revisited Colbert’s acceptance-speech tribute to his wife, Evie, before revealing that she “hates” the beard he grew after leaving the show. Colbert had promised to remove it if he won an Emmy, so he shaved it during the interview.

Asked whether anyone at CBS congratulated him for the Emmy wins, Colbert avoided a direct answer.

“I am not familiar with that organization. Thank you for asking!” he joked.

Colbert said the network did allow him to keep approximately 40 suits from The Late Show, which are now in storage. He offered them to recent law-school graduates through Kimmel.

Colbert also discussed working in New Zealand on the tentatively titled The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, which he is co-writing with his son Peter McGee.

He recalled refusing to reveal details when Steven Spielberg asked about the movie because he feared violating his nondisclosure agreements.

“He goes, ‘You can tell me, I’m Steven Spielberg, I know Peter Jackson.’ And I was terrified! I was afraid I would get in trouble, so I didn’t tell him anything,” Colbert revealed.

“Later I told our writing partner Philippa Boyens, and she goes, ‘You idiot! He might have had a good idea,'” he continued.

“Listen, Steven, if you’re watching, I’m ready to take your call,” he joked.