March 23, 2015 (2015-03-23) – April 27, 2023 (2023-04-27)
The Late Late Show with James Corden (also known simply asLate Late) is an Americanlate-night talk show that aired onCBS from 2015 to 2023. It is the fourth and final iteration ofThe Late Late Show, and aired in the United States from Monday to Friday nights at 12:37 a.m. ET/PT. The show was taped in front of a studio audience Monday through Thursday afternoons atTelevision City in Los Angeles, in Studio 56, directly above theBob Barker Studio (Studio 33). It was produced byFulwell 73 andCBS Studios.
James Corden was announced as the show's new host on September 8, 2014, succeedingCraig Ferguson.[1] Originally scheduled to premiere on March 9, 2015, CBS later pushed back the premiere to March 23, 2015, so theNCAA basketball tournament could be used to promote Corden's debut.[2]
Corden broughtThe Late Late Show to England for three special episodes taped at theMethodist Central Hall, Westminster from June 6 to 8, 2017. It was the third time in the show's history that it aired from another country, with Ferguson taking his incarnation to Paris, France, in 2011[3] and Scotland in 2012.[4] The show returned to London for a week of shows at Methodist Hall on June 18–21, 2018,[5] and June 17–20, 2019.[6]
In April 2022, it was announced that Corden would be leavingThe Late Late Show in mid-2023.[7] Its series finale aired on April 27, 2023; reruns of the show still aired from May 1 to September 15, 2023.
Corden said he was "thrilled and honored" and found it "hugely exciting ... to host such a prestigious show".[8] CBS Entertainment chairwomanNina Tassler said in a statement that Corden is a warm, charming and original performer whose "diverse range of creative instincts and performance talent" make him a "rare entertainment force". Tassler cited Corden's work in such media as theatre, film and television, and called him "loved and respected" in all of them.[9] The show continues to be produced atTelevision City in Los Angeles.[10] Corden made a surprise guest appearance on predecessor Ferguson's programme on December 16, 2014, two days prior to Ferguson's last broadcast as host, during which the two briefly discussed Corden taking over the show.[11] He also appeared on an episode hosted byJudd Apatow tojob shadow, stating he wanted to "learn from his mistakes".[12]
Unlike his predecessors, Corden'sLate Late Show has ahouse band. The band was originally nicknamed "Karen"; however, in response to theslang usage of Karen, changed to "Melissa".[13][14] The band was led byReggie Watts, who also acts as the show's announcer. Watts also performs as lead vocals, keyboards,beatboxing, and programmer.[15] The other personnel in the band are Tim Young on lead guitars, Steve Scalfati on keyboards, Hagar Ben-Ari on bass, andGuillermo E. Brown on drums. Watts and the Late Late Show Band composed the theme song.[16] The show's title sequence, which was supposed to be directed byJ. J. Abrams, was filmed by the visual firm of Trollbäck + Company, and depicts James Corden and Reggie Watts traveling around Los Angeles in alowrider and on LED bikes, including some graphics andlight painting with a Pixelstick. Trollbäck + Company put this statement below the video: "James Corden and Reggie Watts put the LA LA back intoLate Late in a series fun vignettes filmed around Los Angeles for the identity of the new CBSLate Late Show. James originally wanted JJ Abrams to film him, and Reggie scored to a Mark Ronson track. We were of course honored to take JJ's place as he was a bit busy filming a blockbuster! We managed to shoot everything in one night with LED bikes, a Lowrider, and a Pixelstick setting an eclectic visual tone for this experimental new show."[17] The show's executive producers are Rob Crabbe and Ben Winston.[12]
While an openingmonologue is a staple of the late-night talk show genre, Corden suggested initially that as he is not a stand-up comedian, he would also be using alternatives to the traditional joke-heavy monologue.[18] However, the show has retained the monologue though it is shorter and not as important an element as the monologue on other late-night shows.[19]
The show also uses an interview format similar to that of the British talk showThe Graham Norton Show, in which all of the night's guests appear on stage simultaneously.[20] Guests do not walk on stage from the wings but emerge from the back of the studio and walk through the audience rows. As is more typical in British talk shows, the host sits to the left of the guests, a reversal of the traditional American layout. Corden also does not sit behind a desk, unlike other late-night hosts, but in a swivel chair.[19]
On March 14, 2020, the show suspended production because of theCOVID-19 pandemic. From March 30, 2020, the show resumed production with Corden hosting from inside his garage and communicating with his band and guests viaZoom video link.[21] Corden returned to a reworked studio without a guest couch or live audience on August 10, 2020.[22] However, from September 14, 2020, Corden resumed hosting via Zoom link from inside his house while self-isolating as a precaution after coming into contact with someone who tested positive forCOVID-19, while the band and crew continued filming from inside the studio.[23] Corden returned to the studio from September 21, 2020, after finishing his self-quarantine. Per recommendations by theLos Angeles County Department of Public Health, the program temporarily returned to an at-home format on January 4, 2021.[24]
On April 28, 2022, it was announced that Corden had extended his contract to mid-2023, after which he would leave the show.[7] It was expected to be several months earlier than the previously reported August expiration.[25] In February 2023, it was announced that the series would conclude on April 27, 2023.[26][27] That month, it was reported that CBS was planning to discontinue theLate Late Show franchise after 28 years in favor of cheaper formats, and had settled on a revival of@midnight—a comedypanel show that had previously aired on sibling networkComedy Central—as a future replacement for the program.[28]
In November 2023, CBS officially announcedAfter Midnight, hosted by stand-up comedianTaylor Tomlinson that premiered on the network on January 16, 2024.[29] However, the show's run was short-lived, and with Tomlinson returning her focus on their standup career full-time, CBS canceledAfter Midnight one year later in March 2025 after its 2nd season, with its final episode airing on June 12th.[30]
Tom Hanks andMila Kunis were Corden's first guests on March 23, 2015, for the debut episode featuring Corden and Hanks acting and singing their way through a retrospective of Hanks' career.[31] Later, after a prompt by Hanks, Corden appeared to score a coup by getting Mila Kunis to admit that she andAshton Kutcher are married, but a source later claimed she was merely joking.[32] The episode scored 1.66 million viewers, the show's biggest Monday rating in more than three years.[33]
First-run episodes aired every weeknight through the May 2015 sweeps period; then, beginning the week of May 25, the show scaled back its production schedule to four first-run episodes per week (differing from the previous iterations of the program, which produced Friday episodes, either the day of broadcast or farther in advance on the tape date of the Thursday edition), with the Friday episode consisting of a rebroadcast of a recent episode.
