Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There’s some late night drama going on, folks. As reported by EW, last night, David Letterman told NBC News that he “couldn’t care less” about late night television, and that statement includes his Late Show replacement, Stephen Colbert. But more interestingly, Letterman questioned why CBS didn’t select a female comedian as his replacement.
Post-retirement interviews from Letterman are a rare thing, but Letterman spoke to On Assignment, a limited series from Dateline NBC, about his thoughts on late night television and the now Stephen Colbert-led CBS show. Check out the video below:
When interviewer Tom Brokaw asked if Letterman missed the show, this is what Letterman had to say:
Letterman then discussed how the change affected his opinions of late night TV as a whole:
Essentially, Letterman just echoed an argument that’s been surrounding late night TV for years now. Why is this field dominated by so many men, specifically white men? (The racial observation isn’t one that Letterman made in the interview.) Last year, Vanity Fair published a piece on how incredible late night TV is, and it was an overwhelmingly testosterone-filled picture — literally.
https://twitter.com/VanityFair/status/643459713561141248/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Of course, things have gotten a little better in 2016. Samantha Bee on TBS has been killing it, and Netflix’s Chelsea Handler is off to a rocky but promising start. However, Letterman’s statement isn’t without problems. When pressed for a name, Letterman couldn’t think of anyone, which is likely because he was put on the spot. It still bears mentioning that having diversity just for diversity’s sake isn’t the way we should approach projects. The best people for the job need to be selected regardless of their race, gender, or sexuality. But, as Letterman’s comment points out, that doesn’t always seem to happen. No offense Colbert, but we need some more diversity on late night.
