I’ve loved David Letterman for a long time. Even though my parents were devout Leno fans, I would silently will them to flip the channel to CBS while “The Chin” was on a commercial break.

Seeing a live taping of “The Late Show” even topped my bucket list. And on Nov. 24 last year, my small fantasy came to fruition in the famously freezing Ed Sullivan Theatre as tears streamed from my eyes. So when Letterman announced his retirement on April 3, it was like he chucked one of his wooden pencils, missed the lens and pierced my heart. The man I loved to watch whimsically pair white socks with grey suits and calculatedly button and unbutton his suit jacket was vaporizing before my eyes.

When CBS announced on April 10 that Stephen Colbert would be Letterman’s replacement before his desk microphone had even gone cold, it was as if CEO Leslie Moonves had personally rubbed large chunks of sea salt in my fresh wound. If this was a joke, I was certainly feeling the sting of the punchline. I wanted to hate Colbert — and I did — until researching him made me see he is a great candidate for the show.

When I heard Colbert would drop his shtick for “The Late Show,” I was confused. Resting atop my mountain of questions was, “Will the real Colbert please stand up?”

Who was this guy who had played a character on TV since 1997? And why was CBS so keen on giving this actor Letterman’s job?

After researching Colbert, I found out he was a product of The Second City, an improvisational theatre company that has spawned talents like Steve Carrell and Tina Fey. Letterman’s interviews are unrivaled because of his ability to be so quick on his feet, even when he’s sitting. Colbert’s education and his experience conducting only partially scripted interviews on “The Colbert Report” make it plausible that he will be able to keep pace with his predecessor.

In addition, in a video uploaded on April 10 with The Second City, Colbert mentioned how eager he was to exorcise his alter-ego. “I get so jealous of Jon Stewart who gets to be keen on their subject, but I can’t,” Colbert said. “I cannot pronounce Iraq correctly with Christiane Amanpour … I have to be dumb.”

And it’s his desire to shed an old layer and aspire to do something new that makes me believe Colbert’s enthusiasm and energy will ensure his triumph.

It’s also likely Colbert will have success reaching a millennial audience that Letterman had not been able to accomplish.

Colbert seems he can keep up with the Jimmys on the internet. By the numbers, he has almost 3 million more Twitter followers than Jimmy Kimmel and his 2013 viral parody video of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” garnered hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

Though it will take some time for Colbert to fill Letterman’s shoes, I know the late-night host is leaving his show in good hands. Since starring in plays in prep school, Colbert has been training for this gig for most of his life. His desire to be great and his ability to accumulate a younger audience for CBS makes Colbert worthy of having his name on the Ed Sullivan Theatre marquee.

Erin Jensen is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism. Her column appears weekly. You can reach her at ejense01@syr.edu or on Twitter at @erinrjensen.

Published on April 17, 2014 at 1:00 am