David Letterman to retire in 2015

MacNut · Apr 10, 2014

ucfgrad93 said:
Not me. Can't stand Jon.

I agree, Stewart can't ad-lib to save his life.

I kinda wish they would have gone in a new direction and taken somebody who didn't have a show already.

rdowns · Apr 11, 2014

citizenzen said:
I agree with that choice.

I was not happy to hear Stewart got passed over in favor of Colbert.

Colbert is funny. But I wonder if he's going to drop the character and just be himself which I'd frankly find refreshing.

But I wish it were Jon.

I don't think Stewart wanted the gig. He's done TDS for 15 years now and recently directed his first film. I think that's what he wants to do after TDS.

MacNut · Dec 10, 2014

May 20, 2015 will be Dave's last show.

The veteran's run will end on May 20

David Letterman will end his run as host of The Late Show on Wednesday, May 20, CBS announced Wednesday. Letterman has hosted the CBS show for 22 years, and his 32 years total at the job make him the longest-tenured late night talk show host on TV.

“David Letterman has given to all of us a remarkable legacy of achievement and creative brilliance that will never be forgotten,” CBS Corp President and CEO Leslie Moonves said in today’s announcement. “It’s going to be tough to say goodbye, but I know we will all cherish the shows leading up to Dave’s final broadcast in May.”

Letterman’s announcement about his retirement on April 3 came as a surprise to both audiences and the network. Stephen Colbert, who hosts the popular Comedy Central show The Colbert Report, is set to replace Letterman. Colbert hosted the soon-to-be host of the Late Late Show, James Cordon, on The Colbert Report Tuesday night and President Obama on Monday. No word yet on when Colbert’s first Late Show will be.

http://time.com/3628265/david-letterman-announces-final-late-show-date/

racheltech · Dec 11, 2014

I don't watch his show, but those'll be some large shoes to fill

Peace · Dec 11, 2014

racheltech said:
I don't watch his show, but those'll be some large shoes to fill

Makes me wonder what Colbert's going to do between December and May.

rdowns · Dec 11, 2014

Peace said:
Makes me wonder what Colbert's going to do between December and May.

Presumably working with his team on creating his new CBS show.

MacNut · Dec 11, 2014

Peace said:
Makes me wonder what Colbert's going to do between December and May.

Colbert won't start until September, They have to turn around the Ed Sullivan Theatre first.

orestes1984 · Dec 12, 2014

It's the end of an era, I've always liked Letterman, I never got into the hucksters of thick American "comedy" that are Conan O'Brien on Jay Lenno. Letterman was always more sophisticated than that.

Peace · Dec 12, 2014

MacNut said:
Colbert won't start until September, They have to turn around the Ed Sullivan Theatre first.

According to CNN they speculate Colbert will take over during sweeps week May or June.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/10/media/david-letterman-last-show/

"CBS did not announce a start date for Colbert on Wednesday, but May 20 is close to the end of the May "sweeps" month for television ratings, and the Memorial Day holiday follows soon thereafter on May 25. A start date at the end of May or beginning of June seems likely."

MacNut · Dec 12, 2014

Peace said:
According to CNN they speculate Colbert will take over during sweeps week May or June.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/10/media/david-letterman-last-show/

"CBS did not announce a start date for Colbert on Wednesday, but May 20 is close to the end of the May "sweeps" month for television ratings, and the Memorial Day holiday follows soon thereafter on May 25. A start date at the end of May or beginning of June seems likely."

Sweeps ends May 20, that is the last day of the TV season. This is why they think they are ending Dave on a Wednesday.

They are also going to do work on the theatre, so if Colbert does start it won't be at the Ed Sullivan.

kazmac · Dec 15, 2014

Dave has been fun. Lately when I've walked past the Ed Sullivan theatre and have been staring at the marquee. I never sat in on a taping, but this might change when that new guy comes in.

Anyway, Dave has been a late night institution and it will be very strange not seeing him on tv.

@Macnut, thanks for the info about Dave etc.

MacNut · Jan 12, 2015

Colbert to take over September 8.

