The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Writer's Submission Packet July 2020
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Writer's Submission Packet July 2020
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is looking to hire a new staff writer. Below, you’ll find guidelines for writing and submitting a packet for consideration.
Please read through the requirements carefully. At the bottom of this document, we’ve included some advice that will hopefully make this process easier.
Thank you in advance for your submission. We look forward to reading your work!
Best regards,
The Late Show Team
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Submission Instructions
Please send your packets to LSSCWriterSearch@cbs.com by 11:59pmEST on Sunday, July 19th*. You may write your submission in any program you like, but we ask that you submit in a PDF format. When formatting, please keep in mind that we will not be able to open any hyperlinks, as submissions may be printed out before they are read.
Please put your name and contact information on your packet’s cover sheet only.
You must also sign the submission agreement (attached) or we cannot consider, read, or
even be in the same room as your packet.
*Note: We’re all living in extraordinary circumstances. If you need an extended deadline, we encourage you to reach out to LSSCWriterSearch@cbs.com.
Content
Monologue Sample
We are asking for a short monologue sample in the style of The Late Show, covering two different news items. We try to tell stories (with jokes!) based on headlines, details that interest us, and footage. Successful monologues often include coverage of the biggest story of the day, as well as smaller, less headline-grabbing stories with particularly interesting details. In total, your monologue sample should be no longer than 3-4 pages.
Some examples of what we mean by “the biggest story of the day” vs. “smaller, less headline-grabbing stories”:
Big stories:
Smaller Stories:
"SCOTUS Ruled Against Trump's Attempt To End DACA"
"Quaker Announced They're Retiring The Aunt Jemima Brand and Logo"
"Across the US, Protestors Are Tearing Down Confederate Statues"
“Flushing The Toilet May Fling Coronavirus Aerosols All Over'
You can view some of our recent monologues via these links:
Supreme Court Hits Trump Where It Hurts With DACA And LGBTQ Decisions (LINK)
America's Citizens Will Not Be Silenced By Government Intimidation (LINK)
Trump Stoked A Culture War Over Masks That Put Everyone At Risk, Even The Secret Service (LINK)
Trump Does An Epic Walk Of Shame After TikTok Users And K-Pop Fans Troll His Tulsa Rally (LINK)
Roll-In/Short Video Sample
We are looking for a short roll-in script based on something going on in the news or in culture. This could be a fake ad, an animated short, a scene, or something else of your own devising. Preferably these would not include Stephen or Jon Batiste as performers. Imagine it rolling into the show as a Cold Open, during our monologue, or after a set-up at the desk. You do not need to write Stephen's introduction to the roll-in, just give us some sense of which story you're reacting to. The roll-in should be no longer than 90 seconds long. While the monologue must be written to reflect Stephen’s voice, roll-ins are a great opportunity to showcase your own.
For examples, please see the links below:
Isolated And Horny, Americans Are Getting Turned On By Basic Human Interaction (LINK)
How To Stay Sane During The Quarantine: An Isolation Status Report (LINK)
Michael Bolton Sings John Bolton's Book! (LINK)
Trump Will Be Right Here Waiting For You (LINK)
Additional Content (Optional)
If you have a pre-existing short piece of writing that you feel exemplifies your voice, feel free to include it. This could be a sketch, a personal story, a comedic essay, - as long as it's no more than 3-5 pages. Anything beyond that will not be read. Please do not send links to videos; we will read written content only.
Appendix of Additional Information
If you are looking for additional information, such as details about how we format our scripts, the terminology we use, the tone we try to strike, as well as example monologues to use as a reference, an appendix is available atcbs.com/lateshowappendix. Just like the appendix in your body, it’s nice to have, but not necessary. Unlike your appendix, we’re pretty sure it won’t spontaneously explode.
Additional Advice
After reading packets over the years, we’ve come up with the following advice:
Watching the show is the best way to learn to learn our tone, rhythm, and voice.
In your monologue, make sure you include an actual joke for each detail from the story. Note how in the monologue, quotes from news articles or pieces of footage are used as set-ups. Punchlines follow directly.
Yes, we live in infuriating times, but outrage, attitude, and political point-scoring are less enjoyable than laughing.
As an example of what to avoid, if Stephen reads a Trump tweet, he needs to have an actual joke coming out of it. It doesn’t work comedically to have Stephen just say something attitudinal or sarcastic, like, “So, Trump doesn’t care whether we live or die? Got it.”
Another thing to avoid: pop culture references purely for the sake of pop culture references. Anything you reference should have a comedic spin on it.
Before you submit, read your packet aloud, ideally to a group of friends (standing at least 6 feet apart). This is the quickest way to learn which jokes work and which jokes need work. It’s what we do everyday in our rehearsal process!
Don’t worry about your stories being out of the news cycle by the time your packet gets read. That’s just how this process works. As long as you pick stories that are current at the time of writing, you’ll be fine.
However, do avoid making offhand references to old Trump stories. A casual callback to one of the myriad horrors from this administration either requires too much explaining (“Wait, what was Lev Parnas’s deal again?”) or feels tired (Stormy Daniels, pee-pee tape, how Trump wants to date his daughter, etc).
Don’t worry too much about formatting - we’re looking more at the funny than the font. But if you’re truly the kind of person who loses sleep over improperly placed brackets, check out our appendix at cbs.com/lateshowappendix. Again, formatting isn’t what we’re reading for, but if it makes you happy, go for it.
When writing a parody song, please note that in and of itself, rhyming/clever language does not equal jokes.
Think big, but make sure what you write is realistic and producible. Not to mention appropriate for network television.
If you have any questions about these instructions, feel free to reach out to LSSCWriterSearch@cbs.com. Seriously. We’re here to help!
We realize this should be labeled Advice Item #10. Nobody’s perfect.