My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (commonly referred to as My Next Guest) is an American television talk show hosted by David Letterman that premiered on January 12, 2018, on Netflix. The series consists of interviews with one guest per episode both inside and outside a studio setting. The show has received generally positive reviews, with its format, Letterman's hosting, choice of guests, and insightful conversations receiving praise. My Next Guest has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special four times.
Production
Development
On August 8, 2017, Netflix announced it had ordered a six-episode interview series starring David Letterman. Each hour-long episode was set to feature Letterman conducting a long-form conversation with a single guest and in-the-field segments, in which he would explore topics on his own.[1]
On January 5, 2018, it was announced that Letterman's guests in the first season would include Barack Obama, George Clooney, Malala Yousafzai, Jay-Z, Tina Fey, and Howard Stern. It was also announced that the series would premiere on January 12, 2018, with Letterman's interview with Obama. This interview was Obama's first since leaving office.[2][3]
On December 14, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had renewed the series for a second season consisting of six episodes.[4] On May 31, 2019, five new episodes were released. On June 21, a bonus episode was released.
Music
The show's theme song and bridging music were written and recorded by Letterman's long-time bandleader, Paul Shaffer.[5] Soon after it was announced publicly that Netflix had given the series an order, Shaffer received a phone call from Letterman asking him to work on the show. Soon after, Shaffer began to receive cuts of episodes from the first season and he started to put music in afterwards where the director thought it was needed.[6]
In developing the sound of the show's music, Shaffer initially looked to Letterman for guidance. Finding none, he remembered his and Letterman's shared love for the sort of music produced at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama describing it as "the honesty you hear, the southern soul feeling." The score initially included drums but the show's producers and director thought that the music should "feel like it's Dave's old friend Paul playing," so it was ultimately stripped down to solely include piano, organ, and bass guitar.[6]
Cold open: Letterman and Clooney outside of LAX watching planes land and eating fast food. On-location segment: At the home of Nick Clooney meeting Iraqi refugee Hazim Avdal whom the Clooney family is sponsoring.
3
3
"Malala Yousafzai" "You Know, She Has a Nobel Peace Prize"[a]
Cold open: Letterman accompanies Yousafzai as she leads a tour group at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. On-location segment: Yousafzai continues to lead the tour group as Letterman tags along, the pair browse in the University of Oxford shop, and Letterman eats lunch with Yousafzai's father.
Cold open: None On-location segment: Letterman visits Shangri La Studio, speaks with music producer Rick Rubin and listens to Madison Ryann Ward recording.
Cold open: None On-location segment: Letterman and Blues musician Buddy Guy eat chicken and fries at the Athenian Room, one of Tina Fey's Chicago hangouts, while talking about the origins of the Chicago Blues. Later, Guy performs “Skin Deep”, accompanied by Paul Shaffer, at his nightclub, Buddy Guy’s Legends.
On-location segment: Letterman races young drivers on a go-kart track; Hamilton drives laps in a 2019 Mercedes AMG F1 W10 EQ Power+ and drives Letterman around a circuit in a Mercedes-AMG E63, Letterman drives Hamilton in a station wagon.[8] Lewis Hamilton's father, Anthony Hamilton, is in the audience.
"King of Bollywood" Shah Rukh Khan opens up about his rise to fame, his family, and his billions of fans as he and David meet up in Mumbai and New York.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus takes Dave fishing and talks growing up with two families, serving Gumby tea on Saturday Night Live and reality overtaking fiction with Veep.
Special (2022)
No. overall
Title
Guest
Original release date
25
"My Next Guest with David Letterman and Volodymyr Zelenskyy"
Miley Cyrus performs an intimate show at the Chateau Marmont and opens up to Dave about songwriting, sobriety and separating herself from Hannah Montana.
Charles Barkley goes golfing with Dave and shares his unfiltered opinions on the NBA and WNBA, his transition to analyst and the fight against racism.
Reception
Critical response
The first season of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction has been met with a positive response from critics. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an 83% approval rating with an average rating of 6.79 out of 10 based on 29 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "My Next Guest may not be groundbreaking, but a more intimate setting provides ample room for intelligent, insightful interviews with interesting subjects that go beyond standard late-night conversations."[11]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the season a score of 70 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
