The Late Late Show (CBS TV Series)
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''The Late Late Show'' is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
late-night television talk and variety comedy show on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
. It first aired in January 1995, with host
Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
, who was followed by
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' Sp ...
, Craig Ferguson, and current host James Corden. The show originates from
Television City Television City, alternatively CBS Television City, is an American television studio complex located in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles at 7800 Beverly Boulevard, at the corner of Fairfax Avenue. Designed by architect William Pereira and C ...
in
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.


Format

The show differed from most late-night talk shows during its first two decades on air in that it did not use a
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
or an in-studio announcer. The traditional opening monologue also tended to be different from that of other late night shows tending to avoid jokes with punch lines during Snyder and Ferguson's tenures in favor of a short conversational introduction when Snyder was host and a
cold opening A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
featuring either a musical parody, audience interaction, a short sketch or interaction between Ferguson and
Geoff Peterson Geoff Peterson is an animatronic human skeleton that served as the sidekick on the late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. He was voiced and operated by Josh Robert Thompson and first appeared on ''The Late Late Show'' ...
followed by an anecdotal stream of consciousness introduction during most of Ferguson's years. While Craig Kilborn opened with a monologue it tended to be shorter than that used by other late shows. Corden's approach to the monologue has been a hybrid of topical punchline jokes and a stream of consciousness, although it is usually very short, as the show tends to favor longer recorded sections. While most late-night talk shows in the United States feature multiple guests individually, James Corden typically has all of his guests on at the same time in a similar fashion to most British talk shows.


History


Tom Snyder (1995–1999)

Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
hosted the program from its inception in January 1995 until March 1999. The choice of Snyder as host was made by David Letterman, whose contract with CBS gave him (via production company
Worldwide Pants Worldwide Pants Inc. is an American television and film production company founded and owned by comedian and talk show host David Letterman. The company was formerly headquartered at the Ed Sullivan Theater building in New York City, but has sinc ...
) the power to produce the show in the timeslot immediately after his own program and who had an affinity for Snyder, whose NBC late night series '' Tomorrow'' had been succeeded by ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
''. The time slot on CBS previously carried repeats of ''
Crimetime After Primetime ''Crimetime After Primetime'' is the umbrella title for a group of late-night crime-investigation shows that debuted at various times on CBS during 1991 and 1992, running through late summer of 1993. History Prior to 1989, CBS aired the similarl ...
''. Snyder departed
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to host the ''Late Late Show'' on CBS. Letterman and Snyder had a long history together: a 1978 '' Tomorrow'' episode hosted by Snyder was almost exclusively devoted to a long interview with up-and-coming new comedy talents Letterman,
Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
and
Merrill Markoe Merrill Markoe (born August 13, 1948) is an American author, television writer, and occasional standup comedian. Early life Markoe was born in New York City. Her family moved several times including stays in Miami, Florida and San Francisco, ...
. And in 1982, when ''Tomorrow'' was canceled by NBC, Letterman's series ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'' succeeded ''Tomorrow'' in the timeslot, and Snyder had been offered but refused a move to after ''Late Night'' by NBC. Snyder's show featured a mix of celebrities, politicians and other newsmakers, but was otherwise quite unlike the program hosted by Letterman. Snyder was a former newsman, not a comedian, and his show featured an intimate
interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
