Last night, with the help of guest Howard Stern (typically a big draw, for some reason), David Letterman came the closest he’s come so far to beating Conan’s new Tonight Show in the ratings — Late Show scored a 3.0, while Tonight notched a 3.1. And Conan’s viewership has (predictably, understandably) dropped every night since his debut last Monday, while the gap between the shows has narrowed. “I’ll do anything you want, as long as we beat Conan,” said Stern last night. Notice the “we”? Are America’s famous secretly pulling for Dave? A look at the upcoming lineups for both shows seems to indicate as much!
Here’s Letterman’s schedule for the next two weeks (via Late Night Lineups):
Mo 6/8: Howard Stern, Mos Def
Tu 6/9: Julia Roberts, Black Eyed Peas
We 6/10: Sonic Youth
Th 6/11: Denzel Washington, the Jonas Brothers, a Top Ten List with Regis Philbin
Fr 6/12: Sandra Bullock, Pete Correale, P.J. Harvey & John Parish
Mo 6/15: Jack Black, M.A. Sanjayan
Tu 6/16: Michelle Pfeiffer, Ian McLagan & the Bump Band
We 6/17: Ryan Reynolds
Th 6/18: Phoenix
Fr 6/19: Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Cera, the Sounds
And here’s Conan’s:
Mo 6/8: David Duchovny, Anna Friel, Bill Burr
Tu 6/9: Eddie Murphy, Angela Kinsey, Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal
We 6/10: Dane Cook, Steven Ho, Rancid
Th 6/11: Norm MacDonald, Jim Gaffigan, Neko Case
Fr 6/12: Jamie Foxx, Kevin Nealon
Mo 6/15: Joe Torre, Spinal Tap
Tu 6/16: Larry David, Lauren Conrad, Gavin Rossdale
We 6/17: William Shatner, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Incubus
Th 6/18: The Dead Weather
Fr 6/19: Holly Williams
It could certainly be that Conan hasn’t yet revealed his full lineups, or that Letterman’s bookers are calling in favors to bag big names right now (this seems pretty likely). But David Duchovny, Dane Cook, and Norm MacDonald as lead guests — already? Don’t all the celebrities live in Los Angeles? (Admittedly, though, we are excited beyond words to see Shatner and McLovin together on the same Tonight Show next Wednesday.) As long as Letterman can survive this Thursday’s appearance by the viewership-repelling Jonas Brothers, it seems like he should be beating Conan handily by next week.
Oh, and if Dave fans needed any more good news today, he’s close to a deal to re-up his Late Show contract through 2012.
Late Night Ratings Watch: Conan Beats Dave– But Just Barely [TV Week]
David Letterman near new CBS deal [HR]
