David Letterman makes triumphant return to ‘Late Show’

Scott Kowalchyk/CBS

More than eight years after leaving the post of host of The late showDavid Letterman was welcomed back to the Ed Sullivan Theater with a big ovation on Monday.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my guest tonight certainly needs no introduction,” announced his successor Stephen Colbert just before the audience began chanting “David.” Letterman beamed as the crowd grew louder and joked, “Is there going to be trouble?”

Elsewhere in the interview, Colbert commented on Letterman’s remark that working late nights is a “weird job that a lot of people don’t understand.” He continued: “I’m lucky to have my friend John Stewart to talk to about this strange work and my friends from Strike Force Five…Was there anyone for you, when you were in the chair, that you could do that with? Someone you could call and talk about it. Could you call Johnny (Carson)?

Letterman responded that while he had “great respect for those guys,” he was an “orphan in the talk show world.” As his response garnered unanimous sympathy from the crowd, the former host interjected: “Well, I don’t appreciate sarcasm.”

To close out the evening, The National delivered a heartfelt performance of “Space Invader” to welcome back the late night legend. Before the band’s performance, Letterman told Colbert that this was “the second time in my life that this has happened here tonight” – referencing the Foo Fighters’ historic appearance in his final episode of the show. Last show. “So those two bands, I’ll love them forever,” Letterman said.

Although Letterman has already made appearances on late night television since his departure The late show — he is invited Jimmy Kimmel live And Late Night with Seth Meyersas well as the last episode of The Late Show with James Corden earlier this year — Monday’s episode marked the first time he returned to the show he launched on CBS in 1993.