Skip to main content

Respect: Jimmy Kimmel won’t go live for Letterman’s final bow

The end of an era is rapidly approaching. Late Night with David Letterman will end a run of over 30 years on two networks May 20. And, in homage, fellow late night television host Jimmy Kimmel has said he won’t go on live against his childhood comedic idol’s last hurrah, instead airing a repeat of his program on that night out of respect for the long-time late-night champ.

The move is a bold one given that the episode falls right in the middle of sweeps, when viewer data is captured to determine overall show ratings, making the gesture all the more touching.

Recommended Videos

“I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show,” he told the New York Times, adding in jokingly that he’d probably be crying all day anyway.

Related: CBS announced September start date for Stephen Colbert on Late Show

David Letterman has been a staple of the late night circuit for decades, battling through triple bypass surgery, an attempted extortion scandal, and an ongoing feud with rival Jay Leno, who came out ahead in a battle between the two for The Tonight Show in the ’90s. Following Leno’s appointment as successor to Johnny Carson – a post many felt would rightfully go to Letterman – the latter took a job at CBS to compete head-to-head with Leno. The rivalry appeared to continue through the decades.

While Letterman often trailed Leno in ratings, his show was still highly successful, and featured a series of iconic interviews over its 30+ years. Some notable highlights are the infamous Madonna interview while she was (now admittedly) high; Joaquin Phoenix’s bearded silent treatment while he was supposedly converting to a rap artist; Drew Barrymore who table danced and flashed him on air; and a string of interviews with his political nemesis Bill O’Reilly. And those are just to name a few in a storied run.

Thus far, Kimmel is the only late night talk show host to bow out of competing directly with Letterman’s last episode. There is a sort of kinship among the two, not just to do with Kimmel’s admitted love for the comedian and talk show host: both have always been hosts of “that other” show in the prime time late night hour, competing against the juggernaut that is The Tonight Show. Yet both have managed to hold their own. It’s a move that shows great respect for the role model and comedy icon. Kimmel might be all laughs, but there’s clearly a real heart in there. Fallon, over to you.

The very last episode of the Late Show with David Letterman will air on May 20, after which Stephen Colbert will take over the show. Some of the confirmed guests for the finale, according to the CBC, are: Bill Murray (Letterman’s first guest ever), George Clooney, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Robert Downey Jr., Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Don Rickles, Julia Roberts (who’s known to often plant a kiss on Letterman), Ray Romano, Howard Stern, Oprah Winfrey, Martin Short, John Travolta, Michael J. Fox, and Alec Baldwin.

Christine Persaud
Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
Jurassic World Rebirth review: A fun but all-too familiar blockbuster
Jurassic World Rebirth: a sequel that brings some life back to an exhausted franchise
A man and woman hide in a field and stare curiously in "Jurassic World Rebirth."

Director Gareth Edwards (The Creator) has brought audiences back to the land of dinosaurs with his film, Jurassic World Rebirth. This standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion follows a team of hired operatives as they journey to an island inhabited by mutant dinosaurs, which were left behind by Jurassic World researchers, and try to gather enough dino-DNA to generate a cure for heart disease.

The Jurassic Park franchise is struggling to keep things fresh and engaging. Clearly, the filmmakers knew this fact during the production of Jurassic World Rebirth. This sequel falls short of expectations with its familiar story elements, some thin characters, and a clunky script. Nevertheless, Jurassic World Rebirth still provides some entertainment, featuring some terrific new players, exhilarating action scenes, terrifying suspense, and outstanding visuals. This movie is far from the best in the Jurassic Park saga, but it's a decent blockbuster nonetheless.

Read more
This new adventure movie will win the weekend box office. Watch the trailer here
Movie theater audience watching Dolby Cinema content.

Last weekend, F1: The Movie stood atop the box office podium, but this weekend a very different movie will steal the spotlight.

Jurassic World Rebirth is expected to rake in between $80 million and $100 million on its debut weekend in North America, according to a forecast from Boxoffice Pro. Watch the trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth at the top of this page.

Read more
Napoleon Dynamite is one of three underrated HBO Max movies to watch this weekend
Napoleon Dynamite and Pedro stand together.

The movie event of the year is now on HBO Max in Sinners. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan as twins Smoke and Stack, two outlaws who return to their Mississippi town to run a juke joint. On opening night, the twins are visited by vampires, who plan to add the entire party to their clan.

Sinners put up historic numbers at the box office, and now, audiences everywhere can stream it in the comfort of their own homes. Speaking of streaming, we picked three underrated movies to watch this holiday weekend. One of our picks is a cult classic from 2004.

Read more