Andy Richter will return to his sidekick roots for Stephen Colbert—well, “Scotty Bristol”—for one night only.
Richter has booked a role in the upcoming season premiere of CBS procedural dramedy Elsbeth, Deadline reports, placing him alongside the fictional late-night host set to be played by Stephen Colbert.
The Conan alum will play Mickey Muntz, the “hilarious but long-suffering sidekick” of Way Late with Scotty Bristol. As Vulture’s Josef Adalian revealed last week, Colbert has been cast as Bristol—though the specifics of his role (and role in the episode’s inevitable murder mystery) remain a question mark.
Richter’s casting marks a return to the sidekick role for the comedian, who played Conan O’Brien’s right-hand man for much of O’Brien’s late-night run, until O’Brien left the airwaves in 2021.
Richter was one of the stars who publicly sounded off after CBS cancelled The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last month. “Stephen Colbert is a profoundly good and deeply talented man with a great staff and an excellent show. They all deserve better,” he wrote on BlueSky.
The Elsbeth episode will also be a Strangers with Candy reunion for Colbert. In addition to Richter, who made several cameo appearances on the 1999 Comedy Central sitcom, Colbert’s former co-star Amy Sedaris will play Laurel Hammond-Muntz, the wife of Richter’s character, and the head writer and exectuive producer of Way Late with Scotty Bristol.
Colbert’s role on Elsbeth, which was first reported last week, is either fitting or ironic given the impending end of his time as a real-life late-night host on CBS. Elsebeth also calls the Tiffany Network network home. Colbert’s casting came about after the host lobbied for a role during an interview with Elsbeth actor Wendell Pierce on The Late Show earlier this year. “I’ve told CBS I want to be on that show,” Colbert said. Pierce playfully responded, “I can make that happen.”