format with no studio audience present, similar to his old ''Tomorrow'' show of the 1970s, or to ''
Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP. Rose also co-an ...
'' show and ''
Later Later may refer to: * Future, the time after the present Television * ''Later'' (talk show), a 1988–2001 American talk show * '' Later... with Jools Holland'', a British music programme since 1992 * ''The Life and Times of Eddie Roberts'', or ...
'', which had abandoned the format the previous year and had followed ''Late Night'' under Letterman on NBC. Though the show lacked a studio audience, Snyder still frequently gave extended conversational monologues, many of which contained jokes that prompted audible laughter from the off-camera production staff. Without the need for an audience, the show originated from the intimate Studio 58 at CBS Television City. Throughout most of the show's run, it was also
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
over some
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
stations, and Snyder accepted calls from viewers/listeners somewhat in the manner of
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
; to accommodate this, the show was broadcast live in the Eastern and Central United States and on radio in the west, a rarity for late-night talk shows that had otherwise transitioned to tape, though due to existing syndication contracts and resistance to give up local control of timeslots, many stations, such as
WJZ-TV WJZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, and maintains studios and offices on Televi ...
in Baltimore, would delay it to as late as 3:05 a.m. When Snyder was on vacation, the show featured guest hosts such as
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
or
Janeane Garofalo Janeane Marie Garofalo ( ; born September 28, 1964) is an American comedian, actress, and former co-host on the now-defunct Air America Radio's ''The Majority Report''. Garofalo began her career as a stand-up comedian and became a cast member on ...
. Saxophonist
David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...
composed and performed the theme music and several other songs featured on the show, all of which were
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
pieces to fit the show's low-key, middle-of-the-night mood. Sanborn had previously been a guest saxophonist in The World's Most Dangerous Band during ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
''. Unlike other late-night shows, ''The Late Late Show'' did not have a
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
(a tradition that carried on to its iterations under Kilborn and Ferguson) or any announcer, except for the last episode, when Snyder allowed one of his staff members to announce an introduction. Letterman had offered the ''Late Late'' spot to
Garry Shandling Garry Emmanuel Shandling (November 29, 1949 – March 24, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Shandling began his career writing for sitcoms, such as '' Sanford and Son'' and ''Welcome Back, Kotter''. He made ...
, a former permanent guest host of ''
The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 201 ...
'', but Shandling turned the offer down in favor of ''
The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...
'' (NBC had previously approached Shandling about succeeding Letterman on '' Late Night'' but he had also declined that offer). He also offered the slot to ''Later'' host
Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...
who also declined. Letterman then insisted on Snyder despite CBS wanting a younger host with a comedy background and a more traditional late night talk variety format. In 1998, the network reportedly reasserted its desire for a host who could attract a younger demographic and asked Worldwide Pants not to renew Snyder's contract when it expired in September 1999, though other reports portray the decision to leave as Snyder's decision, with Snyder informing management that he wished to depart before his contract ended, as early as January 1999. Snyder would return to CBS to guest-host some episodes of the ''Late Show'' while Letterman recuperated from heart surgery in 2000. Longtime late night television producer
Peter Lassally Peter Lassally (born 1932) is a German-born American former executive who served as the executive producer of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''Late Night with David Letterman'', the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and the ''Late ...
was executive producer of Snyder's iteration of the program and mentored
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
when he was a guest host filling in for Snyder.


