![David Letterman will return from retirement to host a Netflix talk show. / from [Youtube screenshot]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/8/9/660x290/b_502x220x82/david-letterman-will-return-from-retirement-to-host-a-netflix-talk-show-from-vimeo-vimeocom173043810_1498355.jpg "David Letterman will return from retirement to host a Netflix talk show. / from [Youtube screenshot]")
When comedian and late-night host David Letterman finally retired from his years-spanning duties with the CBS “Late Show,” it had seemed like the end of an era. After all, clocking at 33 years of late-night show hosting across two networks, one cannot deny that Letterman was a definitive force in how the programming format developed towards the end of the 20th Century and the start of the 21st. But only two years after his last bow, Letterman looks to be fit to get right back into the television groove. The only difference now is that instead of broadcast TV, he is going straight to streaming, and on Netflix to boot.
Streaming talk show
Major media-streaming service Netflix continues to chug along with new content being slated to premiere, even as existing streams get phased out. Their latest acquisition is a mini-series in-depth talk show with none other than David Letterman as host. For an initial salvo of sorts, the talk show will only be six episodes spanning about an hour. The pre-recorded episodes will each focus only on one guest interviewee, with Letterman doing one-on-one interviews intercut with off-studio field report segments. This is a shade different from how the legendary talk-show host did things in CBS “Late Show” (now with Stephen Colbert) and NBC’s “Late Night” (now with Conan O’Brien).
In true Letterman form, the veteran host gave a glib explanation for his return to work, in an official statement he gave expressing his excitement in working with Netflix.
In his own words regarding his post-retirement experience, Letterman advises that anyone planning to retire to spend more time with family must “check with their family first.” Regarding the pre-recorded nature of his upcoming show on stream, he notes that the different pace of production is just what he was looking for during the “present stage” of his life.
Living legend
David Letterman is without a doubt a pillar of American late-night television history. In the over three decades he has hosted in the genre on two major networks, he wrapped up an astonishing 6,028 episodes of “Late Night” and “Late Show” combined. His successors on both shows and many other late-night stalwarts of today would candidly refer to him as their inspiration or patron saint.
That he will be returning to the arena, he helped define for so long is a cause for great celebration, even if he can only be seen on Netflix streams.
The new mini-series talk show with Letterman is due to start its first season on 2018 in Netflix. The host is also planning to retain the beard he has grown after his broadcast TV retirement.
