David Letterman Didn't Think Stephen Colbert Would Replace Him On The Late Show, Here's Who He Thought Would

Summary

• Despite not being consulted about his replacement, David Letterman admitted Jon Stewart was his choice to host The Late Show.
• Letterman praised Stephen Colbert for making hosting look easy.
• Letterman admitted missing his late-night hosting days and felt better watching Colbert as the new successor.

Since David Letterman is widely considered to be one of the best talk show hosts, anyone who replaced him had big shoes to fill. Fortunately for Stephen Colbert, he has been successful enough in Letterman's old slot to become so rich that he is wealthier than most other talk show hosts.

Before Colbert replaced Letterman, the elder talk show host could be controversial enough to get guests to walk out on him. Given that Letterman pushes envelopes like that, it isn't surprising that he was honest enough to admit he didn't think Colbert would be the one to replace him.

This article will look at who David Letterman thought would replace him and if he had any role in the selection of Colbert. Following that, the article will look at what Letterman thinks of Stephen Colbert as a host.

David Letterman Thought Jon Stewart Would Replace Him As Host Of The Late Show

Between 1993 and 2015, David Letterman was a staple of late-night television. As a result, it was the end of an era when he left Late Show with David Letterman and Stephen Colbert took up his old slot. Before Colbert's current late-night show premiered, Letterman publicly revealed who he thought would take over his time slot.

A few weeks before the last episode of Late Show with David Letterman aired, Letterman was interviewed by The New York Times. During the resulting discussion, Letterman admitted he thought Jon Stewart would be the one to replace him.

"I always thought Jon Stewart would have been a good choice. And then Stephen."

Not only did Letterman think Stewart was the right choice, it seems like Stephen Colbert wasn't even his second choice. As Letterman went on to explain to The New York Times, he thought that it would have made sense if he was replaced by a woman and/or person of color.

"And then I thought, well, maybe this will be a good opportunity to put a black person on, and it would be a good opportunity to put a woman on. Because there are certainly a lot of very funny women that have television shows everywhere. So that would have made sense to me as well."

Who replaced David Letterman when he left his original late-night talk show, Late Night with David Letterman?

At that point in the interview, The New York Times' reporter David Itzkoff asked Letterman if he was consulted about who would replace him. After Letterman revealed he wasn't, Itzkoff asked if that hurt Letterman's feelings.

Letterman fully admitted that it bothered him that CBS never asked his opinion about who his successor would be.

Who was rumored to take over for David Letterman before Stephen Colbert was announced, according to Vulture?

• Craig Ferguson
• Jon Stewart
• Stephen Colbert
• Conan O’Brien
• Jay Leno
• Chelsea Handler
• Ellen DeGeneres
• Jimmy Kimmel
• Neil Patrick Harris

"Yeah, I guess so. Just as a courtesy, maybe somebody would say: “You know, we’re kicking around some names. Do you have any thoughts here?” But it doesn’t bother me now. At the time, I had made the decision [to leave] and I thought, O.K., this is what comes when you make this decision."

Itzkoff also asked Letterman if he gave Stephen Colbert any advice about taking over his slot. According to Letterman, that didn't happen. "We chatted when the announcement was made. And that was about it. I don’t think he needs — he’s not a kid. He’s not a beginner. He’s had pretty good success."

Letterman also talked to Itzkoff about how quickly CBS chose Colbert.

"They didn’t have to put much thought to it, did they? I think it was the very next day."

David Letterman Is Jealous Of Stephen Colbert After He Left The Late Show

After The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premiered in September 2015, the show welcomed virtually every major celebrity. However, David Letterman stayed away for many years. In 2023, Letterman finally made an appearance on his successor's show, and he lavished praise on Stephen Colbert.

As one of the most legendary and longest-lasting talk show hosts of all time, Letterman knows exactly what it takes to be a late-night success. As a result, it was huge praise when Letterman told Colbert that he made the job look easy.

“It must be very very gratifying, and as a handful of people recognize, it’s not easy. But you make it look very easy. So congratulations again to you and the entire staff.”

Letterman also talked to Colbert about how much he missed being the host of his former late-night show. “I miss everything. I mean mostly, it’s fun.”

In 2015, David Letterman had a different take on how much he would miss being a talk show host when he spoke to Rolling Stone. “I’m surprised­ — I can remember the first day that Stephen Colbert took over — put his [new] show on the air. I thought I would have some trouble, some emotional trouble, or some feeling of displacement, but I realized, hey, that’s not my problem anymore. And I have felt much better."

In arguably the funniest part of Letterman's appearance on Colbert's show, the duo took a photo together. According to what Letterman told Colbert, he wanted to take the photo to prove to his son that he used to be a talk show host.