Neil Patrick Harris Says He Declined To Take Over ‘Late Show’ At CBS

Neil Patrick Harris has a long history of success at the CBS network, from his starring role on “How I Met Your Mother” to his multiple Emmy wins for hosting the Tony Awards. So it should come as no surprise that CBS was interested in the multitalented actor to replace David Letterman on “The Late Show.”

Harris confirmed the news on Wednesday’s Howard Stern show that, before CBS hired Stephen Colbert for the “Late Show” post, network chief Leslie Moonves and entertainment head Nina Tassler pitched him the idea of taking over for either Letterman in the 11:30 slot or for outgoing Craig Ferguson at 12:30.

“They called me in and sat me down and asked if that would be something that I’d be interested (in),”’ he told Stern, revealing that the duo even served him “fantastic” sushi at Moonves’ New York office.
“I felt like I knew what my skill sets were, and I kind of knew what it is that I wanted to do after the show with (Moonves), so I was surprised he pitched me that idea,” Harris adds.

Harris ultimately declined the opportunity because he didn’t have much of an interest in hosting a nightly show for a long time.

“I think I would get bored of the repetition fast,” Harris admitted.

But Harris isn’t ruling out the possibility of a weekly show at CBS. In fact, he pitched the executives the idea of hosting a variety program in the vein of “SNL.”