Letterman draws biggest audience since 1994

Bill Keveney | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption David Letterman farewell emotional but no tears David Letterman ended his 33-year late-night television career with an emotional farewell to viewers Wednesday's 'Late Show' finale.

Presidents and Hollywood stars weren't the only ones who wanted to say goodbye to David Letterman, as the renowned talk host's final episode Wednesday attracted the Late Show's biggest audience in more than 20 years.

Letterman's CBS talk show drew 13.8 million viewers Wednesday, its largest audience since a post-Winter Olympics show on Feb. 25, 1994. It scored its biggest numbers in advertiser-coveted young adults since Dec. 1, 2005, when Oprah Winfrey made a long-awaited appearance. It topped all late-night talk shows for the evening in those categories, something Letterman's show doesn't regularly do.

Letterman's finale featured taped appearances by four living U.S. presidents and featured a slew of A-list stars, including Bill Murray, Chris Rock and Tina Fey, reading the final Top 10 list.

Letterman's finale, which ran significantly past its hour allotment, helped James Corden's nascent Late Late Show, which premiered in March in the post-Late Show time slot. Corden, who acknowledged Letterman throughout his show, drew 4 million viewers, the biggest audience for the Late Late Show with any of its hosts. It also scored the show's highest young-adult ratings since 2005.

How late-night hosts have said farewell A look back at how late-night hosts Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien, Craig Ferguson and Stephen Colbert have closed out their shows.

Stephen Colbert moves into Letterman's time slot in September.