David Letterman Sets Up a New Series on Netflix

David Letterman
David Letterman says goodbye to ‘The Late Show’ (Photo Courtesy of CBS)

David Letterman’s coming out of retirement to star in a new series for Netflix. Netflix says the six-episode one-hour series will feature Letterman in “in-depth conversations with extraordinary people, and in-the-field segments expressing his curiosity and humor.” Expect the still untitled series to premiere sometime in 2018.

RadicalMedia is producing the series along with David Letterman’s Worldwide Pants. Per Netflix, “In each hour-long episode, Letterman will conduct a long-form conversation with a singular guest – and will also explore topics on his own, away from the studio.”

Commenting on his upcoming return to television, Letterman said, “I feel excited and lucky to be working on this project for Netflix. Here’s what I have learned, if you retire to spend more time with your family, check with your family first. Thanks for watching, drive safely.”

“Just meeting David Letterman was a thrill; imagine how exciting it is for me to announce that we will be working together,” stated Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer, Netflix. “David Letterman is a true television icon, and I can’t wait to see him out in the wild, out from behind the desk and interviewing the people he finds most interesting. We’ll have to see if he keeps the beard.”

Letterman holds the record as the longest-running late-night broadcaster in American history. He hosted 6,028 episodes of CBS’s The Late Show and NBC’s Late Night over a 33 year span. Over the course of his late night career, David Letterman was nominated for 52 Emmys and won 10.