The May 20, 2015, episode, which followed the finale ofLate Show with David Letterman, was the highest rated episode ofThe Late Late Show in the history of the franchise with an audience of 4 million viewers and a rating of 2.5,[34] despite starting 20 minutes late due to Letterman's show running over its scheduled end time.[35] The episode featured Corden andSting outside of theEd Sullivan Theater singing "Every Breath You Take" in the show's cold open and a monologue with aTop Ten List among other tributes to Letterman.[36]
On February 28, 2019, Corden helped announce the comeback of theJonas Brothers by publishing a clip from an upcoming "Carpool Karaoke" segment which features them as guests. A week-long special entitledLate Late Jonas was also announced. The special featured the Jonas Brothers joining James Corden in numerous segments onThe Late Late Show Monday, March 4, 2019, through Thursday, March 7, 2019.[37]
In February 2023, it was announced thatThe Late Late Show with James Corden would air its series finale on April 27, 2023. The episode was preceded by a primetime special,The Last Last Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Special.[26][27] The final episode brought together each of Corden's contemporaries on network television:Jimmy Kimmel,Stephen Colbert,Jimmy Fallon, andSeth Meyers, plusDavid Letterman and former host ofThe Daily ShowTrevor Noah.[38]
These segments have proven popular asviral videos on theLate Late Show's YouTube channel.[39][40][41] A Carpool Karaoke segment featuringAdele reached 42 million views within five days, making it the most viral video originating from a late night program since 2013.[42] The Adele segment has received over 263 million views as of February 2024.[43] A segment featuring the then First LadyMichelle Obama (eventually joined byMissy Elliott singing "This is for My Girls")[44] was released on July 20, 2016, and has reached over 83 million views as of February 2024.[45] On March 29, 2016, CBS aired a primetime special featuring highlights of the segment, and a new edition withJennifer Lopez.[46] The special would win a2016 Emmy Award forOutstanding Variety Special.[47] On October 29, 2019, a special episode withKanye West was released which took place in aeroplane hence titled as Airpool Karaoke.[48] In January 2020, a Twitter video went viral that claimed to show that Corden did not drive the car in the segment, instead having it pulled behind another on a trailer.[49][50] The video has been viewed over 25 million times, leading a producer of the show to state that they only use this method when performing a "stunt".[51] Corden later addressed the issue directly on his show, stating the same reasons his producer previously had, and also providing a list of the times that they had done this.[52][53]
The popularity of the segment on the Internet led to two different series being produced. In July 2016, it was announced thatApple Music would distribute a series based on Corden's Carpool Karaoke, to be titledCarpool Karaoke: The Series.[54] The decision came afterSpike announced plans to air a series inspired by the section, titledCaraoke Showdown, to be hosted byCraig Robinson.[55][56]
The Bold and the Lyrical: James and multiple celebrity guests act out a dramatic soap opera scene using the lyrics of some of today's biggest acts in music.[59][60][61][62][63]
Crosswalk the Musical: James and guests holdflash mob-style performances of songs from musicals in the middle of acrosswalk when cars stop at it.[71]
Aftershows: Over the summer of 2015, when CBS hadaired reruns of its drama programming as a lead-in toThe Late Late Show to lead up towards the premiere ofThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert, several episodes featured sketches parodying companionaftershows, such asTalking Mentalist—in which James and his guests would discuss the rerun ofThe Mentalist that had just aired. The sketch was later reprised asTalkingHawaii Five-0 (which featured a guest appearance byTalking Dead hostChris Hardwick).[72] One episode featured an aftershow forTalking Mentalist entitledTalking Talking Mentalist, hosted by Watts.[73]
Celebrity Noses: Corden attempts to conduct a game that involves guessing the identities of celebrities based on close-ups of theirnoses, but is repeatedly stalled by various complications until he runs out of time.[74][75]
Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts: James and that night's guests join in on a game that involves a roundtable question-and-answer portion. Both of them have the option to answer a really embarrassing, self-deprecating, or controversial question — however, should they choose to not answer the question, they will have to eat various forms of disgusting food, ranging from small insects, bodily fluids, or animal offal or organs. The segment received backlash in June 2021 after Asian-American activist Kim Saira spoke out against the show's use of traditional Asian foods as "disgusting" props. HerChange.org petition demanding the show apologize and cancel or modify the segment has grown to 10,000 supporters.[76]
Flinch: James and a group of guests participate in a game where pieces of fruit are fired out of a mini remote controlled cannon, designed as Corden's face, towards one of the guests standing behind a plastic wall. Corden usually distracts the guest by asking them questions and then tries to make them flinch by unexpectedly firing a piece of fruit mid-conversation. The winner usually is the one who flinches the least.
