The 3 Best Moments from Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Debut

And a word about the worst. 

After nine months away from TV, Stephen Colbert returned last night with his first episode hosting The Late Show. You may have watched it on CBS, but if you skipped it assuming the best moments would be online today, you were right. They’re below, along with one moment that’s not so great, because when you get a chance to snark on George Clooney you don’t pass it up.

The show opened with Colbert showing off his silky pipes as he sang the “Star Spangled Banner” with a diverse group of nobodies scattered across the country. But then a somebody showed up for a quick cameo at the end. No spoilers. 

The most notable bit of Colbert’s two interviews came when Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said something that wasn’t really mean about President Obama. It’s a stretch to call it nice, but in the world of Republican politics it was probably enough to sink his campaign.  Also worth noting: He’s wrong. He can’t do what he’s promising. 

The very best segment from The Late Show was, perhaps unsurprisingly, something that could have run on The Colbert Report. There was food, there were jokes about a political figure and there was a reliance on archival footage . It had all the hallmarks of The Report without Colbert’s right-wing blowhard schtick. And it totally worked.

And finally, here’s a GIF of Clooney being as boring as he is handsome.

Photos by Jeffrey R. Staab/CBS