Jimmy Kimmel is getting another visit from his late-night hero, David Letterman.
Letterman is set to guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tuesday, December 9. The appearance will mark his seventh visit to JKL and his first on the program since March 2023.
Letterman is promoting the new season of his Netflix talk series, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Following a special installment with Adam Sandler released on December 1, the show is scheduled to return Tuesday, December 16 with guests Michael B. Jordan, MrBeast, and Jason Bateman.
Letterman last sat for a network late-night interview in November 2023, returning to his old studio for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. However, he has popped up a couple of times since then. In February, he crashed Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show monologue to celebrate his former bandleader, Paul Shaffer, filling in for The Roots. (The surprise walk-out was Letterman’s first visit to The Tonight Show since Johnny Carson retired in 1992.) In May, The Late Show debuted a “Colbert Questionert” segment they had recorded with Letterman during his 2023 visit. Letterman also guested on John Mulaney’s Netflix series Everybody’s in LA and Everybody’s Live in May 2024 and April 2025, respectively.
While Letterman could have visited either of the franchises he created—Late Night or The Late Show—it’s no surprise that he’s making Jimmy Kimmel Live! his first stop. Growing up, Kimmel idolized Letterman to the point of getting a “L8 NITE” vanity license plate and Late Night-themed birthday cake.
Last month, Kimmel reflected on this fandom during his tribute to late bandleader Cleto Escobedo III. “most of all, we loved David Letterman,” Kimmel told viewers. “We never missed David Letterman.”
The two hosts have since become friends, with Letterman visiting Kimmel’s show six times since 2012. Last year, the pair were said to be developing a show together for comedian Luenell.
In September, Letterman came to Kimmel’s defense when ABC pulled Jimmy Kimmel Live! off air. “My good friend Jimmy Kimmel— I feel bad about this,” he said at The Atlantic Festival amidst Kimmel’s suspension. “This is something that was predicted day our president right after Stephen Colbert [was cancelled]… so you’re telling me that this isn’t premeditated on some level?”
When Kimmel returned to TV days later, Letterman praised his JKL monologue as “word perfect” and “quite a document.”
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