In 1993, he started working as a writer-producer on Late Night with David Letterman, which aired on NBC. Burnett ultimately made the move to CBS with Letterman when The Late Show was picked up at that network.

W hen CBS embarked on the project of replacing David Letterman as the host of The Late Show, in 2014, the network spared no expense. It hired Stephen Colbert, who had collected Emmys and acclaim while hosting his Comedy Central talk show,

CBS’ decision to cut ties with Stephen Colbert and its decades-old “Late Show” franchise come next May will leave a major hole in the format — but one that has been widening. TV networks have been cutting costs at their late-night mainstays for the past few years.