Yesterday, David Letterman announced that he will be retiring from The Late Show next year.
David Letterman has been working in late night comedy for over 30 years. So for most comedians, he's played a pivotal role in their comedic development. Many of those comedians took to twitter to express that over the last 24 hours.
I've worked for Dave Letterman for over 17 years. He is and will forever be the best.
— Justin Stangel (@Justin_Stangel) April 4, 2014"Late Night" was the show that inspired me to get into stand-up. Congrats to Mr. Letterman for a nice long run.
— Joel Hodgson (@JoelGHodgson) April 4, 2014Growing up in Indiana watching @Letterman was probably the biggest influence over my career.
— Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) April 3, 2014How's Leno taking the news?
With Letterman getting all this attention, Leno's gonna need to buy like ten new cars to make it through the weekend.
— Brendan Hay (@B_Hay) April 4, 2014Of course, after the announcement went viral, the internet immediately started speculating about who will be the next host of The Late Show.
Today is a rough day for #Letterman fans, but a good day for websites that make highly speculative slideshows about replacements.
— Jay Welch (@welchjay) April 4, 2014Letterman will be replaced by an hour of cat videos every night. Ratings soar
— Mike Lawrence (@TheMikeLawrence) April 4, 2014Letterman's timeslot should go to a series of even older, crankier guys who host for a year and then retire. Clint Eastwood. Harrison Ford.
— Al Shipley (@alshipley) April 4, 2014As long as David Letterman is replaced by someone named Jimmy, the 10:30 time slot prophecy will be fulfilled.
— Tom Compton (@drivewaydranker) April 4, 2014Just waiting for my mother's phone call telling me to take the Letterman job.
— Chris Franjola (@ChrisFranjola) April 3, 2014Help Wanted: Late night talk show host required. SNL experience preferred. Must have own sidekick. Contact CBS Television. #Letterman
— Dave Haase (@DaveHaase1) April 3, 2014I did standup on @Letterman for the first time last week & now Dave is retiring. I SWEAR I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 3, 2014There are a number of names circulating as potential new hosts including Chelsea Handler, Jerry Seinfeld and Jon Stewart.
Who would you like to see fill the void? And what in the world is Paul Shaffer going to do now?
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.
