Letterman and Zelenskyy

 I am old enough to remember when David Letterman was the hot, new, young late night talent to watch on NBC. With his gap-toothed smile and head topped with a mop of curly hair, he was smart yet also snarky. He was not above poking fun at a guest for a laugh. A couple of guests called him an "a$$hole." I think they were Cher and Shirley MacLaine. Yet, his popularity grew. So did his paycheck. When NBC didn't continue to appreciate his talents, he went over to CBS. It was at CBS where his personality eventually took a turn towards maturity and empathy. This was highly evident in his shows done when we all gingerly stepped back into a "normal" work and home life again -- especially in New York -- after the attacks of September 11th.

David Letterman has long retired from late night CBS duties and now he's doing an interview show on Netflix. Called MY NEXT GUEST...is shows an older, grey and bearded Letterman. He still has a keen wit His maturity and empathy continue. He's not manipulating guests to get a laugh from the audience. He's really listening and his questions are good. I loved his revealing hour with actor Will Smith, taped in Hollywood when the actor was just starting to promote, KING RICHARD. That's the film that brought him the Best Actor Oscar a few minutes after he'd shocked a global TV audience by slapping the tastebuds out the mouth of comedian Chris Rock. It's interesting to hear Smith talk extensively about learning lessons of respect, integrity and forgiveness from men such as his father and Nelson Mandela, it's interesting on how we went on a soul-searching journey for inner peace and then compare that interview hour to how his disrupted the live Oscars telecast not too long after the taping of Letterman's show.

If you get Netflix, there's a current edition of Letterman's MY NEXT GUEST that I found quite strong. Letterman spent hours traveling to Ukraine to interview President Zelenskyy in an underground location before a live audience.

Two things the men have in common: Both have done stand-up comedy and both have done comic acting. Zelenskyy's 2015 Ukrainian sitcom, SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE, is on Netflix and it's hip, fast, funny and very good. Good and prophetic. If not for the pandemic, if not for the war he's fighting and if he lived in Los Angeles and had a Screen Actors Guild card, Zelenskyy would be getting lots of TV comedy and movie work. He's that talented a comedy performer. 

I wrote that the two men have two things in common. Well...make that three things. Both love democracy. They talk about democracy, the war and simple things that Zelenskyy loves...simple ordinary things...like being able to talk on the phone to his wife and children. Says Zelenskyy, "Putin stole childhood from our children." Letterman also ventures out into the war-torn territory to talk to people. He even drops into a comedy club in Ukraine. We see footage of Zelenskyy doing stand-up comedy and acting in his sitcom, SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE. Take a look at this trailer.

The show runs 40 minutes and it's worth your time.