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During the first few minutes of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Dave’s guest, President Barack Obama, makes an unexpected quip that surprises Letterman, resulting in the longtime talk show host releasing an involuntary cackle of appreciation. I didn’t realize how much I missed watching David Letterman until I heard that familiar sound.
The venerable comedian has returned to the talk show scene with his brand new Netflix series My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Premiering today, the first episode is almost an hour of classic David Letterman humor, which actually seems to have confused more than a few viewers. Anyone who’s ever watched Letterman during his early days on NBC’s Late Night or his tenure as host of CBS’ The Late Show understands that the man has a distinct brand of acerbic, self-deprecating humor.
“I’m Dave Letterman,” the host says during the opening moments of his new Netflix series. “I had a show for a while, and then I got fired.”
This is classic Letterman. Dave wasn’t fired from CBS. Back in 2014, he announced he was (voluntarily) retiring from hosting The Late Show. He also wasn’t fired from NBC after the network’s controversial decision to give Jay Leno The Tonight Show after Johnny Carson’s 1992 retirement. Far from it, in fact. He hosted NBC’s 12:30 a.m. talk show from 1982-1993 before accepting CBS’ offer of an 11:30 p.m. show that would run against Leno. Not only was he not fired from either show, Letterman actually holds the record for longest-running late-night talk-show host in TV history.
The confusion, however, is understandable. The topic of Letterman’s termination was once again broached after Dave introduced Obama. The former president, who would make a tremendous improv comedian, played along with the joke.
“You and I recently left long-term jobs,” Letterman said to the former president. “We did,” Barack replied. “I was not fired though.”
And neither was Dave.
The premiere episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction is now streaming on Netflix.
