Hold off on the David Letterman retirement parties. The legendary host has agreed to a contract extension through 2015 and will continue hosting CBS’ Late Show.
Letterman and CBS President/CEO Les Moonves made it official today, the network said. “here is only one Dave, and we are extremely proud that he continues to call CBS ‘home,’” Moonves said.
“Les and I had a lengthy discussion, and we both agreed that I needed a little more time to fully run the show into the ground,” Letterman added.
Letterman has been hosting late night talk shows for 31 years, making him the longest-running host in late night TV history. He began his own show, Late Night with David Letterman, on NBC back in February 1982. The show won five Emmy Awards during its’ 11-year run.
In 2013, Letterman celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Late Show on CBS. Last month, he brought on Bill Murray, who was his very first guest on Late Night in 1982.
Letterman’s contract was set to end next year. In April 2012, he signed on for a two-year extension.
CBS said that Letterman’s audience is only growing, jumping 5 percent of last year during the first week of the 2013-2014 season. He has averaged 3.14 million viewers weekly.
Letterman’s guests this week include Tom Hanks, Lucy Liu, The Weeknd, Michael Strahan and The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar.
image: CBS