| After Midnight | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Based on | |
| Developed by |
|
| Written by | Jo Firestone |
| Directed by | Sharon Everitt |
| Presented by | Taylor Tomlinson |
| Announcer | Laura Peek |
| Composer | Cory Wong |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 199 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Production locations | Paramount Studios Stage 30 Los Angeles,California |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | January 17, 2024 (2024-01-17) – June 13, 2025 (2025-06-13) |
| Related | |
| @midnight | |
After Midnight, stylized as@fter midnight or abbreviated@m and alternatively known asAfter Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson, is an Americanlate-nightcomedy panel game show hosted byTaylor Tomlinson and executive produced byStephen Colbert via his companySpartina Productions,Henry R. Muñoz III via his comedy studioFunny or Die, andThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert executive producerTom Purcell. The program premiered onCBS at 12:37 amET on January 17, 2024, in the time slot previously held byThe Late Late Show with next day streaming onParamount+.[1][2] It is a reboot of@midnight, which ran from 2013 to 2017 on sister cable networkComedy Central.[3][4][5] Upon its debut, it received generally positive reviews.[6][7][8]
The show had originally been renewed for a third season but plans for it were canceled due to Tomlinson's decision to leave the program in order to focus on her stand-up career. The series finale aired on June 13, 2025.[9][10][11]
The program is a revival of@midnight, which ran from October 21, 2013, to August 4, 2017, onComedy Central and was hosted byChris Hardwick. In February 2023, it was reported that Comedy Central's current sister broadcast network,CBS, was considering a revival of@midnight to serve as a replacement forThe Late Late Show after the end ofJames Corden's tenure.[12] Pre-production of the series was halted due to the2023 Hollywood labor disputes.[13]
On November 1, 2023, CBS announced the revival under the titleAfter Midnight for a premiere in early 2024, with Jack Martin retained as showrunner alongside Eric Pierce.[14] The creative team is also composed of comedianJo Firestone as head writer, with Spartina Productions' Carrie Byalick and Evelyn Colbert, James Dixon, Tom Purcell,Funny or Die's Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Whitney Hodack, Henry R. Muñoz III, and@midnight co-creator Jason U. Nadler serving as executive producers.[15]
On that night's episode ofThe Late Show, Colbert subsequently revealed stand-up comedianTaylor Tomlinson as the show's new host. She was chosen after auditioning alongside comediansRicky Velez andX Mayo.[16]
The show airs Mondays through Thursdays; a specialfootball-themed episode aired onSuper Bowl Sunday after CBS's coverage ofSuper Bowl LVIII,[17] complete with a "halftime show" musical performance byMarc Rebillet.[18]
On June 11, 2024,CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach announced that the network had renewedAfter Midnight for a second season through 2025.[19][20] Season 2 premiered on September 3, 2024,[21] and introduced a new title sequence and added announcer Laura Peek (who also appeared as a contestant in September 2024) as well as a set including a new couch, chair, coffee table, end table, and rug for The Talk Show Portion (which soon morphs into "The Couch Game"), that now takes up the entire second or third act. Also new in season 2 is a final closing segment after the winner is picked in the previous act.
On January 8, 2025, it was announced thatAfter Midnight would suspend production due to thewildfires in theSouthern California region and the city ofLos Angeles, where theParamount Studios, the filming spot for the show, were located.[22] The show resumed broadcasting on January 22.[23]
On March 26, 2025, CBS announced thatAfter Midnight would end after two seasons, after Tomlinson announced her intent to resign as host to return to her stand-up career. CBS had initially renewed the series for a third season before Tomlinson's resignation.[24] CBS opted not to air another original program in the time slot, with reports indicating it would most likely be given back to affiliates after theseries finale airs in June.[25] In May, CBS partially reversed course, announcing that episodes of the syndicated seriesComics Unleashed would fill the time slot beginning that September on atime buy arrangement with Allen's company.[26] The show had previously filled the time slot between the end ofThe Late Late Show and the premiere ofAfter Midnight.[27]
As with the original series, each episode features a panel of three celebrity guests as contestants, usually stand-up comedians or comedy podcast hosts and sometimes comedic actors. The contestants participate in topical segments related to popular culture andsocial media to earn points from the host for responses andpunch lines. In addition to new games, the series retains some of the core segments from@midnight, including the opening segment, formerly titled "Group Chat" ("Rapid Refresh" on@midnight), a segment discussing recent news headlines andviral videos; "Hashtag Wars", in which the contestants come up with answers for a fictional hashtag as a parody of a currently trending topic (now done as an elimination game); and "For the Win" (rebranded "The Ultimate Challenge" in season 2), a final challenge played between the top two scorers.
Celebrities who competed includeIlana Glazer,Jessica Williams,Patton Oswalt,Pete Holmes,Bob the Drag Queen,Anna Farris,Melanie Lynskey,Sherry Cola, andRobby Hoffman.
A new recurring segment, "TheTalk Show Portion", was later added, as a satire and commentary upon viewers who thought thatAfter Midnight would be a traditional late-night talk show. Beginning May 20, 2024, the show opened with Tomlinson delivering amonologue similar to those of other network late night shows.[28] Occasionally, a fourth guest appears, but does not compete, including:Survivor hostJeff Probst, social media influencerDrew Afualo, reality-starBoston Rob, actressesTatyana Ali,June Squibb, andRebecca Romijn (notably joining an episode in which her husbandJerry O'Connell participated), Olympic gymnastFred Richard, andTracker starJustin Hartley.
Unlike@midnight, where contestants played to "win the Internet", the winner typically receives a gag prize, which may be tangible or imaginary (early episodes featured old ketchup packets from Tomlinson's refrigerator, a damaged office chair, Tomlinson's father's approval, and an extra year of life). Some later prizes were more valuable, such as a pair of boxer shorts signed byTom Brady, $65 in cash, and a pair of night vision goggles; other episodes have awarded desirable food items such as a cooked rotisserie chicken or a basket of doughnuts and beer. On the final episode, winnerMarcella Arguello was declared the "winner" ofAfter Midnight.
In most episodes, the player in last place is subjected to a humorous punishment such as being forced to give an apology speech or being sent to "horny jail". As a prank onApril Fools' Day 2024, the highest scoring contestant was actually eliminated.
One prize, an allegedlyhaunted doll, was originally a gift to Tomlinson from her brother; Tomlinson says the doll is supposed to beFrank Morgan's version of thetitle character fromThe Wizard of Oz but looks more like authorMark Twain. The doll has become arunning gag, appearing multiple times due to winners returning it. While the original doll was given toMarcella Arguello as a consolation prize, a fan later sent in an identical doll, claiming it was the first one's twin brother. Arguello brought the doll with her on a subsequent appearance, where fellow contestant Sarah Tiana said it looked more like former presidentJohn Adams. In the final episode, Arguello re-gifted the doll to Tomlinson, who subsequently gave it to finalist Paul F. Tompkins.
In 2026, a German version of the show under the nameNeo Social Club mit Laura Larsson[29][30][31]or (Neo Social Club with Laura Larsson) hosted by Laura Larsson airs on ZDFneo. It premiered on February 5, 2026. Additionally, this was the first international version of its kind that was based on it.