Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is Paul Shaffer. The head writer is Matt Roberts and the announcer is Alan Kalter. Of the major U.S. late-night programs, Late Show ranks second in cumulative average viewers over time and third in number of episodes over time. The show leads other late night shows in ad revenue with $271 million in 2009.
In most U.S. markets the show airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, but is recorded Monday through Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m and 6:00 p.m. The second Thursday episode usually airs on Friday of that week.
In 2002, Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. CBS has a contract with Worldwide Pants to continue the show through 2014; by then, Letterman will surpass Johnny Carson as the longest tenured late-night talk show host.
Has targeted appeal — designed for a specific demographic segment.
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Advocacy
Entertainment (0/100) — content choices prioritize storytelling over messaging.
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Representation
lower hispanic (28) and black (26) and white (3) representation.
Demographic Position
Gender: 38 — leans male Age: 32 — leans younger
0 = Male / Youth100 = Female / Mature
Primary audienceYoung Men
targeted
Quadrant Scores
Young Men
80
How strongly this title appeals to males 18–34. Based on genre, cast, action/violence levels, pacing, and marketing signals. Higher = stronger appeal.
Young Women
56
How strongly this title appeals to females 18–34. Based on genre, romance centrality, cast composition, lead demographics, and tone. Higher = stronger appeal.
Older Men
45
How strongly this title appeals to males 35+. Based on theme maturity, pacing, complexity, genre, and production style. Higher = stronger appeal.
Older Women
20
How strongly this title appeals to females 35+. Based on drama elements, character complexity, genre, cast, and emotional themes. Higher = stronger appeal.
Advocacy0
Entertainment
Audience Representation
White
3
Measures deviation from the expected White representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Black
26
Measures deviation from the expected Black representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Hispanic
28
Measures deviation from the expected Hispanic representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Asian
38
Measures deviation from the expected Asian representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
South Asian
46
Measures deviation from the expected South Asian representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Middle Eastern
48
Measures deviation from the expected Middle Eastern representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Indigenous
48
Measures deviation from the expected Indigenous representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Mixed
42
Measures deviation from the expected Mixed representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
Other
48
Measures deviation from the expected Other representation based on this title's production origin. 50 = baseline for its country. Higher = more representation than typical.
LGBTQ+
0
LGBTQ+ representation score based on character centrality, cast percentage, lead representation, and source fidelity. 0 = no representation, 100 = central to the story.