Who was before david letterman

American late-night talk show (1993-2015)

This article is about the CBS program. For the earlier NBC show, see Late Night with David Letterman.

For the morning show, see The David Letterman Show.

Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the Late Show franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993,^[2] and was produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants, and CBS Television Studios.

The show's music director and leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, was Paul Shaffer. The head writer was Matt Roberts and the announcer was originally Bill Wendell, then Alan Kalter. In most U.S. markets the show aired from 11:35 p.m.

to 12:37 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, and recorded Monday to Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m.

and 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The second Thursday episode usually aired on Friday of that week.^[3]

In 2002, Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 on TV G