The Colbert Report
Nell Irvin Painter
TV Flash files “Nell Irvin Painter” as hour 691 of 1447 in the TV Flash guide — The Colbert Report (2005–2014) on Comedy Central, season 2010, episode 39, aired 2010-03-17, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S2010E39: listed hour 691 of 1447 in the The Colbert Report guide, hour 39 of 161 in season 2010. It aired 2010-03-17 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Rebecca Skloot” (S2010E38). Next is “Mary Matalin” (S2010E40). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.

Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Nell Irvin Painter debates the meaning of white people and arm-wrestles Stephen over the Scots-Irish.
Viewer FAQ
Where does Nell Irvin Painter sit in the The Colbert Report guide?
S2010E39 is listed hour 691 of 1447 — hour 39 of 161 in season 2010, season 2010 episode 39.
When did The Colbert Report S2010E39 air?
Nell Irvin Painter aired 2010-03-17 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Do I need Stewart's Daily Show first?
Helpful context: it spun off in 2005. The Report is its own character-host satire — Colbert playing a pundit until the mask made news.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Stephen Colbert plays a billowing cable pundit until the mask starts making real news. The Colbert Report coined truthiness, ran Super PAC stunts as performance art, and spun off from Stewart into Emmy-winning character satire that took the bluster more seriously than the bluster did.
Comedy Central spun a correspondent into a full-time pundit mask in 2005 and watched the character leak into real campaigns. The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert with Ben Karlin and Jon Stewart among the architects, ran through 2014 and ended when Colbert moved to network late night. Right-wing blowhard as performance art. Truthiness as Merriam-Webster's Word of the Year 2006 — **a dictionary metric, not a vibe.** Super PAC stunts as performance art. The mask making actual news. Ten seasons, 1,447 episodes.…
Filed against
- Stephen Colbert as Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert farmed correspondent heat on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — fake newscast as civic classroom, Crossfire-takedown legend — then played a billowing cable pundit on The Colbert Report until the mask made real news.…