Were You Paying Attention?: Corden asks observation questions to the audience regarding events that had occurred on the show so far; if they answer incorrectly, they are removed from the audience (having to sing "All By Myself" with Corden whilst doing so) and replaced by a "standby" audience member from a lineup outside.[77]
Honest Headlines: Corden reads headlines from news sources, and then says what he feel would have been a better headline.
Emoji News: A bizarre news story is represented by emoji, and Corden asks audience members to guess what the story is.
None of the Above: Corden asks tricky questions to the audience and gives them options for choosing the correct answer to which only the last option which is "None of the Above" is always the correct one. But most of them fail and choose the contrary ones.
Audience Q&A: A scripted segment in which James allows the audience to ask him some questions about him. The audience members, played by show staff, always ask him irrelevant questions which make him mad.
Side Effects May Include: James shares the hidden side effects of things you do and people you meet every day.
Reggie Ruins: With a prextext of a staged demonstration (Like science experiments, clg special effects or ice sculpting) the show's bandleader, comedian and singer Reggie Watts, hacks with his band the segment doing a little musical show that showcase his colorful and funky persona. The segments of the series, all posted on Corden's official YouTube channel, received many positive critical comment, one of this that say "U guys don't get it, ice age is over...its reggie time!".
Oleg Sekulovski, Taylor Campanian, Joel Binger, Scott Daniels, Peter Hutchinson, Michael Jarocki, Adam Margolis, Mark McIntire and Jimmy Verlande(for "Post AFC Championship Show with Chris Pratt and Russell Wilson")
Demi Adejuyigbe, James Corden, Rob Crabbe, Lawrence Dai, Nate Fernald, Caroline Goldfarb, Olivia Harewood, David Javerbaum,Ian Karmel, John Kennedy, Kayleigh Lamb, James Longman, Jared Moskowitz, CeCe Pleasants, Tim Siedell, Benjamin Stout, Tom Thriveni,Louis Waymouth, and Ben Winston
In the UK and Ireland, the show aired at 11:50pm onSky Comedy on a one-day delay. Since 2016, the show has been available onSky's 'On Demand' service as well asNow TV with each episode available the day after its American broadcast. Sky Q customers also get to watch some content from the show in the 'Online Video' section.[86]Late Late Show: Best of The Week is also shown Friday nights at 10:00pm onSky One.[87]
In Canada,The Late Late Show with James Corden is aired byCTV insimulcast with CBS. The program formerly aired on sister networkCTV Two, but moved to the main CTV network on February 8, 2016, switching withLate Night with Seth Meyers.[88][89]
In Australia, the series was purchased by CBS's then-Australian partner networkNetwork Ten.[90][91] It premiered on Network Ten's sister network Eleven (now10 Peach) on May 24, 2015, on a seven-day-a-week airing schedule to catch up with the current run through the northern hemisphere summer (by September and the start of the new American television season it had caught up and now airs on a day-delay with repeats at weekends); CBS has owned 10 Peach (and Network Ten itself) since it purchasedTen Network Holdings in the last half of 2017.[92] From September 2020, the show has moved to the newly launched10 Shake channel. The show returned to 10 Peach in 2021.
In Asia, the show premiered on August 3, 2015, onRTL CBS Entertainment. It broadcasts on weekday nights followingThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Following the sale of the RTL CBS Networks to Canadian-based companyBlue Ant Media and subsequent rebranding it toBlue Ant Entertainment in January 2018, the show continued to air until the deal with the show's distributor CBS expired in September 2020.[93]
In Hong Kong, the show had been broadcast at 10:30 p.m.HKT every Friday onViuTVsix, free-to-air television channel, since April 5, 2019. The show now airs at 9:30 p.m. HKT every Wednesday and Friday on the same channel.
TheAmerican Forces Network satellite radio and television service broadcasts the show commercial free toUnited States military personnel stationed overseas on Prime Atlantic for viewers in Europe and on Prime Pacific for viewers in Asia.
