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David Letterman Ends ‘Late Show’ Run May 20

Right near the end of a sweeps period; what a surprise!

May 20th will be a Wednesday. Maybe the idea is for Colbert to take over Thursday and hope inertia can hold the audience.
 
mvcg66b3r said:
I think Letterman reruns will air through the summer and Colbert will take over in September.
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That's what CBS did after Bob Barker hosted his final "Price Is Right" broadcast. Colbert ends "The Colbert Report" next week. Seems like a chancy move to keep Colbert on hold for nine months, and to give "The Late Show" audience reruns for three months. Just too good a chance for people to discover Kimmel or Fallon and/or get hooked.
 
FredLeonard said:
That's what CBS did after Bob Barker hosted his final "Price Is Right" broadcast. Colbert ends "The Colbert Report" next week. Seems like a chancy move to keep Colbert on hold for nine months, and to give "The Late Show" audience reruns for three months. Just too good a chance for people to discover Kimmel or Fallon and/or get hooked.
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The audience Letterman has will likely not bolt to Fallon who caters to a much younger audience than Letterman fans are used to. Kimmel is a possibility to jump to though. Also, with Colbert ditching his Colbert Report character when he launches on CBS there isn't a guarantee he will recapture the audience he left on Comedy Central. Don't get me wrong though, Stephen Colbert is a very talented man and will likely do CBS very well albeit much differently than before. Only time will tell.
 
The LA Times is also speculating/suggesting that Colbert will wait for fall. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, CBS might explore options other than Letterman re-runs.

Between Parr and Carson (ABC would not let him out of his contract early), The Tonight Show had a series of interim hosts. The Ed Sullivan Theater will be undergoing some renovation, so CBS could move the show temporarily to Television City or Studio Center and bring in interim hosts...
Jay Leno (still not pleased to be pushed out)
Dick Cavett (probably would appeal to Letterman's crowd)
Colbert's runners up (NBC passed on Merv Griffin but so impressed them as interim host, they gave him a daytime show)
Howard Stern (if he could stay PG13, he'd be great)
Stephanie Miller (very funny)
Al Franken (while Senate's not in session)
...
 
FredLeonard said:
.
Jay Leno (still not pleased to be pushed out)
Dick Cavett (probably would appeal to Letterman's crowd)
Colbert's runners up (NBC passed on Merv Griffin but so impressed them as interim host, they gave him a daytime show)
Howard Stern (if he could stay PG13, he'd be great)
Stephanie Miller (very funny)
Al Franken (while Senate's not in session)
...
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Jay Leno (waaah, waaah, poor little bitch; now he's had a little taste of the shafting he gave Conan O'Brien...)
Dick Cavett ("So, tell me, Mr. Putin... what did you think of Groucho?")
Colbert's runners up (NBC gave Merv Griffin a daytime show...which tanked)
Howard Sperm (do they have trees on your planet, Fred?)
Stephanie Miller (who? and who cares?)
Al Franken (you really are a Republican at heart, aren't you?)
 
Comments embedded:

FredLeonard said:
The LA Times is also speculating/suggesting that Colbert will wait for fall. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, CBS might explore options other than Letterman re-runs.

Between Parr and Carson (ABC would not let him out of his contract early), The Tonight Show had a series of interim hosts. The Ed Sullivan Theater will be undergoing some renovation, so CBS could move the show temporarily to Television City or Studio Center and bring in interim hosts...

Jay Leno (still not pleased to be pushed out)
Still under contract to NBC, and probably not all that interested in a stunt gig.

Dick Cavett (probably would appeal to Letterman's crowd)
Is he still alive?

Colbert's runners up (NBC passed on Merv Griffin but so impressed them as interim host, they gave him a daytime show)
I can't see modern TV execs willing to use the Late Show slot for on-air auditions. Besides, if any of them turn out to do better than Colbert does when he starts, that will make the suits look bad, and suits don't like to risk looking bad.

Howard Stern (if he could stay PG13, he'd be great)
Even if he doesn't, the show is "live on tape". With a several hour tape delay, they could clean up anything he did.

Stephanie Miller (very funny)
You're kidding, right?

Al Franken (while Senate's not in session)
Franken wasn't all that funny before he became a political joke. He did write some funny bits, but they required polishing and rehearsing. He never displayed any talent for thinking on his feet. And since entering politics, he hasn't displayed any talent for thinking, period. Aside from being able to draw the United States map from memory, he just doesn't come across as very bright.
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If CBS were to want to experiment with that time slot, I'd suggest filling the interim period with totally retro show. Do an old fashioned variety show similar to the old Ed Sullivan show. Mix musical acts, comedians, and possibly comedy sketches, and maybe even novelty acts, like Cirque Du Soleil. Use it as an audition for possible cast members for a Saturday Night Live competitor show.
 
Sure will be the end of an era for CBS. 22 long-running years on CBS is a pretty good run. Jay Leno lasted the same amount on years over at the competitor, NBC. (1992-2014). I'm sure CBS MAY either air this season's reruns, or maybe air some older episodes at 11:35 - how about pulling out some of the 1990s episodes?
The interim host thing may be a mixed reaction. They'll only be on for 3 months, then "aloha" as Colbert arrives at the desk.

