Late Night with David Letterman

*Late Night with David Letterman*
Late Night with David Letterman
Also known as	Late Night (franchise brand)
Genre	Talk; Variety; Comedy;
Created by	David Letterman
Written by	Merrill Markoe (head writer: 1982); Jim Downey (head writer: 1982–1983); Steve O'Donnell (head writer: 1983–1992); Rob Burnett (head writer: 1992–1993);
Presented by	David Letterman
Starring	Paul Shaffer; and The World's Most Dangerous Band
Narrated by	Bill Wendell
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	1,819
Production
Executive producers	Jack Rollins (1982–1992); Barry Sand (1982–1988); David Letterman (1987–1993); Robert Morton (1987–1993); Peter Lassally (1992–1993);
Production locations	Studio 6A, NBC Studios, New York, New York
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	42–43 minutes
Production companies	Carson Productions; Space Age Meats Productions (1982–1990); Worldwide Pants (1990–93); NBC Productions;
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	February 1, 1982 –; June 25, 1993
Related
	The David Letterman Show; Late Show with David Letterman;
	Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Late Night with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the Late Night franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982,^[1] and was produced by Letterman's production company, Space Age Meats, and Carson Productions. Letterman had previously hosted his own morning talk show on NBC from June to October 1980. The show's house band, The World's Most Dangerous Band, was led by music director Paul Shaffer. In 1993, Letterman announced that he would leave NBC to host the Late Show with David Letterman on CBS. The final episode of Late Night was broadcast on June 25, 1993. The series has continued as Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

In 2013, this series and Late Show with David Letterman were ranked No. 41 on TV Guide's 60 Best Series of All Time.^[2] During its run, the show was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series 11 times. It was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series 14 times, winning 4, and won one Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series out of 7 nominations.

^ Jory, Tom (February 1, 1982). "Letterman's going to stay up late". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. p. 11.
^ Bruce Fretts (23 December 2013). "TV Guide Magazine's 60 Best Series of All Time". TVGuide.com.