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Veteran US talk show host David Letterman will return to television on January 12th in a new Netflix show where his first guest will be former president Barack Obama.
Called My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, the six-episode series will also feature interviews with actor George Clooney, rapper Jay-Z, radio shock jock Howard Stern, comedian Tina Fey and Pakistani education activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai.
Netflix shares rose as much as 2 per cent to a record of $209.72 after the announcement. The firm has been spending heavily to produce and acquire content as it races to dominate streaming television and beat competition from traditional media and other streaming options such as Hulu and Amazon’s Prime Video.
Letterman’s interview with Mr Obama will mark the former president’s first television talk show appearance since he left office in January of last year.
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Family time
Letterman (70) left his job as host of The Late Show in May 2015, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family after more than 30 years on late night television.
His return to television for Netflix was announced in August, when the quick-witted host said that Pope Francis and Mr Obama’s successor Donald Trump would be top of his wish-list for the series.
Netflix said the new series would consist of 60-minute episodes focused on “one extraordinary figure whom Dave finds fascinating” and that the interviews would take place both inside and outside a studio setting.
The company, home to shows such as House of Cards and Stranger Things, streams to most countries and has a customer base of about 115.6 million.
The company’s shares have kept pace with its user growth and have risen nearly 60 per cent in the past year. - Reuters
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