-crainbebo
 
I'm always suprised when I read this things, and long-gone old names mentioned. It's unrealistic to expect any of these people (Dick Cavett, fer hevvinsake?) to return, though I guess there would be room for another Cavett on PBS...should Charlie Rose disappear.

Posters keep mentioning Leno. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the thing holding Leno back from returning to late night is Leno himself. He would regain some of his old audience, but most viewers are happy with the current crowd (Fallon, Kimmel, O'Brien) and will likely check out Colbert to see if they like him better. With so much younger competition, a Leno return would likely be a flop, and he'd look bad. This way, he goes out looking great, with plenty of stand-up gigs and his car collectoin to keep him busy.
 
I don't know why people keep bringing up Leno, period. He's a bad lounge comic who got lucky, Jan Murray with a big chin. Leno only had three kinds of jokes: stupid, smirky-smutty, and borderline racist (and, if you agree with Jimmy Kimmel, he only knows three ways of telling them.) And when one bombed (as they often did) he would just stand there and holler "Hey? HEY? Hey-hey-hey-hey-HEEEY?" If he had a guest I really wanted to see, I'd tune in just long enough for that. Otherwise, he was a vomit.
 
As much as I would love to see a Best of Dave all summer long, I don't think it will happen. I would love if they showcased all 20 years of the CBS show, but I can't imagine the mass audience would tune in. I suspect we will get Primetime Encore episodes. I can see the first 25 episodes of Under The Dome eating up five weeks of summer leading up to the new season. And Big Brother After Dark moving from TVGN (Pop!) once July hits.

I suppose they have already booked Bill Murray for the Final Show.
 
sandiegoinexile said:
I suppose they have already booked Bill Murray for the Final Show.
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No, it will be Regis. Who else?

If CBS does bring in a series of interim hosts (a week at a time for each), it will probably be for stunt value as much as anything - somebody people will tune in for out of curiosity. Maybe Cosby.
 
LKellerIII said:
I'm always suprised when I read this things, and long-gone old names mentioned. It's unrealistic to expect any of these people (Dick Cavett, fer hevvinsake?) to return, though I guess there would be room for another Cavett on PBS...should Charlie Rose disappear.
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Dick Cavett is now 78 years old, so Charlie Rose is a youngster in comparison.

Posters keep mentioning Leno. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the thing holding Leno back from returning to late night is Leno himself. He would regain some of his old audience, but most viewers are happy with the current crowd (Fallon, Kimmel, O'Brien) and will likely check out Colbert to see if they like him better. With so much younger competition, a Leno return would likely be a flop, and he'd look bad. This way, he goes out looking great, with plenty of stand-up gigs and his car collectoin to keep him busy.
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We're seeing the completion of a generational change in late night TV. I rarely watch Letterman (or his competition) any more, but the few times I've seen the show recently he comes across as being OLD, especially when you remember his NBC days. Never got that feeling with Johnny Carson.
 
Mediafrog+ said:
Dick Cavett is now 78 years old, so Charlie Rose is a youngster in comparison.



We're seeing the completion of a generational change in late night TV. I rarely watch Letterman (or his competition) any more, but the few times I've seen the show recently he comes across as being OLD, especially when you remember his NBC days. Never got that feeling with Johnny Carson.
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Very true! I got tired of Letterman's act about a decade ago. I didn't care that he seemed older (I'm about Dave's age), but the inventiveness that characterised the first few years of the show was long dead, and the comedy was all repeats of the same old bits. Somewhow, Carson maked that work - you could see the Carnac bit for the 125th time, and it would still be funny, but not Dave's material. Perhaps that's the difference between Carson's writers, and Letterman's. "Old" or not, I much prefer Conan or Kimmel - haven't gotten into Fallon too much.

I love the Colbert Report - it's genius. It will be interesting to see if Stephen Colbert (hard "t") will be as entertaining.
 
The first interim host of The Tonight Show between Parr and Carson was 72 year old Groucho Marx.

Two other interim hosts ended up with talk shows of their own: Merv Griffin and Joey Bishop. Another played a talk show host in a movie: Jerry Lewis. One of Parr's writers stayed through the interim and then wrote for Carson; he also got a talk show: Dick Cavett.

The list also included edgy night-club comics: Mort Sahl, Bob Newhart and Soupy Sales (adult version). Soupy had earlier successfully gone against Steve Allen with a local late-night show in Detroit.
 
Letterman wanted to have it both ways: Bring out his more 'serious' side for political interviews, and expect to be respected as a more 'mature' talk-show host...but continue to do all the same goofy crap that worked when he was in his 40s(and even 50s), but now seems forced. Something like Keith Olbermann...or perhaps, Jerry Lewis: 'I'm WACKY! I'm ZANY! Take me SERIOUSLY, damn you!'
 
Stephen Colbert To Debut On ‘Late Show’ In September – TCA

There will be no seamless transition on CBS’ Late Show. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will premiere on September 8, CBS chairman Nina Tassler announced this morning. That is more than three months after David Letterman wraps his 21-year run on May 20.

Over the summer, CBS will air encores of primetime series at 11:30 PM. CBS also is in talks with Letterman about special programming leading to his sendoff, Tassler said.
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http://deadline.com/2015/01/stephen-colbert-late-show-premiere-date-1201348131/

So, a return to Crimetime After Primetime, if only for three months?
 
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