David Letterman to Retire in 2015
David Letterman has announced his retirement, effective next year, as host of The Late Show on CBS. The longest-serving late-night talk show host made the announcement during a taping of his show on Thursday afternoon. Letterman, who will be 68 when he steps down, had signed a string of two-year contracts in recent years, and a one-year extension last year. A specific date for his departure has not been announced, but given the dates of recent contracts, it will likely be after the May ratings period of 2015. The story quickly dominated online conversation and led to news stories in The Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter and hundreds of other sources.
Who Will Take His Place?
Now that Letterman has made if official, be prepared for a storm of speculation about who might be next to host The Late Show. Early guesses we’ve seen include luring Jimmy Kimmel away from ABC or snapping up Chelsea Handler, who announced last week she’ll be leaving the E! network. Perhaps the most popular rumor suggests CBS would recruit Jon Stewart, who has been successfully mocking the political scene for several years on Comedy Central. Those who are suggesting Stewart as a replacement say he has effectively defined a new way for late-night television to be done, and could command a large audience on a major network. On the other hand, some say the networks need shows that appeal to a broad audience and allow movie stars to pitch their new films and musicians to promote their albums, rather than the sharp-edged political satire of The Daily Show. To that list, we would add Conan O’Brien, whom many argue was not given a real chance at NBC before the network put Jay Leno back on The Tonight Show, and has the major network credentials to be a likeable host. It wouldn’t be the first time CBS gladly hired someone NBC passed over.
What About Craig?
Craig Ferguson is in an interesting position. The last contract he signed that we saw confirmed by multiple news stories is set to expire this summer, although we did hear late last year that he might have signed another short extension to match Letterman’s retirement timetable. Previous news stories by reliable writers like the New York Times‘ Bill Carter have said Ferguson’s contract includes a clause that CBS will give Ferguson a chance to take or decline a move to 11:30.
But we’re inclined to take the word of the man himself. Craig has said repeatedly that he likes doing his show at 12:30, and that he has little interest in the higher-profile and likely more bland comedy of the earlier time slot. In multiple interviews, he has said that even though everyone expects he would want the job, they don’t really know. He jokes that CBS doesn’t even know that he’s on the air at 12:30 and as a result, he can do whatever he wants. There is probably some truth behind that long-running gag.
Another factor in any decision would be Craig’s many projects. His schedule on The Late Late Show allows him to travel the country as a stand up comedian, write books, write screenplays, produce television shows, host a daytime game show and much more. Moreover, given The Late Show‘s deep ties to New York City and CBS’ investments in the Ed Sullivan Theater, they may insist on keeping the show in Manhattan. For many reasons, Craig is deeply tied to his adopted home town of Los Angeles.
The bottom line? You’ll be reading a lot of speculation in the coming months. But it’s just that: Speculation. Craig tends to zig when others zag, so in the end, only he will know what will happen… and he may not even know himself quite yet. We’ll faithfully report interesting bits of news we see about the situation, but until Craig says something about his future himself, we’ll wait and see. It might have been more than a coincidence that Craig’s spring vacation was timed for this week, sparing him the need to talk about Letterman’s departure on the show.
Letterman’s Announcement
CBS has released a video clip of David Letterman announcing his retirement, effective next year.
Video courtesy: The Late Show with David Letterman
Back to a Break
With that bit of breaking news out of the way, we’ll be resuming our short break this week and return on Monday, April 7 with our daily offering of Craig-related news. See you then!
Craig Ferguson and The Late Late Show have a reputation for giving up and coming comedians a chance to appear on national television for the first time. Back in March, producers from the show were in New York City to see 15 comedians perform on stage, auditioning for a chance to appear on television. Which from the group of hopefuls will get the call? We’ll be watching in the coming months. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for giving us the heads up.
