lawsuit filed against Bill O'Reilly. Colbert met with network president Doug Herzog the day following the 2004 Emmy Awards to first discuss the concept. The one-line pitch Colbert, Karlin and Stewart developed was "Our version of the O'Reilly Factor with Stephen Colbert." Herzog committed to an eight-week tryout period without a pilot.

By the time of the 2004 election, the character was fully developed. In creating the character, which is designed