The ''Late Show'' is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
late-night talk show
A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...
franchise on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. It first aired in August 1993 with host
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
, who previously hosted ''
Late Night with David Letterman
''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'' on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
from 1982 to 1993. Letterman's iteration of the program ran until his retirement on May 20, 2015. Comedian
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
, best known for his roles on
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
programs ''
The Daily Show
''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' and ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...
'', assumed hosting duties that September.
The show originates from the
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th Streets, in the Theater ...
in the
Theater District A theater district (also spelled theatre district) is a common name for a neighborhood containing several of a city's theatres.
Places
*Theater District, Manhattan, New York City
*Boston Theater District
*Buffalo Theater District
*Cleveland Theater ...
of
Manhattan, New York
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, and airs
live to tape
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting bega ...
in most U.S. markets at 11:35 p.m.
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, 10:35 in the
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
Mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
time zones.
History
Prior to the ''Late Show''
CBS had previously attempted late-night talk shows with ''
The Merv Griffin Show
''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 a ...
'' (1969–1972) and ''
The Pat Sajak Show
''The Pat Sajak Show'' was an American late-night television talk show that aired on CBS from January 9, 1989, to April 13, 1990.
Cast
The show was hosted by Pat Sajak, best known as host of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune''. To do the talk sh ...
'' (1989–1990) but neither were able to compete with NBC's ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
'' and were cancelled; Griffin's for editorial disputes with the network (he would go on to continue the show in syndication for 14 more years), and Sajak's for low ratings. For most of the 20 years preceding ''Late Show'', CBS's late night fare consisted of movies, re-runs, imported Canadian dramas and specialty programming packaged under the titles ''
CBS Late Night
''The CBS Late Movie'' is a CBS television series (later known as ''CBS Late Night'') during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. ( ET/ PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A ...
'' and ''
Crimetime After Primetime
''Crimetime After Primetime'' is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 in television, 1991 and 1992 in television, 1992, running through late summer of 1993 in televi ...
'' and broadcast to middling ratings, competing against ''The Tonight Show'' and, in its last years, the upstart success of a syndicated series, ''
The Arsenio Hall Show
''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall.
There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...
'', which began airing in 1988. Before Letterman's arrival, CBS' New York flagship,
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...
, specifically used the Late Show name for its late-night movie programming.
David Letterman (1993–2015)
When David Letterman became available after being
passed over by NBC for ''The Tonight Show'', CBS was eager to lure him and offered him a three-year, $14 million per year contract, doubling his ''Late Night'' salary. According to their agreement, the show would spend a month in Hollywood at least once a year.
CBS purchased the
Ed Sullivan Theater
The Ed Sullivan Theater (originally Hammerstein's Theatre; later the Manhattan Theatre, Billy Rose's Music Hall, CBS Radio Playhouse No. 3, and CBS Studio 50) is a theater at 1697–1699 Broadway, between 53rd and 54th Streets, in the Theater ...
for four million dollars, spending "several million more" for renovation.
The renovation was supervised by architect
James Polshek
James Stewart Polshek (February 11, 1930September 9, 2022) was an American architect based in New York City. He was the founder of Polshek Partnership, the firm at which he was the principal design partner for more than four decades. He worked ...
.
CBS' total cost for acquiring the show—including renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer
Bill Wendell
William Joseph Wenzel Jr. (March 22, 1924 – April 14, 1999), known as Bill Wendell, was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Wendell served in the United States ...
, band leader
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian singer, composer, actor, author, comedian, and multi-instrumentalist who served as David Letterman's musical director, band leader, and sidekick on the entire run of both '' Late ...
, and the rest of the band—was over $140 million.
