What’s Worth Watching: One Last Late Show for Dave

Late Show With David Letterman (Wednesday, May 20, 11:35/10:35c, CBS)

The Ed Sullivan Theatre is about to go dark for the summer, and an era of late-night entertainment embodied by its crankiest and most idiosyncratic host is ending with a rush of nostalgic emotion. David Letterman set a game-changing tone for 33 years with his self-mocking style of ironic absurdism, and fans who’ve either grown too old to stay up with him or otherwise found it all too easy to take Dave for granted in recent years are likely to peer back in for one last night of Late Show shenanigans. The honor roll in recent weeks has been staggering: George Clooney handcuffing himself to Letterman to keep him from going anywhere, legends from Oprah to Bob Dylan stopping by to pay respects.

What will we get on Dave’s final show? One last “Top Ten” list for sure, perhaps an acknowledgment of the family of staff we’ve come to know over the years, and no doubt a genuine moment or two of appreciation from the host, who’s never better than when he’s being real. Here’s hoping that at the very least he’ll leave us laughing.