Stephen Presents: Ocean Vuong (Extended)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert
Episode: Stephen Presents: Ocean Vuong (Extended)
Release Date: August 15, 2025

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Introduction

In this extended episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert, host Stephen Colbert welcomes acclaimed author Ocean Vuong for an in-depth conversation about his latest novel, The Emperor of Gladness. The episode delves into Vuong's exploration of profound themes such as suicide, hope, and the human condition, offering listeners a rich and engaging discussion that highlights Vuong's literary prowess and personal insights.

Segment 1: Game Session – Late Show Vocab ([05:06] - [11:46])

Before diving into the main interview, Stephen and co-host Becca engage in a playful segment called "Late Show Vocab." This game involves deciphering unique phrases that have become part of the show's internal lexicon over the years.

• "Brapping on the poof" ([05:30] - [06:58]): Stephen explains that this phrase marks the end of a cold open joke routine, originating from the unique sounds made by the show's drummer, Joe Saylor. Becca humorously notes that despite hearing the phrase daily for six years, this was the first time she understood its meaning.

• "Dollar sign" ([07:09] - [08:16]): Represents placeholders in scripts where a better joke is needed. Stephen likens humor to money, stating, "Funny is money" ([08:08]).

• "Sack, sack, sack, sack, sack" ([08:19] - [11:46]): A tradition for the last show of the week, where a sack is used to draw a "loser" and a "winner," involving playful tension and the chance to win $100. This ritual fosters camaraderie among the staff, culminating in shared celebrations.

This segment not only showcases the behind-the-scenes camaraderie but also adds a layer of humor and relatability for listeners familiar with the show's culture.

Segment 2: Main Interview – Ocean Vuong ([11:56] - [20:08])

Introduction of Ocean Vuong ([11:56] - [12:20])

Stephen introduces Ocean Vuong as a New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award nominee, and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient. Vuong's novel, The Emperor of Gladness, is highlighted as an instant bestseller and a selection for Oprah's Book Club.

Discussion on The Emperor of Gladness ([12:34] - [17:39])

• Synopsis and Themes ([12:34] - [15:39]): Vuong describes his novel, which begins with a young man contemplating suicide on a bridge, only to be saved by an elderly woman with dementia. They spend a year living together, exploring themes of hope and the struggle to choose life despite overwhelming despair. Vuong poignantly states, "Suicide is still an act of hope. One does it with the hope of ending tremendous suffering. I would go on to say it's a hopelessly hopeful act" ([12:54]).

• Kindness Without Hope ([14:10] - [16:58]): The conversation delves into the concept of "kindness without hope," where individuals in fast-food jobs exhibit generous kindness despite feeling trapped in their circumstances. Vuong reflects on his own experiences working at Boston Market, highlighting the pervasive sense of aspiration among workers: "In every fast food restaurant you see, it's full of people with dreams. Despite not being able to execute them, they still hold onto them and they strive towards it" ([15:26]).

• The Role of Hope and Language ([15:48] - [17:26]): Vuong emphasizes that hope acts as a "North Star," guiding individuals forward. He discusses the importance of language in fostering hope, stating, "Hope is still the greatest engine, and it begins with language. It's not empty" ([16:05]). The discussion also touches on the courage required to maintain hope in the face of cynicism, with Vuong asserting, "Hope is often the most courageous thing because it means you're all in" ([16:49]).

• Cultural Impact and Oprah's Book Club ([17:39] - [20:08]): Vuong shares a heartfelt story about the significance of Oprah's Book Club in his mother's life. Despite her illiteracy, Oprah's show introduced her to literature, bridging cultural gaps and making literature accessible to working-class individuals. Vuong remarks, "What was so beautiful is that my mother... saw a book for the first time... [it] brought the idea of culture and widen it into a town square" ([19:00]).

