Jon Stewart receives surprise executive-producer credit for first Stephen Colbert ‘Late Show’

There were a few little surprises here and there during the premiere of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday night, but to us the biggest surprise may have just come during the closing credits when one name was surprisingly revealed as executive producer: Jon Stewart.

That’s right: The former “Daily Show” host, who made a brief cameo during the opening to Colbert’s show on CBS, is fulfilling a similar role here to what he did back on “The Colbert Report.” This move certainly caught many off-guard, and it is fair to wonder just if there is anything that we are meant to take away from it. Our simple answer for the time being is “not too much,” since it probably does not mean Jon is popping in with weekly appearances or anything.

Maybe Colbert and Stewart have such a collaborative process that Stephen wants to continue to have Jon around in some capacity; or, maybe this is a part of some deal that was negotiated a long time ago. There are many reasons that you could come up with for this, but it is even more fair now to say that Stewart is not hurting when it comes to raking in money following his time in late-night.

It will not be until tomorrow when we see the ratings for the new “Late Show,” but for the most part reaction has been positive and many seem relatively thrilled to have him back on TV again. Now, the test remains whether or not he can succeed in capturing the mainstream.

If you missed it, our review for the show’s premiere is up over at the link here right away. Also, you can sign up here in the event you want some other TV news on almost everything we cover, sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)