Jimmy Kimmel saw Conan O'Brien's gushing essay about David Letterman and raised him a canceled show. To respect the Letterman finale, Kimmel announced he'll air a repeat May 20 instead of a new episode. He's the only late-night talk show host to make such an announcement.
"I have too much respect for Dave to do anything that would distract viewers from watching his final show," Kimmel told The New York Times in an email. "Plus, I’ll probably be crying all day, which makes it hard to work."
Representatives for Jimmy Fallon and Conan told The Times the hosts plan on airing new episodes that night. Both Jon Stewart and Larry Wilmore are off for the entire week at Comedy Central.
In an interview from last week Letterman told The Times his finale will be more cheery than the last episode of The Tonight Show with the iconic Johnny Carson:
...I want it to be funny, and I want people to be happy that they spent the time to watch it. Of course, Johnny’s last show was historic. This one won’t be. [laughs] This one, people will say: "Ah, there you go. When’s the new guy starting?"
