May 07, 2004
Letterman's Really - Really "Late Show"
David Letterman's gonna need his beauty sleep after this show.
In a made-for-May sweeps stunt, the gap-toothed comic is inviting night owls to come by the Ed Sullivan Theater next Friday, May 14, and join him for a special 4 a.m. taping of CBS' Late Show with David Letterman.
"It's going to be one-part unpredictable and one-part exciting," said Late Show's executive producer Rob Burnett. "Things seem funnier when you're really really tired."
Dubbed "The 4AM Show," the taping will be held in front of a presumably bleary-eyed studio audience in the wee hours of the morning, but will air in the Late Show's usual 11:35 p.m. time slot later that evening.
While we imagine Dave hasn't been getting too many Z's these days since becoming a new dad last November, the idea for the late taping actually originated with his (apparently highly caffeinated) staff who thought it might come up with some interesting schtick in the "city that never sleeps."
"It was one of the writers' ideas and that writer was immediately fired," Burnett joked (we think).
Letterman usually tapes his Friday show on Thursday evening. The rest of the week, Letterman shoots his Late Show in the afternoon, about five to six hours before it airs.
Burnett says the crew will probably set up cameras around Times Square and other Manhattan locales to capture "how interesting the city is at 4 a.m."
As far as which celebs might be willing to stay up and party with Dave is anybody's guess. Burnett says they're looking for the right kind of guests for such a taping and will make an announcement early next week.
While Letterman still trails rival Jay Leno 's The Tonight Show in the ratings, the CBS funnyman's ratings are dramatically up over last year.
Those vampires interested in obtaining tickets to the "4AM Show" can visit The Late Show's Website (cbs.com/latenight/lateshow or call 212-846-2566.
Posted by MK Magazine at May 7, 2004 08:24 AM