Notable Quotes:

• Stephen Colbert: "Suicide is still an act of hope. [...] It's a hopelessly hopeful act." ([12:54])

• Ocean Vuong: "Hope is always the North Star. And as long as you have that beacon, you move towards it." ([15:48])

• Ocean Vuong: "Hope is still the greatest engine, and it begins with language. It's not empty." ([16:05])

• Ocean Vuong: "What was so beautiful is that my mother... saw a book for the first time... [it] brought the idea of culture and widen it into a town square." ([19:00])

Segment 3: Conclusion ([20:08] - [21:51])

Stephen wraps up the interview by thanking Ocean Vuong for his insightful contributions and highlights the availability of The Emperor of Gladness. The episode concludes with a brief segue into promotional segments, which are omitted from this summary per the user's request.

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Key Takeaways

• Exploration of Complex Themes: Ocean Vuong's The Emperor of Gladness serves as a vehicle to explore deep and often difficult subjects such as suicide, hope, and the resilience of the human spirit.

• Hope as a Central Motif: The discussion underscores the pivotal role of hope in human existence, especially in marginalized communities, and how language and storytelling can sustain and amplify this hope.

• Cultural Accessibility: Vuong emphasizes the importance of making literature and cultural discourse accessible to all, highlighting the transformative impact of platforms like Oprah's Book Club on working-class individuals.

• Behind-the-Scenes Insight: The "Late Show Vocab" segment offers a glimpse into the show's creative processes and traditions, adding depth to the listener's understanding of the show's dynamic environment.

Conclusion

This episode of The Late Show Pod Show with Stephen Colbert provides a profound and intimate look into Ocean Vuong's literary world and personal philosophies. Through thoughtful dialogue and meaningful insights, listeners are invited to reflect on the power of hope, the significance of cultural accessibility, and the enduring impact of storytelling. Whether you're a fan of Vuong's work or new to his writings, this episode offers valuable perspectives that resonate long after the conversation ends.

Transcript

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, everybody. Stephen Colbert here about to read the copy for our sponsor. This is from our friends at Wonderful Pistachios. And I was the wonderful pistachio spokesman for years. Yeah, I have a real close association with nut meat. Okay. You know what they say when they reach for a snack? Don't hold back. And that's exactly the approach with Wonderful Pistachios. The don't hold back snack. These little wonders are so tasty, it feels like getting away with something. But surprise. Each serving has 6 grams of protein and 0 grams of regret. That's right. No guilt. Just glory, glory in our nuts. Whether it's a satisfying crack of in shell pistachios, and that's capitalized in shell, or the smooth, instant gratification of no shells. No judgment. That's just it. Just eat. No judgment. I take issue with one thing. It's instant gratification. It's super tasty smooth.

[Becca]

It's a hard nut smooth.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. I mean, even out of the shell, it's still a nut.

[Becca]

We can't disparage the nuts.

[Ocean Vuong]

You.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not disparaging the nut. I'm describing the nut.

[Becca]

Don't disparage any flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

I'm not. I am celebrating the pistachio right now. I'm on board. I love pistachios. I love. I love crushed pistachio. Like a pistachio crusted trout. Oh, unbelievable. Instead of a trout amandine, a trout pistachio. Fantastic. Enough butter? Who cares?

[Becca]

Very good.

[Stephen Colbert]

And I love pistachio ice cream.

[Becca]

Have you had the sea salt and vinegar? Wonderful pistachio. It's delicious. I get em.

[Stephen Colbert]

I didn't even know I get them.

[Becca]

Before the softball games.

[Stephen Colbert]

But that's. You see, it's been a while since I've been the spokesman for wonderful pistachios. I didn't realize we'd achieved new pistachio technology.

[Becca]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. Wonderful pistachios has every snack style covered. Right now. There's an obsession with jalapeno lime. There is an obsession session. It's almost a disorder. It's spicy, it's zesty. It's basically a flavor roller coaster in a nut. Snacking on the go. Grab a bag of no shells. Feeling contemplative and want to work for it a little. So earning it, they're saying if you want to earn your nut, crack open those in shell beauties. Either way, it's snacking like a champ. So the next time hunger strikes, don't hold back. Unless it's a hunger strike. And Then it's important that you do, because whatever you're doing that for, I'm sure it's a worthwhile cause. Snack like you mean it with wonderful pistachios. Visit wonderfulpistachios.com to learn more.

[Becca]

That was a wonderful.

[Stephen Colbert]

I wonder what more there is to learn. We just told them so much. We just told them so much about pistachios, but evidently, there's a whole other world. There's an unexplored vista.

