In his first week hosting The Late Show, Stephen Colbert made a major, surprising casting decision: He will feature two prominent tech personalities as guests.
On Wednesday, September 9, Colbert will host Scarlett Johansson as well as Elon Musk (Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO) on The Late Show, and the following day, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will appear. On September 8, Jeb Bush and George Clooney will be Colbert's first guests.
It's big news that two of Silicon Valley's notables will be gracing the small screen in seats usually held exclusively by trending Hollywood stars (The Late Show historically pools guests from the entertainment industry). This lineup says a number of things: That technology is a hugely important part of modern culture; that tech isn't just gadgets, but is human and comprised of interesting personalities; and that knowledge of what's happening and who's important in tech isn't niche — it's mainstream.
Colbert is actually no stranger to chatting with tech superstars: In 2014, Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, Twitter's Biz Stone, and (once again) Tesla's Elon Musk dotted The Colbert Report episodes between the likes of politicians, musicians, and actors — such as Jennifer Lawrence and St. Vincent. Rather than a question-and-answer-style interview, though, these Late Show guests will partake in a more casual conversation with their host — that is, if the show sticks with its roots.
While Uber certainly has its share of newsworthy scandals to chat about, we're interested to see what happens with ScarJo and Musk's episode. Will they tackle sexism in the tech space and sexism in Hollywood? Guess we'll have to wait a few more weeks and find out.