After years as a correspondent on The Daily Show, Colbert spun off into his own Comedy Central satirical news program, which premiered on Oct. 17, 2005. Playing a larger-than-life parody of a cable news host, he delivered sharp political satire for nearly a decade before signing off in 2014 to take over The Late Show.

Both of the hosts acknowledged that most viewers were likely tuning into ABC for their friend's highly anticipated comeback.