[Becca]

They got a bunch of flavors. They got dill pickle, jalapeno lime, as we learned, smoky barbecue. There's a lot of different flavors.

[Stephen Colbert]

Wow. And I would not disparage any of them.

[Becca]

No, no, no.

[Stephen Colbert]

Bring it on.

[Becca]

Nothing bad to say.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nut me, nut. Nut me with nut meat.

[Becca]

We're nut.

[Stephen Colbert]

No, we got nothing but nut. Nutty, nutty, nutty, nutty. Talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about, talk about nutty good big moments or small moments.

[Becca]

They all deserve great style.

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[Becca]

Hi there, Stephen.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hi, Becca.

[Becca]

This is the Late Show POD Show. This is Stephen Colbert.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is Becca.

[Becca]

Yes. And we're here to introduce some wonderful podcasts for the break while the late show is off on vacation.

[Stephen Colbert]

Great. Is this a guest that we're getting tonight or a comedy bit?

[Becca]

This is a guest.

[Stephen Colbert]

This is a guest. Can I guess who this guest is? Please give me a hint.

[Becca]

This is really cool. I don't know if you would call this person a celebrity. This is not a celebrity. This is an artist who you had a lovely conversation with.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ocean Vuong.

[Becca]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Ocean Vuong. Yeah, sure. The Emperor of Gladness.

[Becca]

Yeah. Really cool. Really cool interview. We're doing the extended on here.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, good.

[Becca]

And since this is a wordsmith, do you have anything you want to say about Ocean Vuong? Because you had a lovely thing, a taping after you guys wrapped your interview, just about how nice it is to have, you know, an author on, Right?

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, I mean, I just. I mean, I. You know, the people who are listening to this probably know that the show is going off the air in May, and there's lots of things that I regret about the show going off the air in May. But one of the things is that I just love that we have on people like Ocean Vuong. And I know that Seth already had on Ocean Vong. I know I got Ocean scooped, okay. By Seth here. But, you know, just Another show going off the air that would have on Ocean Vuong in a comedy context, like we're a late show comedy show. It's one of the things I like most about our show is that the different. All the different kinds of guests who fit it.

[Becca]

Yeah, definitely. But this is a beautiful interview with Ocean Vuong. Please enjoy. But before we get to that, I have a game I want to play.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, gosh.

[Becca]

This is a new game we've never played before. I call it Late Show Vocab. Since we have a wordsmith on the podcast tonight, an artist of words and poems and novels. I have a list of words that the staff has submitted to me that are words that we believe originated at the Late show or possibly the Qubert Report, that are said with frequency at work, and we want you to explain what they mean.

[Stephen Colbert]

Okay. Wow. Okay, I'm very curious.

[Becca]

Here comes the first one. Brapping on the poof.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, brapping on the poof is because that's what we call the end of any of the cold opens to the show, is that when you get to the final joke, you go, okay, now we're brapping on the poof because Joe Sailor, our drummer, jazz cowboy. Jazz cowboy goes brap. That's how he starts the song every time. Originally, when Jon Batiste wrote that song, which is called Humanism, when he wrote that song, it didn't have the brap. It had been in the brap in the sample that he gave me, and that might have been like a holdover, you know, like from a other thing they were taping or something. But I said, where's that brap? He goes, oh, that's not. I said, could you do that? Cause that's a great way to start the show is that brap on that? And then I think one of the early times that we're doing a cold open, I think it might have. I might have been in the cold open. And then it ended with a smoke bomb or something like that, like a poof. And I disappeared in the cold open back when I used to do them with Liz Levin, and she was trying to get a meeting with me. Every cold open.

[Becca]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And so I said, yeah, that's the out. It just ends right there, like when the smoke bomb goes poof. Like there. We're brapping on the poof right there. And so I think it was brap it on the poof originally. And so on the back wall in our rewrite room, we've got all these sort of things that have been said at the show. Over the last 10 years. And one of the first ones just says, brap it on the poof with an exclamation mark. So we always call it brap it on the poof.

[Becca]

Yeah. And I just want to say, I've worked here for six years now. That phrase is said every single day. This is the first time I've learned what it means. Wrap it on the poof. Okay, next one. Dollar sign.

