The show’s producers, Joel Bach and David Gelber, reached out to Letterman after noticing that he seemed particularly interested in climate change on his talk show. “The reason why Letterman’s part of this is that we just noticed that he seemed to perk up when this issue came across his lap,” said co-producer David Gelber to The Hollywood Reporter. “We reached out to him to see if he’d want to be part of this, and he said, ‘Absolutely.’ He said [that climate change is] something he does think about a lot.”
The comedy legend, who will speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on energy issues, is just one of the many celebrity correspondents on the show. Also featured will be Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron, Jack Black, Ty Burrell, Thomas Friedman, Joshua Jackson, Aasif Mandvi, Olivia Munn, Ian Somerhalder, and Cecily Strong. “By combining the access and reputation of National Geographic with Hollywood’s brightest minds and journalism’s heaviest hitters, we plan to create even greater impact with the new season and awaken all of us to the reality of our global situation,” said National Geographic exec Courteney Monroe in a press release.
The second season, which will premiere on National Geographic in October 2016, will report from various corners of the globe in pursuit of solutions to address worldwide climate change. Co-producers Gelber and Bach, who aired the show’s first season in spring 2014 on Showtime, previously worked together at 60 Minutes.
As for Letterman, Gelber told The Hollywood Reporter that it’ll be the former Late Show host’s first trip to India. “Dave will be a terrific correspondent for us,” continued Gelber. “We’re very comfortable having him with the Prime Minister of India — I’m not sure there are that many people we’d be comfortable setting up in that kind of role. He’s a wonderful interviewer.”
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