When Letterman moved to CBS and began the ''Late Show'', several of ''Late Night''s long-running comedy bits made the move with him. Letterman renamed a few of his regular bits to avoid legal problems over
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
infringement (NBC cited that what he did on ''Late Night'' was "
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
" of the network, a contention he disputed). "Viewer Mail" on NBC became the "CBS Mailbag", and Larry "Bud" Melman began to use his real name,
Calvert DeForest
Calvert Grant DeForest (July 23, 1921 – March 19, 2007), also known by his character name Larry "Bud" Melman, was an American actor and comedian, best known for his appearances on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' and '' Late Show with David ...
. Shaffer's "
World's Most Dangerous Band" became "
The CBS Orchestra", a jab at NBC regarding the show's new home, and a play on the
NBC Orchestra of the long running ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
''. Letterman's signature bit, the
Top Ten List, was perfunctorily renamed the "
Late Show Top Ten List
The Top Ten List was a regular segment of the television programs '' Late Night with David Letterman'' and the '' Late Show with David Letterman.'' Each night, host David Letterman would present a list of ten items, compiled by his writing staff, ...
" (over time it reverted to its original name).
In ratings, Letterman's ''Late Show'' topped Leno's ''Tonight Show'' for its first two years. Leno pulled ahead on July 10, 1995, starting with a
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor. He established himself early in his career as both a charming, and vulnerable romantic lead and has since transitioned into a dramatic character actor. Among his numerous a ...
interview, after Grant's much-publicized arrest for picking up an
LA prostitute.
Leno also benefited from the lead-in provided by NBC's popular ''
Must See TV
Must See TV is an American advertising slogan that was used by NBC to brand its primetime blocks during the 1990s, and most often applied to the network's Thursday night lineup, which featured some of its most popular sitcoms and drama series of ...
'' prime time programs of the mid-to-late 1990s. Likewise the CBS network was hurt by
affiliation switches in late 1994 relating to
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
picking up CBS's
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
rights (although CBS would reacquire those rights in 1998), stunting the ''Late Show'' just as it was beginning to gain traction. Despite CBS rising back to first place in prime time in the 2000s, Letterman never fully recovered from the damage, and he remained behind Leno and successor
Jimmy Fallon
James Thomas Fallon (born September 19, 1974) is an American comedian, television host, actor, and writer. He is known for his work in television as a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' and as the host of the late-night talk show ''The Ton ...
for the rest of his tenure, only briefly rising back to first place during
Conan O'Brien's run as host of ''The Tonight Show''.
Announcer
Bill Wendell
William Joseph Wenzel Jr. (March 22, 1924 – April 14, 1999), known as Bill Wendell, was an NBC television staff announcer for almost his entire professional career.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Wendell served in the United States ...
left in 1995,
with
Alan Kalter taking his place for the remainder of Letterman's run as host.
On April 3, 2014, Letterman announced his retirement. His last telecast aired on May 20, 2015.
''CBS Summer Showcase'' – transition (May 21–September 7, 2015)
Instead of airing a transitional version of ''Late Show'' with guest hosts (as happened with ''
The Late Late Show'' from
January to March 2015 between the end of
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...
's show and the premiere of
James Corden
James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom ''Gavin & Stacey''. In the Un ...
's) or reruns from Letterman's time as host (as
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
did during its interregnums on ''
The Tonight Show
''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'' and ''
Late Night''), CBS placed the ''Late Show'' on hiatus and instead aired reruns of scripted dramas in the 11:35 pm time slot over the summer with the branding ''CBS Summer Showcase''. The network dismissed concerns that this may hurt the ratings of ''
The Late Late Show with James Corden
''The Late Late Show with James Corden'' (also known as ''Late Late'') is an American late-night talk show on CBS. It is the fourth and current iteration of '' The Late Late Show''. Airing in the U.S. from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37:28am ...
''.
The plan was similar to CBS's pre-Letterman use of the slot for ''
Crimetime After Primetime
''Crimetime After Primetime'' is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 in television, 1991 and 1992 in television, 1992, running through late summer of 1993 in televi ...