[Stephen Colbert]

Dollar sign means we drop a dollar sign into any script where we think we need a better joke in this spot. And it's dollar sign A because you don't generally put another dollar sign. We don't use dollar signs that much when we're writing jokes. And so all you have to do is search for dollar sign and you can find it in the script.

[Becca]

Okay. So it's just a symbol that was.

[Stephen Colbert]

Supposed to put in there. So let's dollar sign that or tk and the TK stands for joke. The TK is to come. And why is it a joke to come? I don't know. It's like, why is. I don't think we came up with that. I think it's like something to come here. I think it has to do with, like, early filmmakers that were German. The same reason why in a script it'll say mos means without sound because it's mid out sound.

[Becca]

Oh, interesting.

[Stephen Colbert]

It's mit.

[Becca]

I thought it might be because TC could be time code. And so maybe they just needed another letter there.

[Stephen Colbert]

Hey, maybe that. Maybe that's why. Yeah, if anyone knows, Colin loves and also dollar signs. Because funny is money.

[Becca]

Oh, that's good.

[Stephen Colbert]

That's what in my mind it's always been. Cause funny is money.

[Becca]

Because funny is money.

[Stephen Colbert]

Exactly. You know, silence is violence. Yeah. But funny is money.

[Becca]

Okay, next one. Sack, sack, sack, sack, sack.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, on the last show of the week, which is now Thursdays last show of the week. We have. We've been doing this for a long time, since the old show. I mean, 20 years maybe. We've been doing this. Is that on Thursdays. We have. There's a sack on my desk. We even took the sack from the old show to the new show. We had to replace it because it had been torn apart. It just got worn out. Well, everybody goes around the building. An intern goes around the building and gets a dollar from everybody. And probably just. Probably the feds are gonna come down on us for saying this. And you write your name on the dollar and you put it in there. And then I pull out who the winning dollar Is. And I start it. I always say it has to happen the same way every time. Because I'm a creature. Cause I'm neurotic. I have to say, sack, sack, sack, sack, sack. And that means it's sack time, and everybody should pay attention. And they pay attention, like, maybe more than they do in rehearsals, because they don't know if they're gonna win the sack. So, sack, sack, sack, sack, sack. And then whoever's running sound goes, brr. They roll a tape of a drum roll. And then the first thing I say is, tonight's loser is. Because I used to say, tonight's winner, but then it would be over. And I love the tension. I love the sack. And so I said, how do we stretch this out? So now I pull out $2, and the first dollar is tonight's loser is. That means if we did it the normal way, this person would have won. But we don't do it the normal way. We pull out $2, and the second one is the winner. And so it's just. People feel bad, I guess.

[Becca]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And so then the loser. And then while I say, and the loser is. Mark McKenna, our stage manager, always goes, I hate this part. He has to say that every time.

[Becca]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

And then. And then I pull out whoever it is. And then I go, and tonight's winner is. And there's a drum roll again. And then I ask people in the audience, I say, I will cheat for you.

[Becca]

Yes.

[Stephen Colbert]

Tell me, describe your dollar. How you. Is it just loose? Is it in a tube? Is it folded? Is it a star shape? Is it a paper football? What is it?

[Becca]

People get creative with the folds.

[Stephen Colbert]

Like, at one point, I had to make loops Illegal.

[Becca]

Oh, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Because it would slip right onto my finger. Cause I would just. I would rub my hand and the loops would flip on my fingers.

[Ocean Vuong]

No loops.

[Stephen Colbert]

No loops. I don't go if I feel a loop. I told. No loops, no loops. So. And then I try to cheat. Like, if you say it's a triangle, and you're the first person that really gave me a good answer, because people are yelling out their shapes. And then I try to cheat every time. And I think in 20 years, I think the cheating has worked twice.

[Becca]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Have you ever wondered?

[Becca]

I have one. Well, I'm going to say that it is sort of like playing reverse crane, like in an arcade, where you try to create an object that you. The crane, you, Stephen Colbert, the physical crane, get caught on.

[Stephen Colbert]

Oh, sure.

[Becca]

Yeah, That's. Or that feels like. Feels like a nice thing to grab and take out of a hat.

