It’s been six months since David Letterman’s farewell to The Late Show, and even though the late-night legend has been keeping a low profile since then (along with growing a ZZ Top-worthy beard) expect to see Letterman make a comeback of some sort.
So says longtime Late Show bandleader Paul Shaffer in a revealing interview with The Candian Press, adding that he and Letterman are in touch regularly and have talked about reuniting for a new comedy project.
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“We’ve spoken a little bit about it, that perhaps we might do (something),” says the Thunder Bay native. “He’s been kicking around the desire to just do something that enables him to get in front of an audience.”;
However, he cautions that so far it’s just been talk, noting “there’s nothing to announce.”
However, Shaffer reveals that Letterman is anxious to get back to the business of making people laugh.
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“He absolutely misses it, for so many reasons. But he likes to perform,” says Shaffer. “People say to me, ‘Maybe he’ll produce something.’ What he likes to do is be in front of an audience. I have a feeling he’s going to figure a way, not necessarily on TV, but just as long as I think he can get in front of an audience, we may see him doing that.”
Shaffer admits that he also misses The Late Show, revealing it hasn’t been an easy adjustment since ending their 33-year run in late-night TV.
“I did it for so long, on a daily basis … so now, to turn it off so suddenly, has led to quite a period of decompression. Which is still going on, sort of. It’s quite a major change.”
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Which is not to say he hasn’t been keeping busy. In fact, Shaffer’s latest project is right around the corner: A Very Murray Christmas, which sees him play keyboards and leading the band in Bill Murray’s first holiday special, premiering on Netflix on Friday, Dec. 4.
