Former President Barak Obama will be David Letterman's guest on the premiere of Dave's comeback interview show premiering Friday Jan. 12 on Netflix.
Letterman, who left his CBS "Late Show" in May 2015, will do a one-hour conversation every month with one guest on the show called "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman." Letterman, 70, signed a deal last summer to do six episodes for Netflix, reportedly for $2 million per show.
Clooney – an actor and activist who was a frequent visitor to Letterman's CBS show – was the first of six guests mentioned in a promotional trailer for the Netflix show released last week.
The others were named in this order: Pakistani activist Malala Yousafza, radio host Howard Stern, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, actress/comedian/TV producer Tiny Fey and Obama.
"I had a show for a long time. Then I didn't have a show for a long time, and I can't tell you how great it is to be out of the damn house. Wow," Mr. Letterman says on the trailer. He was standing on a theater stage with two chairs, two small tables and no curtain.
"You never know when you might learn something. And that's what this is about for me. These are people that I admire."
Letterman, who grew up in Indianapolis, has demonstrated a fondness for Clooney and his famous aunt and father over the years. Letterman watched WLWT-TV's live Cincinnati daytime shows starring Ruth Lyons and Paul Dixon on sister Indianapolis station WLWI-TV. George's father Nick was a cast member on Lyons' "50-50 Club" in the 1960s, and his aunt Rosemary, an actress and singer, was a frequent guest on the show.
When promoting "Monuments Men" in 2014, George brought his parents Nick and Nina with him to Letterman's "Late Show" green room. His father had a cameo in the film.
Letterman was last seen on TV in November, accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on PBS. He also was interviewed during a Reds game at Great American Ball Park in August on Fox Sports Ohio by Jim Day, and he spoke at the statue dedication in Indianapolis for retired Colts quarterback Peyton Manning in October.
This will be Obama's first extensive TV interview since leaving office a year ago. Last month, BBC's Radio 4 broadcast Prince Harry's interview with Obama, which was taped in the fall.
"My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman" is part of Nexflix's strategy to attract more subscribers with original content. The streaming service signed Jerry Seinfeld for two comedy specials, in addition acquiring his "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee" series, and comedians Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock.