[Stephen Colbert]

So that's sex. Sex, sex, sex, sex.

[Becca]

That's. I've won. It's a wonderful. It's so exciting when you win. It's so exciting. We all like each other, so it's exciting when anyone wins.

[Stephen Colbert]

And the rule is there has to be $100 in the bag.

[Becca]

Yeah, no, it's.

[Stephen Colbert]

Or I won't pull anything out.

[Becca]

It's a healthy sum for sure.

[Stephen Colbert]

And if there isn't 100, me and Tom and Lewis.

[Becca]

Yeah.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, and maybe whoever is sitting next to Tom for the rewrite for the rehearsal, we throw in some cash to get it over 100.

[Becca]

Yes. Very generous bucks being thrown in. But it's a lovely thing. And the staff always like, treats themselves to nice dinners with each other, you know, outside of the work hours. It's a lovely tradition.

[Stephen Colbert]

Anything else?

[Becca]

I got more, but I think let's hold off for more next week.

[Stephen Colbert]

Great. Let's do more. This is fun. Let's do more.

[Becca]

This is fun. And we're gonna listen to Ocean Vuong on the Late show right now. Please enjoy.

[Stephen Colbert]

Welcome back, everybody. Folks. My next guest tonight is a New York Times bestselling author who has been nominated for the National Book Award and won the MacArthur genius grant. His new novel is the Emperor of Gladness. Please welcome to the Late Show, Ocean Vuong.

[Ocean Vuong]

Hi.

[Stephen Colbert]

Nice to meet you.

[Ocean Vuong]

Hi, good to meet you.

[Stephen Colbert]

Thanks for being here.

[Ocean Vuong]

Thank you so much. It's an honor.

[Stephen Colbert]

In May, you released your highly anticipated second novel, the Emperor of Gladness. It was an instant New York Times bestseller and it was selected for Oprah's Book Club. For those who haven't read it yet, what is it about?

[Ocean Vuong]

Well, it starts with a young man who's standing on the edge of a bridge contemplating jumping, and he's stopped by an 82 year old woman with dementia and they end up living together in the course of a year. And I think suicide is a very deeply personal subject for me. I lost my uncle when he was just 28 years old. I was 24. He was like a brother to me. And I think at the core of it, suicide is still an act of hope. One does it with the hope of ending tremendous suffering. I would go on to say it's a hopelessly hopeful act. And what was really interesting to me was what happens for someone who chooses to step away from the ledge right back into a corner. How do you choose life without the tools for living? And it was a question I never got to ask my uncle and I think fiction at its core gives us a technology to ask questions we never get to ask in life or is too costly or the chances are fleeting. And I thought usually stepping away from the bridge happens at the end of a book. Everyone's relieved and it's cathartic. But what a wonderfully tense and capacious way to start a book. To ask, what does day two look like for someone who chooses to live, God willing, despite not having the ability to do so? What does day 20 look like? I thought I wanted to ask the question I never got to ask the loved one I lost. And fiction is a wonderful way to do it.

[Stephen Colbert]

You speak in here of. You've spoken of the idea of kindness without hope. What does that mean?

[Ocean Vuong]

Well, the character goes on to work in a fast food restaurant. And I think many Americans have experienced this, myself included. I worked at a place called Boston Market. And the elephant in the room in a place like that, I think is you're not supposed to ask, where do you go after this? You know, if you go to nursing school, if you go to medical school, there's a kind of even H Vac. There's a kind of ascendancy that there's an after place. But when you work in fast food, working minimum wage, the idea that you're actually trapped is incredibly palpable for everybody involved. And I think what you notice then is that everyone is so generous with a kind of kindness because they know that there is nothing else beyond it, but they are deeply invested in their own dreams. And I think what I learned working in fast food and most of my life as an American is that I'm not interested so much in the American dream as we know it, so much as Americans who dream. And in every fast food restaurant you see, it's full of people with dreams. Despite not being able to execute them, they still hold onto them and they strive towards it. And I wanted to amplify that using what I knew best, which is language.

[Stephen Colbert]

Do you think that the dream itself, the dreams that they have of something else, constitutes a form of hope, even if it's not a conscious hope?

