 
  Popularity: 4 (history)
| Director: | Betty Thomas | 
|---|---|
| Writer: | Bill Carter, George Armitage | 
| Staring: | 
| David Letterman vies with Jay Leno and his manager to succeed Johnny Carson, retiring from "The Tonight Show." | |
| Release Date: | Feb 24, 1996 | 
|---|---|
| Director: | Betty Thomas | 
| Writer: | Bill Carter, George Armitage | 
| Genres: | Comedy, Drama, TV Movie | 
| Keywords | talk show, late night, woman director | 
| Production Companies | HBO, Northern Lights Entertainment | 
| Box Office | Revenue: $0 Budget: $6,000,000 | 
| Updates | Updated: Aug 04, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 | 
| Name | Character | 
|---|---|
| John Michael Higgins | David Letterman | 
| Daniel Roebuck | Jay Leno | 
| Kathy Bates | Helen Kushnick | 
| Bob Balaban | Warren Littlefield | 
| Ed Begley Jr. | Rod Perth | 
| Peter Jurasik | Howard Stringer | 
| Reni Santoni | John Agoglia | 
| John Kapelos | Robert Morton | 
| Steven Gilborn | Peter Lassally | 
| John Getz | Brandon Tartikoff | 
| Lawrence Pressman | Bob Wright | 
| Sandra Bernhard | Sandra Bernhard | 
| Treat Williams | Michael Ovitz | 
| David Brisbin | Alan Levine | 
| Michael Chieffo | Rick Ludwin | 
| Wendy Cutler | Reporter #2 Letterman Press Conference | 
| Nancy Cheryll Davis | Reporter #2 Carnegie Hall | 
| Paul Elder | Rupert Murdoch | 
| Michael Fairman | Michael Gartner | 
| John R. Fors | Writer #2 | 
| Nicholas Guest | Robert Iger | 
| Lucinda Jenney | Debbie Vickers | 
| Ivan Kane | Reporter #1 | 
| Ken Kragen | Ken Kragen | 
| Susan Krebs | Airport Attendant | 
| James Kiriyama-Lem | Reporter #1 Letterman Press Conference | 
| Dan Lipe | Writer #1 | 
| Aaron Lustig | Paul Shaffer | 
| Cynthia Lynch | Laurie Diamond | 
| Michael C. McCarthy | Jim Brogan | 
| Kerry Noonan | Letterman's Girlfriend | 
| Penny Peyser | Susan Binford | 
| Little Richard | Little Richard | 
| Ann Ryerson | Betty Hudson | 
| Kevin Scannell | Dick Ebersol | 
| Edmund L. Shaff | Jack Welsh | 
| Joanne Takahashi | Thai Waitress | 
| Arthur Taxier | Lee Gabler | 
| Cathy Worthington | Kragen's Asst. | 
| Rich Little | Johnny Carson | 
| Arnold F. Turner | Reporter #3 Letterman Press Conference | 
| Dean Francois | CBS Executive to Howard Stringer (uncredited) | 
| Angie Gray | Mrs. Wright (uncredited) | 
| Name | Job | 
|---|---|
| Peter Teschner | Editor | 
| Linda Berger | Art Direction | 
| Shari Feldman | Costume Design | 
| Timothy Lasquade | Key Hair Stylist | 
| June Westmore | Key Makeup Artist | 
| Richard Graves | First Assistant Director | 
| Benita Brazier | Script Supervisor | 
| Bill Carter | Writer | 
| Betty Thomas | Director | 
| George Armitage | Writer | 
| Ira Newborn | Original Music Composer | 
| Mac Ahlberg | Director of Photography | 
| Robert Lorenz | Second Assistant Director | 
| Nancy Foy | Casting | 
| Garreth Stover | Production Design | 
| Jay Hart | Set Decoration | 
| Name | Title | 
|---|---|
| Don Carmody | Producer | 
| Joe Medjuck | Co-Executive Producer | 
| Ivan Reitman | Executive Producer | 
| Daniel Goldberg | Co-Executive Producer | 
| Organization | Category | Person | 
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 6 | 
| 2024 | 5 | 11 | 19 | 7 | 
| 2024 | 6 | 11 | 18 | 5 | 
| 2024 | 7 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 
| 2024 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 5 | 
| 2024 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 
| 2024 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 4 | 
| 2024 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 4 | 
| 2024 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 
| 2025 | 1 | 6 | 15 | 4 | 
| 2025 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 
| 2025 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 
| 2025 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 
| 2025 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 
Trending Position