Colbert + Dolan =?

As Comedy Central’s Colbert Report returned from its end-of-summer hiatus last night, the revered satirical news-show blasted out of the gate with one of its most intensely desired bookings… and it didn’t exactly take a set dweller to know that the sight of Tim Dolan at Stephen Colbert’s interview table has been a long time coming.

Make that a very long time – the idea was pitched and has been percolating around 452 Madison for the better part of three years. Even with a standing invite to appear, though, the cardinal-archbishop of New York – no stranger to raucous humor, by any stretch – reportedly took a bit of convincing that a sit-down with the famously devout comic wouldn’t descend into a “shtick” unbecoming of his office. While a key icebreaker came at a Fordham conversation the duo headlined on laughter in the spiritual life, it’d take another year before the mix of a burgeoning friendship and Colbert’s ability to draw the crucial 18-49 demographic coveted by TV advertisers – and, well, much of the Stateside church, to boot – finally got Dolan on-set. (Taken in Colbert’s green room, the shot above was tweeted out by the cardinal before the show aired with the message “Here are words I never thought I’d say: watch me on Comedy Central tonight.”)

Read the full article at At Long Last, The Dolan Report

The piece concludes with the news that Colbert will be the principal speaker at this year’s Al Smith Dinner, slated for October 17th, a Thursday as always.

View clips from the show

Cardinal Dolan discusses his e-book, “Praying in Rome: Reflections on the Conclave and Electing Pope Francis

Cardinal Dolan talks about Pope Francis’ views on homosexuality and elaborate clothing