US TV Host Stephen Colbert Revisits 2019 NZ Trip

Stephen Colbert, host of US television’s The Late Show, has shared footage from his 2019 travels to New Zealand on a recent episode, including a Lord of the Rings-themed adventure and bungee jumping off a bridge in Queenstown, Trilby Beresford writes for The Hollywood Reporter.

Colbert revisited – through his memory and some footage – his 2019 trip on an episode of show, exploring how the country has handled the coronavirus pandemic with such expertise, Beresford writes.

“We are now in month nine of the coronavirus pandemic in America,” Colbert declared at the top of the episode, which is what got him thinking about his trip last year to New Zealand, a place he referred to as  the “magical land where hugs still happen”.

He listed several key factors to the country’s success, including the “decisive government” – in which credit goes to Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, whose strategy, Colbert says, relies on “science” and “empathy” – and the “effective communication” of the citizens.

Original article by Trilby Beresford, The Hollywood Reporter, December 11, 2020.