The character first made appearances on the short-lived sketch comedy series The Dana Carvey Show in 1996, described as "a self-important, trench-coated reporter who does on-location stories in a way that suggests his own presence is the real scoop.

[14][15] The character first made appearances on the short-lived sketch comedy series The Dana Carvey Show in 1996, described as "a self-important, trench-coated reporter who does on-location stories in a way that suggests his own presence is the real scoop.

[7] Colbert anchored many sketches in his persona, including "Even Stepvhen", in which he debated current issues with fellow correspondent Steve Carell, often devolving into petty name-calling and insults.

"[23] Good jokes would still be sacrificed if they did not fit the character's specific point of view, which was deemed the inverse of what "any logical person" feels.

The opening begins and ends with an eagle as before, but features new background renderings, new shots of Stephen Colbert, and is now colored in an American, red white and blue motif.

[37] Following the opening sequence, Colbert most often proceeds with a run-through of recent headlines in a manner parodying traditional news broadcasts, similar to The Daily Show but with a faux-right-wing spin.

[41] The real-life Colbert once remarked that his personal favorite segment of the program were the interviews, which involved more listening on his end in order for the character to "ignorantly deconstruct" his opponent's argument.

"[48] The character exists not in opposition to political leaders, but to common ignorances; for example, his insistence that then-presidential candidate Barack Obama had Socialist leanings was based on public misconceptions.

[8] Despite his appearance of always being in charge, Colbert is vulnerable: he feels deeply threatened by those wielding more power than he,[18] and he suffers from "arctophobia", the fear of bears, which he refers to as "giant, marauding, godless killing machines".

"[8] He noted that his own personal opinions can occasionally align with his character's, when liberal guests' agendas appeared based on dislike rather than logical argument.

Sir Doctor Stephen Tyrone Mos Def Colbert, D.F.A., Heavyweight Champion of the World✱✱ featuring Flo Rida La Premiere Dame De France.

[51] When O'Reilly appeared on The Daily Show before the second episode of The Colbert Report aired, he commented, "Before we get started, somebody told me walking in here, you got some French guy on after you making fun of me?

[19] In the debut episode, Colbert coined the word truthiness, defined as "a quality characterizing a 'truth' that a person making an argument or assertion claims to know intuitively 'from the gut' or because it 'feels right' without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.

[62][63] According to Vanity Fair, the speech transformed Colbert as a "folk hero" for liberals, and was later described by Frank Rich as the "defining moment" of the 2006 midterm elections.

[7] Adam Sternbergh of New York, a year after the show's debut, deemed the character "something very close to what he's parodying, a kind of Bill O'Reilly for the angry left.

[7] Later that year, he began a mock feud with indie rock group the Decemberists over the subject of who was the first to challenge fans to create a green screen video; the fake conflict culminated in a guitar solo competition against Decemberists guitarist Chris Funk on the show's final episode of the year, featuring guest appearances from guitarist Peter Frampton, New York Governor-Elect Eliot Spitzer, and Dr. Henry Kissinger.

[71] During this period, he staged a mock feud between himself, Jon Stewart, and Late Night host Conan O'Brien over who made Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

[72] In 2008, Colbert made a series of jokes directed at various towns in the United States named "Canton", with many attracting negative responses from each respective area's local government and residents.

This leads to Stephen singing "We'll Meet Again" in its entirety along with a large group of famous friends including Jon Stewart, Jeff Daniels, Sam Waterston, Big Bird, Charlie Rose, Terry Gross, Keith Olbermann, Tom Brokaw, Alan Alda, Yo Yo Ma, Ken Burns, Cyndi Lauper, Patrick Stewart, Randy Newman, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Henry Kissinger, Alex Trebek, Mandy Patinkin, Lesley Stahl, George Lucas, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gloria Steinem, Elijah Wood, Jake Tapper, Bob Costas, Smaug and Cookie Monster.

[82] While positively reviewing the program as a whole, Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune echoed these sentiments: "The biggest question hanging over The Colbert Report is whether the show’s sendup of the pomposity and fear-mongering of cable news blowhards will be as appealing in the long term.

"[86] Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter dubbed it an "auspicious debut", writing, "The new show dovetails nicely with its lead-in to present a solid hour of skewered news and punctured pomposity.

"[82] The Boston Globe's Matthew Gilbert praised the show's wordplay, summarizing, "Colbert's a clever creation, and a necessary one, and he deserves an opportunity to offend as many people as possible with his pompous blather.

"[89] Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times commented that the show was a welcome addition to the Comedy Central lineup, remarking, "What puts Mr. Colbert over the top is that he is not just impersonating well known television personalities, he also uses parody to score larger points about politics and the press.

The show also drew more young men, a powerful demographic, than other late-night hosts (at that time, Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien).

[108][109] In March 2014, the show attracted controversy when Colbert used a "fatuously fake parody stereotype character, 'Ching-Chong Ding-Dong,'" to "satirize knee-jerk mockery" of Asian dialect.

[112] In 2008, East Carolina University associate professor Jason Bond named a species of trapdoor spider Aptostichus stephencolberti in honor of Stephen Colbert.

In April 2007, a Pew Research Center report cited both Colbert and The Daily Show viewers as more well-informed than those who gathered their information via newspapers, television news and radio.

[119][120] Outside the United States, The Colbert Report was shown in Canada on the cable service The Comedy Network, simultaneously with its original U.S. broadcast (beginning a few weeks after the series debuted).

On September 22, 2014, due to The Comedy Network's acquisition of Canadian rights to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the program began airing on M3 and did so for the remainder of the show's run.

[129] The soundtrack of that special also saw a digital release on the iTunes Store after its broadcast, and contains music from Feist, John Legend, Willie Nelson, Toby Keith, Jon Stewart, Elvis Costello, and Colbert himself.