Craig Kilborn (1999–2004)

When Snyder announced he was leaving, the show was reformatted to resemble ''Letterman'' and other major late-night talk programs.
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' Sp ...
took over in March 1999, having left ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
'' (Where he was succeeded by
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
) to become the new ''Late Late Show'' host (previously he was an anchor on
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
''). When Kilborn was on the show, it began with an image of a
full moon The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic coordinate system, ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon opp ...
wavering behind gray
stratus cloud Stratus clouds are low-level clouds characterized by horizontal layering with a uniform base, as opposed to convective or cumuliform clouds that are formed by rising thermals. More specifically, the term ''stratus'' is used to describe flat, haz ...
s, to the tuning of an orchestra, while the announcer—the recorded, modulated voice of Kilborn himself—blurted out, ''"From the gorgeous, gorgeous
Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...
in sunny
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, it's your ''Late Late Show'' with Craig Kilborn. Tonight,"'' and then the guests were announced, backed by the show's theme song, composed by
Neil Finn Neil Mullane Finn (born 27 May 1958) is a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician who is known for being a member of Crowded House, Split Enz (which he co-fronted with brother Tim), and Fleetwood Mac. Finn rose to prominence in the late ...
. Then Kilborn was presented, ''"Ladies and gentlemen, *pause* Mister Craig Kilborn"'', with the 1970s
disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...
band Wild Cherry song "
Play That Funky Music "Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on th ...
". After Kilborn's
stand-up Stand-up comedy is a comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of one-liners, stories, ...
monologue, he walked to his "Bavarian oak desk" while Finn's theme song continued playing with the chorus ''"The Late Late Show is starting. The Late Late Show is starting now."'' The "Desk Chat" was said to be Craig's favorite part of the show. During later seasons, the opening consisted of shots of various Los Angeles hotspots accompanied by a new theme song performed and written by
Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song "Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", "Baby D ...
. For this new theme song, Kilborn would be played to the desk with a chorus of ''"The Late Late Show is starting"''. The show continued to originate from Studio 58 throughout Kilborn's tenure as host. Segments included: * In the News: A news segment, whose theme song was Survivor's "
Eye of the Tiger "Eye of the Tiger" is a song by American rock band Survivor. It was released as a single from their third album of the same name and was also the theme song for the 1982 film ''Rocky III'', which was released a day before the single. The song ...
", where Kilborn would provide a humorous overview of the day's events. It was briefly called "The World of Whimsy" following the
September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
. The segment also included characters such as the hoary and cherubic "Ewok Guy" or the
rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
"PG&E" Lady. * What Up?: A Friday segment where Kilborn and three other panelists discussed and joked about the news. * To Blank with Love: Kilborn dedicated verses to different people and things * Five Questions: Kilborn asked a geography question, a ''
Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...
''-style "blank" question where the guest had to fill a blank with a word related to the guest, a "''Now think of other one''" question in which the guest had to guess what Kilborn had in mind. This segment was a holdover from Kilborn's previous job as the host of ''
The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...
''. * Tuesdays with Buddy: Featuring
Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...
* Yambo: An elimination game between two guests. Kilborn would slowly walk in a circle around the two celebrity guests and randomly yell questions at them. A correct answer within three seconds earned them a point; three points won a game. Failure to answer or a wrong answer earned a strike; three strikes resulted in the opponent winning. * The Weather with Petra Nemcova: Craig and Goldy would sometimes do a weather report with model
Petra Němcová Petra Němcová (; born 24 June 1979) is a Czech model, television host, and philanthropist who founded the ''Happy Hearts Fund''. In 2017, the ''Happy Hearts Fund'' merged with All Hands Volunteers to create All Hands And Hearts - Smart Respon ...
. The theme song was: "Petra, Petra tell us the weather, Tell us the weather to make us feel better. Petra, Petra, tell us whether we need to bring a jacket, or not." Kilborn left the program on August 27, 2004, two weeks after surprising executives at CBS and Worldwide Pants by announcing after several weeks of talks that he was not seeking a contract renewal. In a June 2010 interview, Kilborn stated that he left late-night television due to his belief that the late-night time slot was too crowded for him to succeed. Executive Producer Peter Lasally later claimed that Kilborn quit because he did not get the raise he wanted.


Transition (September–December 2004)

