In 2005, The Daily Show had won Primetime Emmy Awards, and Comedy Central wanted to expand the franchise.
Jon Stewart and Ben Karlin (The Daily Show's executive producer) supposedly came up with the idea for The Colbert Report after watching coverage of the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against Bill O'Reilly.
Colbert, Stewart, and Karlin pitched the idea of the show (reportedly with one phrase: "our version of The O'Reilly Factor with Stephen Colbert") to Comedy Central chief Doug Herzog, who agreed to run the show for eight weeks without creating a pilot.
On November 2, 2005, based on the strong ratings for the show's first two weeks, Comedy Central and Colbert announced they had signed for an additional year, until the end of 2006.
Tip of the Hat: Chevrolet's new Silverado ad, George Clooney Wag of the finger: Bill Cosby and his slave museum, Food Labels