Funny man David Letterman hosts this popular nightly talk show, taped before a live studio audience at the Ed Sullivan Theatre in New York. The Late Show with David Letterman airs in South Africa one week after the original U.S. broadcast – exclusively on Sony Entertainment Television.
Winner of nine primetime Emmy® Awards, the Late Show boasts a lively range of guests – from Barack Obama, Will Smith and Charlize Theron to Madonna, Johnny Depp and Oprah Winfrey – razor sharp commentary on current events and a range of comedic gags. Each episode of the Late Show also features an in-studio musical performance from a wide range of artists such as U2, Duffy, Beck, R.E.M., Tricky and Lou Reed.
After more than 4,500 late night shows, Letterman is one of the most influential personalities in the broadcasting landscape, with a total of 14 Emmy® Awards to his personal credit. 2009 marks his 27th year in late night comedy and his 16th year as host of the Late Show.
The Late Show with David Letterman made its debut on August 30, 1993, quickly becoming one of the most talked about and critically acclaimed programs of the year. Now, over fifteen years later, the Late Show continues to deliver inventive and imaginative comedy five nights a week.
From the outset, Letterman has been critically lauded for redefining the talk show genre. In 1992, he received the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for taking "one of TV's most conventional and least inventive forms – the talk show – and infusing it with freshness and imagination." Letterman has also won two American Comedy Awards as Funniest Male Performer in a Television Series and was honoured as Favourite Late Night Talk Show Host at the 31st Annual People's Choice Awards in 2005.
Letterman's first network break came in 1978 as a performer on the CBS variety series Mary, starring Mary Tyler Moore. In November of that year, he made the first of 22 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and also guest-hosted The Tonight Show numerous times.
In 1980, he began hosting a double Emmy® Award-winning morning comedy-variety program, The David Letterman Show, which ran for three months on NBC. His critically acclaimed show Late Night with David Letterman premiered in February 1982.