CBS announced Monday that the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will premiere Tuesday, Sept. 8. “I have nine months to make a show, just like a baby,” Colbert said. “So first, I should find out how you make a baby.”
As for what format the new Late Show will take, CBS boss Nina Tassler said at the Television Critics Association’s winter TV previews that Colbert’s team has only just begun to work things out. “They’ve actually just moved into their offices,” she said. “They’ve just started working. He will have music on the show. He said, ‘I have to be entertaining as my guests,’ so he’s going to have guests on the show. Whether or not he’s going to start with a monologue, he’s working on that right now. Clearly he knows that he’s introducing himself, the real Stephen Colbert to his audience. He’s really putting a lot of attention on making sure that the show is still topical and still relevant.”
After 22 years, David Letterman will broadcast his final show from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater on Wednesday, May 20. Tassler noted that the network plans to air encores of its original programming throughout the summer in the 11:35 p.m. time slot, and may be interested in some Letterman specials leading up to his retirement.

http://insidetv.ew.com/2015/01/12/late-show-stephen-colbert-premiere-date/

obeygiant · Apr 29, 2015

Each cup is a completed show.

eko91 · Apr 30, 2015

oh man!!

Well he deserves it!! He did an amazing job!!

mscriv · May 4, 2015

CBS announced Monday that the Late Show with Stephen Colbert will premiere Tuesday, Sept. 8. Clearly he knows that hes introducing himself, the real Stephen Colbert to his audience.

This will be interesting. How different is the real Stephen Colbert from the character he has created on The Colbert Report.

I've enjoyed Letterman and his humor.

MacNut · May 20, 2015

A great ending to a great run. I don't think it could have been scripted any better.

Peace · May 21, 2015

#ThanksDave

rhett7660 · May 21, 2015

I have it on my DVR to watch tonight (had to get up really early this morning). I have always liked Dave. Going to be weird not seeing him on the TV.

Thanks for the laughs!

MacNut · May 21, 2015

rhett7660 said:
I have it on my DVR to watch tonight (had to get up really early this morning). I have always liked Dave. Going to be weird not seeing him on the TV.

Thanks for the laughs!

I hope you set an extra 20 minutes on the DVR as the show ran long.

As for the ratings, Letterman's finally beat out all shows in primetime and even beat Leno's finally.

From 11:30PM-1AM, the final broadcast of LATE SHOW with DAVID LETTERMAN (Adj Avg. 9.3/24) delivered its highest local rating since Dec.1, 2005 (10.1/24) with guests Oprah Winfrey and Bonnie Raitt. Last night’s LATE SHOW outrated every primetime broadcast.

From 1AM-2AM, THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN (Adj Avg. 2.5/10) scored a new all-time high local rating, up +79% from last week (1.4/05) and +150% from last year (1.0/03).

The problem CBS is going to have during the summer is primetime repeats in late night. It will Kill Corden's show trying to gain a foothold.

I don't know why they could not do classic Letterman during the summer months.

Updated numbers.

The final broadcast of LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN averaged 13.76m viewers, 4.1 in adults 25-54 and 3.1 in adults 18-49 according to Nielsen fast national ratings. This is LATE SHOW's largest audience since February 25, 1994 (following CBS’s primetime coverage of the Winter Olympics) and best delivery in adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 since December 1, 2005 – the night Oprah Winfrey appeared. LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN outperformed every broadcast in primetime in these measures.

THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN averaged 4.01m viewers, 1.4 in adults 25-54 and 1.1 in adults 18-49. THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN posted series best performances in these measures and the largest audience ever for any host of the LATE LATE SHOW. This marks THE LATE LATE SHOW’s best delivery in adults 25-54 since December 1, 2005 and best adults 18-49 rating since December 19, 2005.

senseless · May 21, 2015

rhett7660 said:
I have it on my DVR to watch tonight (had to get up really early this morning). I have always liked Dave. Going to be weird not seeing him on the TV.

Thanks for the laughs!

I dvr'd it and missed everything from the Foo Fighters on. This isn't the first time this has happened. Darn.

Peace · May 21, 2015

senseless said:
I dvr'd it and missed everything from the Foo Fighters on. This isn't the first time this has happened. Darn.

You can watch the last episode online.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/late_show/video/

mscriv · May 21, 2015

I watched the final three episodes and thought the show ended very well. The final top 10 was great, the look back with the deli owner and all the funny stuff they did with him was really funny, and Bill Murray was wonderful.

determined09 · May 25, 2015

I wish they would show the old David Letterman until the new guy starts in Sept..

MacNut · May 25, 2015

determined09 said:
I wish they would show the old David Letterman until the new guy starts in Sept..

So the prevailing thought is that CBS and World Wide Pants could not come up with a rebroadcasting agreement. Or that CBS wanted to put distance between Letterman and Colbert.

dannyyankou · May 25, 2015

determined09 said:
I wish they would show the old David Letterman until the new guy starts in Sept..

Bloomberg broadcasted an old interview from 1996 with Letterman and Charlie Rose. It was interesting to watch.

David Letterman to retire in 2015

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