Sometimes Letterman had guests you wanted to see more of, rather than the 5 or 6 minutes they were allotted on his previous shows with CBS and NBC. Consider it done now with Dave's new Netflix show, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction".
Gone are (most) wise cracks and self deprecating humor Letterman was famous for on his late-night shows. There's no band, no lengthy witty monologue about current events, and really no set either. Filmed in a college auditorium in New York, the "set" is two leather chairs and a table sitting in the middle of a large stage. Lights, cameras and other technical equipment are sometimes seen in various shots throughout the program but that's the whole feel of the show; it's not an error and it fits nicely with the format.
We see a different Letterman here than the one we're used to. A white-bearded, easygoing fellow who appears to be a lot more chill and in his element. There's no pressure to keep people laughing and tuning in, and it shows on screen (that's not a bad thing). There's no hard-nosed journalism, thankfully. Consider it like this: two friends chatting about life, and you the viewer, are invited to listen in. Very personal questions, and very personal answers that are from the heart.
Letterman talks with the kind of guests you wish you saw more of when they were on his late-night shows. "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" (and yet he does introduce them) is nearly an hour long, broken up with brief produced segments to keep the flow going. You probably won't catch every episode; rather you'll want to see the ones with people you admire or those whom always have something interesting to say. And that's OK; that's just the kind of show it is. Personally, I tuned in to the first episode with Barack Obama (his first talk show appearance since leaving office), and I'll probably watch the next episode with George Clooney, where Letterman makes a surprise visit to the Clooney home. Unlike many Netflix shows the entire season has not been released all at once.
