Ken Marino and a surprise guest truly set the bar for anyone trying to leave an impression on Stephen Colbert’s show.

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
Sometimes, late night shows can be an arms race. Shows compete for the biggest stars, try to put on the biggest spectacle, outmaneuver each other on monologue jokes about the day’s headlines. But then something happens in the dead of night on an otherwise-unassuming Thursday that gives you hope for the future. And it comes in the form of Ken Marino sprinting across a stage.
The comedy triple threat was on Thursday’s edition of the “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to promote his recent role on the very funny Comedy Central show “The Other Two.” Without giving away too much of the details, let’s just say that there didn’t end up being that much time for the standard questions.