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.
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]
