Stephen Colbert was 'ready to stop' working on 'The Colbert Report' even if Letterman hadn't retired

On Wednesday's episode of "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee," Stephen Colbert revealed that he had plans to end "The Colbert Report" before he even knew if he'd have a chance at David Letterman's "Late Show" hosting gig.

Talking to Jerry Seinfeld, Colbert explained how his interest in playing a faux-conservative pundit on "The Colbert Report" had waned well before the show's final month of production in December 2014.

"I was ready to stop," Colbert said. "I was going to stop whether or not [I got the CBS gig] - the Letterman thing fell in my lap."

Over the course of the 17-minute episode, Colbert and Seinfeld joked about a variety of topics (mainly Colbert's beard) and discussed the upcoming late-night landscape for the fall season.

Seinfeld, who notoriously hates late-night talk shows, jokingly noted that his show ("Comedians in Cars") makes for a much easier experience for his guests, relative to the difficult process a comedian must go through to appear on something like Colbert's "Late Show."

"To do a guest appearance on your show, it's no f---ing fun," Seinfeld said. "When I come on your show, I'm going to do a stand-up set. You know how long it's going to take me to put that together? So you cannot compare the pain in the ass of doing your show to the joy and pleasure of doing mine."

Alluding to the infamous history of heated conflicts in late-night television - between Jay Leno, Letterman and, later, Conan O'Brien - Colbert was quick to assuage any possibility of conflict with "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon.

"I think nothing would be more boring than a late-night war," Colbert said, explaining that he and Fallon are actually close friends and recently went out drinking together to discuss the upcoming late-night season.

Conflict or not, Colbert and his "Late Show" team have been making a highly visible effort to match the viral sensation of Fallon's "Tonight Show" - a social media force that played a large role in Letterman's decision to leave his CBS post. Colbert's most recent video found the new "Late Show" host parodying the panic surrounding Wednesday's NYSE shutdown.

Head over to Crackle to watch the full episode with Colbert.

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