Personally I'd like to see... Amy Poehler/Tina Fey - already mentioned Louis CK - he had a couple episodes in season 3 where he was tapped to replace Letterman, which (possible spoiler alert?) ended with this iconic scene: http://video.vulture.com/video/Louis-C-K-Blushed-He-Meant-To-D Chelsea Handler - I've only caught her stand up comedy, not her actual talk show, but this pick is probably 95% due to her Live interview with Piers Morgan <object width="560" height="315"><param name="movie" value="//www.youtube.com/v/OZtUgEC9K_U?hl=en_US&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="//www.youtube.com/v/OZtUgEC9K_U?hl=en_US&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> Seinfeld - big fan of his web series and he's great at talking to people unscripted. This would be a HR for CBS but I doubt Seinfeld would do it.
He is British. He isn't English. Although with the vote coming he might not be British in the future.
Apparently Fallon's Tonight Show has been beating Letterman's Late Show pretty handily since Leno left. Perhaps that played a part as well in Letterman deciding to step aside.
Re: Louis CK I'm 99% sure I've heard him say he'd never want to do a late night show. Schedule is too demanding and the role would come with too many rules.
growing up letterman crushed leno in comedic performance but along with everything else, hes faded along with all our jnco jeans. im on board with louis ck. he would be the ideal host imo. im also on board with reruns of fresh prince. tbs airs 1 1/2 hrs of it from 9-10:30 during the day. keeps me laughing and from punching/choking someone during that time.
Who can forget Peggy the Foul-Mouthed Chambermaid. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/1uzILjuM1cU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Letterman's had his good moments, especially pre-2000...but his decision to retire next year is long overdue. I'd be happy with Ferguson getting Letterman's time slot but I'm doubtful that will happen. No to Tina Fey (although I do like her quite a bit), Amy Poehler, Chelsea Handler, or Ellen Degeneres. Colbert is cool but I don't think he'd be a good fit.
It's a pity that he's rich, successful, and still getting great gigs, because I'd love to see Bill Murray do it, but he wouldn't in a zillion years. That's the problem in a nutshell, the comedians who want it aren't good enough and the comedians who are good enough don't want it.
Anybody who is handed the gig is going to be relatively young, and ideally last for 20 years minimum. Seth Macfarlane. Fits every bill that needs fitting.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Stephen Colbert is CBS' top choice to succeed David Letterman -- and he's into it <a href="http://t.co/Vc78oFsQjm">http://t.co/Vc78oFsQjm</a> <a href="http://t.co/iVGCzK2Okl">pic.twitter.com/iVGCzK2Okl</a></p>— Mashable (@mashable) <a href="https://twitter.com/mashable/statuses/452178748528676864">April 4, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
