--- description: Jimmy Kimmel is honoring his idol David Letterman by not competing with him. Kimmel will reportedly air a repeat of his own show on May... title: Letterman's Last Show: Jimmy Kimmel to Air Repeat image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ba66bec2dab3f/6987eec48e06015e0645e7fd/kimmel-letterman.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jimmy Kimmel Will Air a Repeat During David Letterman's Final Show by [Esther Zuckerman](/author/esther-zuckerman/) ## Esther Zuckerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Zuckerman is a contributor for TIME. May 7, 2015 2:49 PM CUT  From left: Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman From left: Jimmy Kimmel and David LettermanGetty Images (2) by [Esther Zuckerman](/author/esther-zuckerman/) ## Esther Zuckerman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Zuckerman is a contributor for TIME. May 7, 2015 2:49 PM CUT Jimmy Kimmel is honoring his idol David Letterman by not competing with him. Kimmel will reportedly air a repeat of his own show on May 20, when Letterman wraps up his _Late Show_ run, [according to the ](http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/kimmel-will-not-broadcast-new-episode-opposite-letterman-finale/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Arts&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&%5Fr=0 "undefined")[New York](http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/kimmel-will-not-broadcast-new-episode-opposite-letterman-finale/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Arts&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&%5Fr=0 "undefined")[ _Times_](http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/kimmel-will-not-broadcast-new-episode-opposite-letterman-finale/?module=BlogPost-Title&version=Blog%20Main&contentCollection=Arts&action=Click&pgtype=Blogs®ion=Body&%5Fr=0 "undefined")_._ “I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show,” Kimmel said in an email to the _Times_. He added: “Plus, I’ll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work.” For more proof of Kimmel’s adoration of Letterman, watch his tribute to the host at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. “When I turned 16 I blew out the candles on a _Late Night with David Letterman_ cake that my mom made me,” Kimmel explained. “My first car had a _Late Night_ vanity plate. I drew pictures of Dave on the covers of all my textbooks. I started a _Late Night with David Letterman_ club in high school.” The _Times_ reported that both Jimmy Fallon’s _Tonight Show_ and _Conan_ are airing new episodes on May 20. ### Photos: David Letterman’s Early Career  One of David Letterman's earliest roles before he made it as a television host was as a guest star on Mork & Mindy. CBS/Getty Images  Before he received his own show, Letterman was a regular guest host for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Above, he is seen interviewing Betty White. Paul Drinkwater—NBC/Getty Images  In 1980, Letterman finally got his own morning comedy show, The David Letterman Show. Above, he is seen interviewing Truman Capote. Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images  After the cancellation of his morning show, Letterman was given a new show and time slot, Late Night With David Letterman which immediately followed The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The first version of the Late Night franchise, debuted on February 1, 1982 and would eventually be succeeded by Conan O’Brien, seen above. Al Levine—NBC/Getty Images  Letterman left NBC for CBS to start the Late Show with David Letterman when NBC gave the reigns of The Tonight Show to Jay Leno instead of him after Johnny Carson's retirement. The first show debuted on August 30, 1993, with Letterman's retirement announced for 2015. New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3850176/david-letterman-last-show-jimmy-kimmel/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3850176/david-letterman-last-show-jimmy-kimmel/"},"headline":"Jimmy Kimmel Will Air a Repeat During David Letterman's Final Show","datePublished":"2015-05-07T14:49:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:47:38.275Z","description":"Jimmy Kimmel is honoring his idol David Letterman by not competing with him. Kimmel will reportedly air a repeat of his own show on May...","url":"https://time.com/3850176/david-letterman-last-show-jimmy-kimmel/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Television","David Letterman","entertainment","Jimmy Kimmel","celebrity"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ba66bec2dab3f/6987eec48e06015e0645e7fd/kimmel-letterman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Esther Zuckerman","jobTitle":"Zuckerman is a contributor for TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/esther-zuckerman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d2ba66bec2dab3f/6987eec48e06015e0645e7fd/kimmel-letterman.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"kimmel-letterman","caption":"From left: Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman","creditText":"Getty Images (2)","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3850176/david-letterman-last-show-jimmy-kimmel/","name":"Jimmy Kimmel Will Air a Repeat During David Letterman's Final Show"}}]}] ```