seriously ten

Each weekday night, David Letterman entertains his audience and viewers by interviewing the most sought after stars of film, television, theater, music, politics and sports.

Letterman opens each show with his monologue poking fun at the most current events. With this and his famous Top Ten lists, The Late Show with David Letterman is a frontrunner in late night television.

David Letterman

After nearly 4000 broadcasts, David Letterman remains one of the most influential personalities in the history of television. Other than Johnny Carson, who hosted The Tonight Show for 30 years, no late-night host comes near Letterman in longevity, critical praise and award recognition. Often imitated but never matched, Letterman presents, night after night, an unpredictable hour of innovative comedy.

Television critics agree. The New York Observer named Letterman its "Media Mensch of the Year," noting that he is "a pioneer without platitude; who has become the gold standard for TV in our age," while The New York Daily News called him "the best the medium can achieve." Entertainment Weekly echoed the sentiment, calling him "the ol' reliable, the real stuff."

On Aug. 30, 1993, The Late Show with David Letterman made its debut, and it quickly went on to become one of the most talked-about and critically acclaimed programs of the year. Now, many years later, The Late Show continues to deliver inventive and imaginative comedy every night. For its efforts, it has earned six Emmy Awards as "Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program."

Letterman's first network break was in 1978 on the CBS variety series Mary, starring Mary Tyler Moore. In November of that year, he made the first of his 22 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. He also guest-hosted Tonight numerous times.

In 1980, Letterman began hosting an 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. Throughout its 11½ years, Late Night was honored with many awards, including 5 Emmys and 35 Emmy nominations.

From the start, Letterman has been critically applauded 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 in 1995 and 2001 he was nominated for a Career Achievement Award by the Television Critics Association.

Both Late Night with David Letterman and CBS's Late Show with David Letterman have earned countless awards, including 13 Emmys and 74 Emmy nominations. (The Late Show alone has received 39 Emmy nominations and won eight Emmys, including six total for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program in 1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002.) In addition, Letterman's morning program, The David Letterman Show, won two Emmys and was honored with five nominations.