This article is about the CBS program. For the earlier NBC show, see Late Night with David Letterman. For the morning show, see The David Letterman Show.
Late Show with David Letterman
Logo for the series.
Also known as
Late Show (franchise brand)
Genre
Late-night talk show
Variety show
Comedy
Created by
David Letterman
Written by
Rob Burnett (1993–96)
Joe Toplyn (1996–98)
Rodney Rothman (1998–2000)
Justin Stangel and Eric Stangel (2000–13)
Matt Roberts (2013–15)
Presented by
David Letterman
Starring
Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra (house band)
Narrated by
Bill Wendell
Alan Kalter
Theme music composer
Paul Shaffer
Country of origin
United States
Original language
English
No. of seasons
23
No. of episodes
4,214[1](list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Robert Morton (1993–96)
Peter Lassally (1993–96)
Eric Stangel (2000-11)
Justin Stangel (2000-11)
Matt Roberts (2002-15)
Brian Teta (2004-15)
Rob Burnett (1996–2015)
Barbara Gaines (2000–15)
Maria Pope (2000–15)
Jude Brennan (2003–15)
Production locations
Ed Sullivan Theater
New York, New York
Camera setup
Multi-camera
Running time
62 minutes (with commercials)
Production companies
Worldwide Pants
CBS Entertainment Productions (1993–95) (seasons 1–2)
CBS Productions (1995–2006) (seasons 3–14)
CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–09) (seasons 14–17)
CBS Television Studios (2009–15) (seasons 17–22)
Original release
Network
CBS
Release
August 30, 1993 (1993-08-30) – May 20, 2015 (2015-05-20)
Related
The David Letterman Show
Late Night with David Letterman
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)
The Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993,[2] and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m. to 12:35 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.[3]
In 2002, Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.[4] As host of both Late Night and Late Show for more than 30 years, Letterman surpassed Johnny Carson as the longest running late-night talk show host in 2013.[5] That same year, Late Night and Late Show were ranked at No. 41 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.[6] The show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series 16 times, winning 6. It was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series 15 times, and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series 16 times during its run.
Title card used from April 22, 2013, to May 20, 2015, based on the marquee outside of CBS Studio 50 at the time
In 2014, Letterman announced his retirement and the final episode of Late Show aired on May 20, 2015.[7] After Letterman's final Late Show, instead of airing reruns of the show or having guest host episodes of Late Show, CBS opted to air reruns of scripted dramas in the 11:35 pm time slot over the summer with the branding CBS Summer Showcase.[8] The show was then succeeded by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015.[9]
^"David Letterman: 33 Years in Latenight by the Numbers". Variety. April 30, 2015. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
^"'Late Night with David Letterman' / 'Late Show with David Letterman'". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on February 7, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
^Cite error: The named reference taped was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
^Bibel, Sara (October 4, 2013). "David Letterman Extends Agreement to Host 'Late Show With David Letterman' Through 2015". TVbythenumbers. Archived from the original on October 4, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
^Fretts, Bruce (December 23, 2013). "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". TVGuide.com.
^Carter, Bill (December 10, 2014). "David Letterman to Leave the 'Late Show' in May". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
^"Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers Beat the ABC and CBS Time-Slot Competition in All Key Measures for the Week of May 25–29". zap2it. June 4, 2015. Archived from the original on June 5, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
^"'Late Show with Stephen Colbert' Premieres on Tuesday September 8th". Splitsider. January 12, 2015. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
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