40 years after the first hosted Late Night on February 1st, 1982, David Letterman is coming back. As a guest, that is.
Last night, Seth Meyers made an announcement that he said “would make college-aged Seth Meyers very happy.” To celebrate the 40th anniversary, Letterman is coming back as a guest next Tuesday.
Letterman was last on the show back in 2018.
Despite the fact that he still hasn’t returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater since Colbert took over The Late Show, Letterman has made sure to go back and visit everyone that took over his former NBC show since he left.
The comedian launched the show in 1982, before moving over to CBS for the “Late Show” in 1993. NBC picked Jay Leno over Letterman to host “The Tonight Show,” sparking a late-night feud. Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Fallon, and Meyers have all been hosts over the show’s 40 years.
Meyers added that he’s thrilled to have Letterman coming on.
“Now that is a show that would make college-age Seth Meyers very happy. Also, current Seth Meyers,” he said.
Meyers has credited Letterman for the show’s success.
“This show, ‘Late Night,’ this is David Letterman’s show,” Meyers said in 2014. “And if it wasn’t for David Letterman, this show wouldn’t exist. And if it wasn’t for David Letterman, I wouldn’t be here. And if I wasn’t here, you’d just be an audience of people in an empty studio… it’s incredible to be part of that legacy.”
In 2002, The Late Show with David Letterman was ranked seventh on TV Guide’s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
He is also a television and film producer. His company, Worldwide Pants, produced his shows as well as The Late Late Show and several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, now in syndication. Several late-night hosts have cited Letterman’s influence, including Conan O’Brien (his successor on Late Night), Stephen Colbert (his successor on The Late Show), Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, John Oliver, and Seth Meyers. Letterman currently hosts the Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