With Kilborn only announcing in early August that he would not be returning to the ''Late Late Show'' in the fall, CBS and Worldwide Pants executives decided to have a series of guest hosts helm the show in on-air auditions. While initially saying they would choose a permanent host by the end of October, the process ended up extending into December.
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
was the first guest host on September 20, 2004, and again the following night. Subsequent guest hosts included:
Jason Alexander Jay Scott Greenspan (born September 23, 1959), known professionally as Jason Alexander, is an American actor, comedian, host and director. An Emmy and Tony winner, he is best known for his role as George Costanza in the television series '' Se ...
,
Jeff Altman Jeff Altman (born August 13, 1951) is an American stand-up comedian and actor who has appeared as a guest on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' and ''Late Show with David Letterman'' a combined 45 times. Altman mesmerized contemporaries like Davi ...
,
Tom Arnold Tom Arnold may refer to: * Tom Arnold (actor) (born 1959), American actor * Tom Arnold (economist) (born 1948), Irish CEO of Concern Worldwide * Tom Arnold (footballer) (1878–?), English footballer * Tom Arnold (literary scholar) (1823–1900), ...
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Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', ''Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Fi ...
,
Tom Caltabiano Tom Caltabiano is a writer and stand-up comedian. He directed and co-starred in the documentary ''95 Miles to Go'' with longtime friend Ray Romano. He was a writer/producer on ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' and took over 30,000 behind-the-scenes pho ...
,
Adam Carolla Adam Carolla (born May 27, 1964) is an American radio personality, comedian, actor and podcaster. He hosts '' The Adam Carolla Show'', a talk show distributed as a podcast which set the record as the "most downloaded podcast" as judged by ''Guin ...
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Tom Dreesen Tom Dreesen (born September 11, 1939) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Life and career Dreesen grew up in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago.Kathy O'Malley. "Crazy white boy; Tom Dreesen does comedy about blacks in black club ...
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, Damien Fahey, Craig Ferguson,
Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...
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Ana Gasteyer Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1996 to 2002. She has since starred in such sitcoms as ABC's ''Suburgatory,'' TBS's '' People of Earth'', NBC's ' ...
,
David Alan Grier David Alan Grier (born June 30, 1956) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his work as Bernard on '' Damon'' (1998), as David Bellows on ''Life with Bonnie'' (2002–2004), as Joe Carmichael on ''The Carmichael Show'' (2015 ...
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, and ''The Late Late Show'' head writer Michael "Gibby" Gibbons culminating in four finalists being involved for week long final tryouts: Craig Ferguson, D. L. Hughley, Damien Fahey, and Michael Ian Black. It was announced on December 7, 2004, that Ferguson, a Scottish comedian best known from his role as Mr. Wick on ''
The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalized ...
'', was to become Kilborn's permanent replacement. David Letterman later said he made the selection based on the recommendation of
Peter Lassally Peter Lassally (born 1932) is a German-born American former executive who served as the executive producer of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''Late Night with David Letterman'', the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and the ''Late ...
. Following the conclusion of the on-air auditions on December 3, 2004, guest hosts continued to fill out the roster until the end of the year and included: Jason Alexander, Donal Logue, David Alan Grier,
Aisha Tyler Aisha Nilaja Tyler (born September 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, director, and talk show host. She is known for playing Andrea Marino in the first season of ''Ghost Whisperer'', Tara Lewis (Criminal Minds), Dr. Tara Lewis in ''Crimi ...
,
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
,
Sara Rue Sara Rue (born January 26, 1979) is an American actress. She is known for her performances as Carmen Ferrara on ''Popular'', as Claude Casey on ''Less than Perfect'', and as the Attorney General in ''Idiocracy''. In 2011, she hosted The CW realit ...
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, Daryl Mitchell,
Bob Saget Robert Lane Saget (May 17, 1956 – January 9, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Saget played Danny Tanner on the ABC sitcom ''Full House'' (1987-1995), and reprised the role for its Netflix sequel '' Fuller ...
, Jim Rome, Ana Gasteyer, Damien Fahey and D.L. Hughley.


Craig Ferguson (2005–2014)