'' when
police procedural
The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...
s and mysteries aired in the slot in the early-1990s, and the late 1980s ''
CBS Late Night
''The CBS Late Movie'' is a CBS television series (later known as ''CBS Late Night'') during the 1970s and 1980s. The program ran in most American television markets from 11:30 p.m. ( ET/ PT) until 2:30 a.m. or later, on weeknights. A ...
'' which featured a mixture of scripted programming. CBS inaugurated the summer format with reruns of the final season of ''
The Mentalist
''The Mentalist'' is an American drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, the show fol ...
'', a cancelled prime time police procedural, airing nightly from May 21 until June 5, 2015. ''
Hawaii Five-0
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* Hawaii Five-0 (2010 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series), ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an Ame ...
'' (June 8–12, July 27–31), ''
CSI: Cyber'' (June 15–19, August 17–21), ''
Elementary
Elementary may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001
* ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007
* ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977
Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...
'' (June 22–26), ''
Blue Bloods'' (June 29-July 5), ''
The Good Wife
''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in law ...
'' (July 6–10, August 24–28), ''
NCIS: Los Angeles'' (July 13–17), ''
NCIS'' (July 20–24; September 7) ''
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
'' (August 3–7), ''
NCIS: New Orleans'' (August 10–14) and ''
Madam Secretary'' (August 31-September 4) also aired during the summer in the 11:35 pm time slot between the Letterman and Colbert transition.
''The Late Late Show'' poked fun at the initial choice for its summer lead-in during several June episodes with a
cold open
A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
sketch titled "Talking Mentalist", a parody of ''
Talking Dead
''Talking Dead'' is a live television aftershow in which host Chris Hardwick discusses episodes of the AMC television series '' The Walking Dead'', '' Fear the Walking Dead'' and '' The Walking Dead: World Beyond'' with guests, including celebrity ...
'' in which Corden, his bandleader
Reggie Watts
Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...
, and one of the show's scheduled guests discussed the episode that had just ended. Colbert would follow suit with a running gag on his first ''Late Show'' episode, showing
CBS Corporation
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
CEO
Leslie Moonves
Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2003 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...
with a giant switch which he could use to switch the network back to reruns of ''The Mentalist'' if he was dissatisfied with Colbert's performance (which he did, briefly, twice during the show).
Stephen Colbert (2015–present)
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
succeeded Letterman as host on September 8, 2015, having been signed to a five-year contract.
In contrast with Colbert's previous program, ''
The Colbert Report
''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...
'', in which he played a
fictional character also named Stephen Colbert, Colbert hosts the show as himself. Colbert's version retains the ''Late Show'' name under license from Letterman's
Worldwide Pants
Worldwide Pants Inc. is an American television and film production company founded and owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman.
The company was formerly headquartered at the Ed Sullivan Theater building in New York City, but has sinc ...
, which holds the registered trademark.
Several cities sought to acquire the ''Late Show'', among them New York City,
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
,
, and
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
. A report in the ''
Daily News'' indicated that
CBS Corporation
The second incarnation of CBS Corporation (the first being a short-lived rename of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation) was an American multinational media conglomerate with interests primarily in commercial broadcasting, publishing, and t ...
had paid over $40,000 in campaign contributions to incumbent Governor
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cuo ...
in an effort to lobby the governor for certain tax breaks to keep the show in New York City. A deal to keep the show at the Ed Sullivan Theater, which includes $16,000,000 in state tax incentives over a five-year period, was made official on July 23, 2014.
Jon Batiste
Jonathan Michael Batiste (born November 11, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and television personality. He has recorded and performed with artists in various genres of music (Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, ...
was the initial bandleader on Colbert's iteration of the program.
References
External links
Official website*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Late Show, The (franchise)
Television franchises
1993 American television series debuts
1990s American late-night television series
2000s American late-night television series
2010s American late-night television series
1990s American variety television series
2000s American variety television series
2010s American variety television series
CBS late-night programming
English-language television shows
Television series by Worldwide Pants
Paramount Global franchises