Blog Archives
The Colbert Rapport: Will He Last on CBS?
Ever since 2005, Stephen Colbert has been ruling late night television on Comedy Central. Next year he will be leaving his post after ten years to take over for David Letterman on Late Show. This is a drastic change for Colbert, whose current show is a satirical version of The O’Reilly Factor. Will his current rapport with his audience get in the way of his success as himself on CBS?
Letterman announced his departure not even two months after Jimmy had taken over for Leno. I cannot say that I was surprised that by Letterman’s retirement. Everyone knew Fallon was going to be some serious competition. Fallon is more relevant and appealing to the precious 18-49 audience. He has a social media savviness that Letterman doesn’t have. So when Letterman “unexpectedly” announced his retirement, CBS needed a host that would supersede Jimmy’s popularity. Colbert already has a large and loyal audience from his show on Comedy Central, which make him a very good choice for Late Show.
David Letterman Is Retiring in 2015
Wow. David Letterman announcing his upcoming retirement shocked me. It shouldn’t have. We all knew it was coming. No one was under the impression Letterman would be hosting The Late Show until he dies. He’d host it until Jay Leno was out of the collective consciousness or dropped dead. Once Leno said goodbye to The Tonight Show stage one last time, Letterman’s days were numbered. All he did today was confirm everyone’s assumption.
When all is said and done, Letterman will have hosted a late night talk show for 33 years: 11 as host of NBC’s Late Night, the last 22 will be with The Late Show and CBS. It’s hard to believe that 5 years ago few people expected Letterman to surpass his idol Johnny Carson’s reign in late night, which was an impressive 30 years. Now, we’re wondering how CBS will fill the hole in their lineup when Letterman leaves next year.
‘Saturday Night Live’ Loses Another Castmember
Jason Sudeikis leaves Saturday Night Live. Last night, Jason Sudeikis announced on the Late Show with David Letterman that Saturday Night Live‘s 38th season was his last with the long running sketch comedy show. At the end of the past season, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen also left the show.
Remembering 9/11
It is hard to believe that 9/11 happened 11 years ago. Each year, I usually watch David Letterman’s post-9/11 return speech as a reminder of how the country was feeling in the days following the attacks. For me, it is a reminder of the raw emotions I felt at the time and the fact that I was not alone. This year, I decided to compile the poignant returns of the New York-based late night comedy shows. (Saturday Night Live is notably missing from this article because I have not found the show’s first episode after September 11th on the internet.) Instead of commenting on David Letterman, Jon Stewart, and Conan O’Brien’s speeches, I will let the three men speak for themselves.
David Letterman:
Jimmy Kimmel Will Air at 11:35pm
Starting in January, ABC will push Nightline back an hour, so that Jimmy Kimmel Live can be a direct competitor to the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman. This does not make sense. ABC already wins the 11:35pm late night ratings race against Leno and Letterman with Nightline, which averages 3.8 million viewers. However, ABC loses the ratings race a half hour later because Kimmel averages 1.8 million viewers to Leno’s 3.71 million viewers and Letterman’s 3.22 million viewers. Kimmel also receives the fewest number of viewers among the 3 hosts in the coveted 19-49 demographic.
Cool TV Video of the Day: Dave Says “Don’t Blame Conan”
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Conan O’Brien hosted to The Tonight Show for a total of 7 months and was replaced by his predecessor, Jay Leno. Regardless of whose side you’re on, Conan’s last two weeks at NBC made for some great television. Not just on NBC, but on CBS as well. David Letterman took delight in tearing into Leno because he had found himself in a similar situation 18 years prior. In this clip, Dave warns that you can think whatever you want about NBC’s late night drama, but “don’t blame Conan.”
Cool TV Video of the Day: The Most Censored American Talk Show Interview
On March 31, 1994, Madonna appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. Throughout the interview, Madonna brought up topics that are inappropriate for network television and cursed excessively. Because of Madonna’s language, the interview is the most censored in American talk show history with 13 bleeps (in this case audio drops) just for f*** alone.
Part 2 is after the jump.
Cool TV Video of the Day: Letterman Introduces the GE Handshake
In the 80s, David Letterman used to host Late Night on NBC. Naturally when GE bought NBC from RCA, Letterman would want to “drop in and say hello,” complete with a fruit basket. However, Dave has trouble even entering the building. You will see the infamous GE Handshake and the rest of the hilarious results in today’s video.
Wait! What's A Dial? 