David Letterman returning to TV in a deal with Netflix
Has the Resistance found its newest celebrity warrior?
David Letterman, who earlier this year in a rare interview with GQ called President Trump a “goon” without principles, is ending his retirement and returning to television.
Streaming giant Netflix says it has signed the acerbic 70-year-old host to helm an as-yetuntitled show to premiere some time next year.
In a statement about the new television deal, 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.”
According to Netflix, the format of the six hourlong episodes will find Letterman talking to one special guest and then going out on field segments to explore his curiosity about a topic.
Letterman told Variety he has his eye on a few high-profile world leaders — among them, Pope Francis and Trump.
In that GQ interview, he said he’d love a chance to ask Trump why he behaves the way he does.
Letterman was a late-night fixture for 33 years and retired from his CBS show in 2015. Since then, he has kept a low profile. But the GQ profile in the June issue implied he was restless.
He revealed that Trump’s election made him sick. He knew Trump well — he was a frequent guest on his CBS show.
“We always looked forward to having him on. He was a great guest,” Letterman said. “He was just a big, wealthy dope who’d come on, and we would make fun of his hair. I would refer to him as a slumlord. ...
“He’s demonstrated himself to be a man without a core, a man without a soul,” he added. “Is there a guy in there?”
Free of commercial network standards and practices, Letterman is sure to be more of himself, and the edge he displays might put him in company with his CBS successor Stephen Colbert and HBO’s John Oliver, who have seen their popularity — and their humor — taken more seriously as the Trump administration leads the country in its own distinctive way. “Letterman Unfiltered.” Now there’s a show title.