I'm going to be honest with you: I don't know what to say here. I almost didn't believe this video was real, except that it's hosted on an official YouTube account (albeit unlisted and somehow found by this Michigan Redditer). So let's set the stage here. At some point very recently, future CBS Late Show host Stephen Colbert filled in as host of Only in Monroe, an actual public access cable television talk show in Monroe, Michigan (population just over 20,000). It's a full show, too, at over 40 minutes long, titled "July 2015."
nly in Monroe, as hosted by Colbert (who ends up interviewing the actual hosts early in the show), is a absurdist blend of public access aesthetic and Colbert witticism, complete with Colbert Report style interstitials that'd fit in as a "Better Know a District" segment — there are even short pauses after jokes for an audience that isn't in studio. This isn't some haphazard effort; the jokes and research are clearly there, and much of the joy in watching this lies in the earnestness of Colbert.
The major guest tonight? "A local Michigander who is making a name for himself in the competitive world of music," aka Marshall Mathers aka Eminem, who just upstaged his own Zane Lowe interview by appearing on public access and being cajoled into humming some Bob Seger tunes. Here's the most important Eminem quote without context: "Carpentry sounds like it could be good."
Colbert's Late Show doesn't begin until September 8th — without beard, with Jon Batiste— and I really hope this experimental streak of teasers is some indication of Colbert and team's plans to experiment with an otherwise staid late night format.