"Late Show with David Letterman" (1993) TV series 1993-????

Director:

Randi Grossack

Writers:

Ross Abrash (writer) (2004)
Kevin Etten (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | unknown

Release Date:

30 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Music | Talk-Show

Tagline:

"There is no off position on the genius switch."

Plot:

The Late Show with David Letterman is an hour-long weeknight comedy and talk-show broadcast by CBS from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Broadway in New York City.

Plot Keywords:

New York City | Late Night | Cult Comedy | Cult Favorite | Stand Up Comedy

Awards:

Won 9 Primetime Emmys. Another 3 wins & 80 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 30	11:35 PM	CBS
Tue. Dec. 1	11:35 PM	CBS

Cast

Paul Shaffer	...	Himself - Band Director / ... (1,679 episodes, 1993-2009)
David Letterman	...	Himself - Host / ... (1,550 episodes, 1993-2009)
Alan Kalter	...	Himself - Announcer / ... (450 episodes, 1995-2009)

Also Known As:

Late Show Backstage (USA) (title for episodes with guest hosts)
Letterman (Australia)
The Late Show (USA) (informal short title)
David Letterman (Denmark) [da]
David Letterman Show (Norway) [no]
David Letterman Show (Sweden) [sv]
David Letterman-show (Hungary) [hu]
Late Show with David Letterman (France) [fr]

Runtime:

USA:60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Boca Raton, Florida, USA

Company:

Worldwide Pants

Trivia:

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks (specifically the World Trade Center attack in New York, downtown from where "The Late Show" is taped), David Letterman was reported to have said that he didn't know if anything would ever be funny again. Most American programming (including "The Late Show") was suspended in the aftermath. However, on September 17, "The Late Show" was one of the first comedy shows to resume regular programming. The starting guest that night was Dan Rather, and the emotionally-charged episode is considered one of Letterman's finest.

Quotes:

John Kerry: [Top 10 Bush Tax Proposals] 10. No estate tax for families with at least two U.S. presidents. 9. W-2 Form is now Dubya-2 Form. 8. Under the simplified tax code, your refund check goes directly to Halliburton. 7. The reduced earned income tax credit is so unfair, it just makes me want to tear out my lustrous...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The O'Reilly Factor: (2008-04-02)" (2008)

Letterman reliably entertaining

I'm "only" 34 but I've been watching Letterman since I was about 13. He in fact has one of the few shows I can tolerate to watch on TV. I can always count on him to be entertaining. He clearly has it down to a science now and doesn't deviate much from his standard ritual whereas years ago it was always something new and different. That said, his ritual is actually reliably entertaining. Clearly one of the attractions to watching him for so long is the comfortable feeling one has with having the same show play around the same time of night for so many years. Of course, now I use TiVo. The bottom line is that Letterman is truly the best thing going for TV and is a reliably good and entertaining show.