Under Craig Ferguson's tenure as host, the show started with a
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
, followed by
opening credits In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...
and a commercial break. A loose comic monologue then followed, consistently including a greeting ("Welcome to Los Angeles, California, welcome to the ''Late Late Show'', I am your host, TV's Craig Ferguson") and the proclamation that "It's a great day for America, everybody!". From 2010 the monologue also included
banter Conversation is interactive communication between two or more people. The development of conversational skills and etiquette is an important part of socialization. The development of conversational skills in a new language is a frequent focu ...
with
Geoff Peterson Geoff Peterson is an animatronic human skeleton that served as the sidekick on the late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson''. He was voiced and operated by Josh Robert Thompson and first appeared on ''The Late Late Show'' ...
, his "robot skeleton
sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
", voiced and controlled by
Josh Robert Thompson Josh Robert Thompson (born March 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, and impressionist. He is best known for his work on ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'', providing the voice of robot skeleton and Craig Ferguson's sidekick Geoff ...
. This
animatronic Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
was constructed by the
MythBusters ''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series premiered on the Discovery Channel on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internatio ...
'
Grant Imahara Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series '' MythBusters'', on which he designed and built numero ...
but went through many revisions, the most important was the regular live control and voicing by Thompson. This changed the dynamic of the show as Ferguson had a recurring 'sidekick' to banter with. After another commercial break, the banter continued with Ferguson sitting behind a desk. He usually read and responded to viewer e-mail and (since February 2010)
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
messages for random responses to viewer questions. During segments Ferguson occasionally received phone calls (voiced by Thompson) from a variety of characters, including celebrities, the 'very shy' band (Alfredo Sauce and the Shy Fellas) allegedly hiding behind the set's curtain, room service, a duplicate Geoff, and Miriam, a possible stalker who confused Ferguson with former host
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' Sp ...
. Ferguson called his Twitter followers his "robot skeleton army." Generally one or two celebrities were interviewed; Ferguson started each by dramatically ripping up note cards written for the interview, "signalling to the audience, and to the guest, that this conversation need not be rigidly managed." At the end of an interview, Ferguson usually asked his guest to engage in one of various rituals; options included "Awkward Pause", "Mouth Organ", "Guess What the Queen is Thinking", the "Big Cash Prize," or simply joining Ferguson in throwing
Frisbee A frisbee (pronounced ), also called a flying disc or simply a disc, is a gliding toy or sporting item that is generally made of injection-molded plastic and roughly in diameter with a pronounced lip. It is used recreationally and competitive ...
s at the show's "horse,"
Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...
(actually two interns dressed in a pantomime horse costume). Occasionally Craig requested Thompson (as Geoff) to interpret the thoughts of Secretariat or others, in one of a variety of celebrity voices, most notably
Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...
. During a guest appearance, Morgan Freeman described Thompson's prompted vocal impression of himself as "impeccable". Sometimes the show featured a
stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
or a musical guest, the latter of which is typically pre-taped. Ferguson incorporated various
running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are not ...
s. Early examples included themed weeks such as "Crab Week", "Magic Week" and "Shark Week". Shark Week was apparently a reference to
Shark Week Shark Week is an annual, week long TV programming block at the Discovery Channel, which features shark-based programming. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to c ...
on the
Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
, and that channel, saying that Ferguson has always loved Shark Week, scheduled him for an appearance on August 4, 2010. A "photo of
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
" joke (wherein Ferguson called for a photo of McCartney, which was actually a photo of actress
Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...
and vice versa); the show often used variations of this gag featuring other pairs of look-alike celebrities, such as
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
being shown as
Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He came to prominence as the lead singer of the band which shares his name, of which he remains the only constant member since it ...
, and a picture of
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...
being shown whenever Ferguson requested a photo of
Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...
. The show ended with "What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig?", a segment that started with an animation of a kitten and in which Ferguson "removes his tie, puts his feet on his desk, and summarizes the preceding hour of TV." Since the introduction of the Geoff character, Ferguson usually discussed the day's lesson with the robot. Ferguson's tenure included the show's first high definition broadcast, on August 31, 2009. In March 2010, the ''Late Late Show'' won the
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
for Excellence in Television for its "Evening with Archbishop
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
" episode. According to the Peabody Board, "the Scottish-born Ferguson has made late-night television safe again for ideas." The show had
Peter Lassally Peter Lassally (born 1932) is a German-born American former executive who served as the executive producer of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''Late Night with David Letterman'', the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and the ''Late ...
as its executive producer through Ferguson's entire tenure. Lassally had previously been executive producer of ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
'', ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'', and ''
Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...
''. In April 2012, CBS announced that they had reached an agreement with Ferguson to extend his contract through 2014. As part of the deal, the network began co-producing ''The Late Late Show'' for the first time. From the beginning of Ferguson's tenure as host until August 10, 2012, ''The Late Late Show'' continued to originate from Studio 58 at CBS Television City, as it had dating back to the show's origins under Snyder. Ferguson often joked about the studio's small size, leaky roof, and poor lighting. On August 27, 2012, the program moved down the hall to the much larger Studio 56. Though the look of the main desk set was similar to the one in Studio 58, the extra space in Studio 56 allowed for more audience seating, a
fireplace A fireplace or hearth is a structure made of brick, stone or metal designed to contain a fire. Fireplaces are used for the relaxing ambiance they create and for heating a room. Modern fireplaces vary in heat efficiency, depending on the design. ...
set for Geoff Peterson, an entrance & monologue set, a musical performance area, as well as a
stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
set for the show's pantomime horse, Secretariat.


