It's been known since April that David Letterman would retire in 2015, with Stephen Colbert as his successor, but the date was up in the air until now: Letterman will host his final Late Show on May 20, 2015, ending his run at 6,028 episodes, reports Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times.

It apparently works for Letterman, and it gives Colbert some time to get his new act together, but no faction of viewers can truly be happy about this weird mid-year, mid-week end date.

Dave's hardcore fans are sad because they wanted him to host the show forever and discover the secret of life eternal, becoming like unto a god. And Colbert's fans don't want to live without him for six months—that's assuming he'll take over the Late Show on May 21, which hasn't been confirmed—after the end of the Report, which airs its final episode next week.

On the plus side, Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore's Nightly Show (f.k.a. The Minority Report) debuts in Colbert's current time slot on January 19, and it could be the most interesting late night show on TV. No pressure or anything.

[h/t Uproxx, Photo: AP Images]