[Ocean Vuong]

100%. I think hope is a beautiful thing because it's kind of always the North Star. And as long as you have that beacon, you move towards, and I do this with my students, the greatest thing you can do as a teacher is to push the horizon back even further, because even if your students don't reach their goals, they still exceed the limits of where they started from the get go. And I think this is True. With any vocation, whether it's in a fast food restaurant or writing or entertainment or what have you, hope is still the greatest engine, and it begins with language. It's not empty. And the classroom, to me, is the most hopeful place even before a single person steps into it, a teacher or students. The condition of the classroom is aspirational. It's a laboratory of possibility and wonder. And the teacher's only job is to preserve that so that it does not get demolished by cynicism. I think often cynicism can be misread as intelligence in our culture. And hope is often the most courageous thing because it means you're all in. You know, you've gone all into it.

[Stephen Colbert]

Cynicism masquerades as wisdom.

[Ocean Vuong]

Yeah.

[Becca]

Yeah.

[Ocean Vuong]

Thank you 100%. And I think it takes a lot of courage to say, I believe in this, and I'm gonna go forward even if you judge me, even if you say this is silly or foolish. Some of the worst things, you know, to be in our culture is a fool. But I think everything worth doing risks being foolish.

[Stephen Colbert]

Do you know, EE Cummings, Holy to be a fool while spring is in the world. My blood approves 100%, you know, and kisses are a better faith than wisdom.

[Ocean Vuong]

You know, we share a birthday, October 14th, my fellow Libra. Oh, really, E. Cummings.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, listen, speaking of hopeful things happening, here you are. You were chosen for Oprah's Book club. And I'm just curious. That's a great way for more people to see the art that you do. I mean, growing up, was Oprah a big thing in your house?

[Ocean Vuong]

Oh, my gosh. It was a big thing in my mom's nail salon because we were there every day and I had the best English. So I ran the phones, and, you know, I was so honored to get that call. Anytime I get an important call, I stand in front of my mother's altar, and my publisher tricked me. They said, we're going to have a publicity meeting. And I said, oh, gosh, I'm going to get in trouble. So I stood in front of my mother's altar. I said, ma, help me out here. And then they said, actually, we're having some trouble with the line. We're going to call you with an unknown number. Just pick it up. And then I heard the voice, and I knew that voice. I heard it every day at 4pm with my mother. And I think, what was so beautiful is that my mother. You know, she was illiterate her whole life. She doesn't know what the New Yorker is she never saw what a literary prize is. But the only time she saw a book for the first time was in Oprah's show. And I think what was so beautiful about that show and even your show, talk shows in general, is that you bring culture to working people. Because a book, even if you get it free at the library, it still takes eight, 10 hours to read. And people like my mother worked 8 o' clock in the morning to 8 at night. If a customer walks in at 7:55, she has to take them and that's another hour. She won't be home till 9. And to bring cultural work to the center of people and say, you have permission to access this discourse. And I watched the women in the nail salon look at that show with the books and say, oh, it's about divorce, it's about doubt, it's about migration, it's about trying their best to have kindness as a human being, which is an incredibly hard thing to do. I know that I don't need to go to school and have a degree to know that I've lived that. And I think what was so beautiful for me was that it brought the idea of culture and widen it into a town square. That town square happened to be in the middle of a nail salon in Hartford County. What luck.

[Stephen Colbert]

Well, Ocean, thank you so much for being here. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing your story. The Emperor of Gladness is available now. Ocean Huang everybody. Thank you for listening to the Late Show POD show with Stephen Colbert. Just one more thing. If you want to see more of me, come to The Late Show YouTube channel. More clips and exclusives.

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[Stephen Colbert]

4Th on Paramount plus someone is trying to frame us until our names are clear.

[Ocean Vuong]

We're fugitives from Interval like Bonnie and.

[Stephen Colbert]

Clyde with better snacks. Espionage? You still as good a shot as.

[Ocean Vuong]

You used to be? Better.

[Stephen Colbert]

Is there love? Language? We like to walk that fine line between techno thriller and romantic comedy. We make up our own rules. NCIS Tony and Ziva streaming September 4th on Paramount Plus.