Sorry, Chris Elliott; you’ll have to come up with another Plan B now.
Elliott, who worked his way into America’s hearts as The Guy Under the Seats on “Late Night With David Letterman,” reflected on Letterman’s impending May retirement during the panel for his upcoming comedy series ‘Schitt’s Creek,” at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena on Friday.
Elliott’s conclusion: Letterman’s exit will be a “huge change” — at least in part because the funnyman won’t have the show to go back to if his career takes a downturn.
“I started there; that was my first job, working there. He gave me my career, so I can’t really pick out any particular moment for me,” Elliott offered, when asked for a favorite moment from Letterman’s show.
“For me, this is a huge change,” Elliott continued. “I haven’t been on staff there for a while, but in the back of my head I have always thought of Dave as kind of a safety net for me, and now that safety net is gone in May.”
Elliott’s costar Eugene Levy, who came to notoriety on “SCTV,” offered his own reflection of his time with Letterman. Levy recalled appearing with his “SCTV” colleague John Candy as the polka duo The Schmenge Brothers.
“I had heard that David Letterman did not like people coming on as characters and then having to interview them as characters, but he did say yes to us coming on,” Levy recalled. “I was really forever indebted to him for that.”
“Schitt’s Creek,” about a wealthy family that moves to the titular rural town after a reversal of fortune, premieres on Pop TV on Feb. 11 at 10 p.m.
Watch Levy’s “Letterman” appearance in the video.