Late Night with David Letterman (1982)

Directed by

Hal Gurnee

Genre

late-night talk show

Country

United States

Length

12 seasons, 1377 episodes

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 60 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman. It features interviews with celebrities and comedic segments. The show ran from 1982 to 1993 on NBC.

wittyquirkyoffbeatrelaxedplayfulconversationalspontaneouslively

What happens

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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Late Night (1982)
• Late Show (1993)
• Late Show with David Letterman (1993)
• The David Letterman Show (1980)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
• Thicke of the Night (1983)