David Letterman, the veteran late-night host, has cast doubt on the future of the format, saying he would be "surprised" if it lasts much longer. In an interview with the New York Times published on Tuesday, Letterman, 79, expressed his "disbelief" upon learning that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert had been cancelled.
Letterman's Predictions for Late-Night
Referring to other nightly comedic talk shows hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, and Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers on NBC, Letterman remarked that the format is "not completely dead on arrival, but I would be surprised if it lasts more than a year or so." He added, "But it's such an easy soothing format that it's got to stay on."
When pressed on whether he would truly be surprised if late night survives another year, Letterman responded, "Well, maybe specific shows. I don't think it'll ever go away because it's just the best. It's humans talking to humans."
The End of The Late Show
Letterman's comments come as the final episode of The Late Show is scheduled to air on 21 May, ending a 33-year run. CBS announced the cancellation in July, citing financial reasons. Executives said it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." However, the decision drew skepticism from critics, who noted that Paramount, CBS's parent company, was finalizing a multibillion-dollar merger with Skydance that required Trump administration approval. Colbert has been a vocal critic of Donald Trump across his two presidencies.
The cancellation also came days after Colbert criticized Paramount for settling a lawsuit with Trump for $16 million over claims that CBS News deceptively edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Letterman's Criticism of CBS
Colbert took over as host in 2015 after Letterman had hosted the show for 22 years. Asked about CBS's financial explanation, Letterman told the Times: "They don't share the books with me. All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms. TV may be not the money machine it once was."
Nonetheless, Letterman argued that Colbert and his employees deserved better, as did his fans. "What about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him, and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite?" Letterman said. "He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, 'Oh no, there's not going to be any trouble with that guy. We're going to take care of the show. We're just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?' I'm just going to go on record as saying: They're lying."
According to the Times, a spokesperson for CBS said the cancellation was "unequivocally a financial decision."
