After 33 years and over 6,000 episodes of Late Night and Late Show with David Letterman combined, when the king of late-night talk shows took a bow in 2015 it seemed the party was over.
But, David Michael Letterman at age 70 is back with a six-part interview series on Netflix titled 'My Next Guest Needs No Introduction' and staying true to the name his lineup really needs no introduction.
With the state of Late Night TV having evolved (for the better or worse - depending on your taste), Letterman's new show is not how you would remember him. There is no rush, no breaks, no forced jokes and when the audience does laugh its not because they have been cued to do so.
In the first episode Letterman's guest was the 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama.
Surprisingly while the Netflix audience knew Obama was the guest, during filming, the audience at Aaron Davis Hall at The City College New York was unaware who the surprise guest would be.
In a relaxed atmosphere, Barack and Letterman talk about family vacations, their children, books, what each is planning next and the 1960's civil rights movement.
The last on that list, was meshed into the onstage interview with a pre-recorded segment where Letterman walked the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma Alabama with Congressman John Lewis. They talk about Bloody Sunday the flashpoint of the movement when Lewis along with 400 marchers attempted to cross the bridge to protest against White vs Black voting rights in Montgomery (the state capital)
In the segment Lewis drives it home linking the Bloody Sunday march in Selma to paving the way for Obama to enter the White House.
Interestingly during the entire interview Obama doesn't take any jibes on Trump - which might disappoint viewers. He does talk about social media as opposed to mainstream media and also talks about how the internet will show results depending on an individuals bias.
While Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was rumoured to appear in the second instalment of the show, that spot is going to be featuring George Clooney when the new episode comes out this Friday.
It is expected that the interview with Malala will be the third serving of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
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