Late Night with David Letterman (TV series) · CineSpool

Late Night with David Letterman

TV series
1982–1993
12 seasons
NBC
Comedy
Talk

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6.2 TMDB worldwide · 62 ratings

Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night with Conan O'Brien then filled the time slot. As of March 2, 2009, the slot has been filled by Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It will be filled by Seth Meyers in the spring of 2014, after Fallon becomes host of The Tonight Show.

About the show

Late Night with David Letterman is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the first installment of Late Night. Hosted by David Letterman, it aired from February 1, 1982 to June 25, 1993, and was replaced by Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

In 2013, this series and Late Show with David Letterman were ranked No. 41 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time. During its run, the show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series 11 times. It was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series 14 times, winning 4, and won one Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series out of 7 nominations.

Late Night originated from NBC Studio 6A at the RCA (later GE) Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The program ran four nights a week, Monday to Thursday, from the show's premiere on February 1, 1982, until June 4, 1987. Friday shows were added on June 12, 1987, although the show still only produced four new episodes a week. Monday's shows were re-runs. NBC previously aired Friday Night Videos in the 12:30 a.m. slot on Saturday morning, with occasional Late Night specials and reruns. Friday Night Videos was reduced to an hour's length and moved up an hour to 1:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Starting on September 2, 1991, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was pushed back from 11:30 p.m. to 11:35 p.m., with Letterman starting at 12:35 a.m., at the request of NBC affiliates who wanted more advertising time for their profitable late newscasts.

Like The Tonight Show in the 1980s and early 1990s, Late Night aired annual anniversary specials. They aired on or about February 1, first in its own timeslot (albeit on a Friday, preempting SCTV). From 1984 to 1987, episodes of Saturday Night Live were preempted for the special. Finally, from 1988 to 1990 and in 1992, the special aired in prime time, after Cheers. There were no anniversary specials in 1991 and 1993. (Letterman would leave NBC later in 1993.) David Letterman's Holiday Film Festival also aired in Saturday Night Live's timeslot over Thanksgiving weekend in 1985, before a second and final installment aired in prime time the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1986. The festivals were a collection of shorts starring, directed and/or written by celebrities.

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