Ferguson's departure

Ferguson's contract was set to expire in June 2014. His contract called for him to be first in line to replace David Letterman as host of the '' Late Show''. Because CBS chose
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
for that position, Ferguson reportedly received a windfall of as much as $10,000,000. On April 28, 2014, Craig Ferguson announced he would leave ''The Late Late Show'' at the end of the year. He had reportedly made the decision prior to Letterman's announcement but agreed to delay making his own decision public until the reaction to Letterman's decision had died down. He had also originally intended to leave in the summer of 2014 but agreed to stay until the end of the year to give CBS more time to find a successor. His last show was December 19, 2014 and began with Ferguson performing "Bang Your Drum" with many of his guests over the years banging drums, including
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
. The show featured
Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...
as Ferguson's guest and cameos by
Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (born September 5, 1929) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan and slightly stammering delivery style. Newhart came to prominence in 1960 when his album of comedic monologues, ''The Button-Down Mi ...
and
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
in the closing segment, a parody of the finales of ''
Newhart ''Newhart'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on CBS from October 25, 1982, to May 21, 1990, with a total of 184 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons. The series stars Bob Newhart and Mary Frann as an author and his wife, ...
'', ''
The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...
'' and '' St. Elsewhere''.


Transition (January–March 2015)

In the interim between Ferguson's departure in December 2014 and James Corden's premiere on March 23, 2015, CBS scheduled a number of guest hosts to helm the program. Repeats of Ferguson's show finished out 2014.
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, ''The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
hosted the week of January 5 and did so again the week of March 2. Other guest hosts included
Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...
,
Will Arnett William Emerson Arnett (; born May 4, 1970) is a Canadian actor, comedian and producer. He is best known for his roles as Gob Bluth in the Fox/Netflix series '' Arrested Development'' (2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019) and as the titular char ...
,
Wayne Brady Wayne Alphonso Brady (born June 2, 1972) is an American television personality, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' He was the host of ...
,
Whitney Cummings Whitney Cummings (born September 4, 1982) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, writer, director, producer, investor and podcaster. A native of Washington, DC, Cummings pursued a comedy career in Los Angeles after graduating from the Univer ...
,
Jim Gaffigan James Christopher Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer. His material often addresses fatherhood, laziness, food, religion, and general observations. He is regarded as a "clean" comic, using l ...
,
Billy Gardell William Gardell Jr. (born August 20, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Gardell played Chicago police officer Mike Biggs on ''Mike & Molly.'' He also had a recurring role as Billy Colivida on ''Yes, Dear'' and appeared in a dozen e ...
,
Sean Hayes Sean Patrick Hayes (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. He is best known for playing Jack McFarland on the NBC sitcom ''Will & Grace'', for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, and one American Com ...
,
Thomas Lennon Thomas Patrick Lennon (born August 9, 1970) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series ''Reno 911!'' Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major st ...
,
John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...
,
Kunal Nayyar Kunal Nayyar (, ; born 30 April 1981) is a British actor. He portrayed Raj Koothrappali on the CBS sitcom ''The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) and voiced Vijay on the Nickelodeon animated sitcom ''Sanjay and Craig'' (2013–2016). Nayyar als ...
,
Adam Pally Adam Saul Pally (born March 18, 1982) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for starring as Max Blum in the ABC comedy series '' Happy Endings'' and as Dr. Peter Prentice in '' The Mindy Project''. He also starr ...
,
Jim Rome James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, ''The Jim Rome Show'', is syndicated by CBS Sports Radio. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' on ...
,
Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...
and
Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...
. In addition, the daytime show '' The Talk'' aired a special late night version in the week of January 12.
Peter Lassally Peter Lassally (born 1932) is a German-born American former executive who served as the executive producer of ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'', ''Late Night with David Letterman'', the ''Late Show with David Letterman'' and the ''Late ...
remained executive producer during this period and retired from television after a six decade career with the taping of Arnett's show on February 20, 2015, in which Lassally appeared in a cameo. Shows that aired for the rest of February, into March, had been pre-recorded in January for later broadcast in order to give CBS time to dismantle the Ferguson set and traditional audience seating, and build out a new set and audience arrangement for Corden's show. Shows taped by Cummings, Philbin and Pally originated from
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
and were recorded without an audience from Studio 57 at the
CBS Broadcast Center The CBS Broadcast Center is a television and radio production facility located in New York City. It is CBS's main East Coast production hub, similar to CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles as the West Coast hub. The Broadcast Center is one of tw ...
, the home studio for ''
CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
''. Repeats were to fill out the two weeks between the final new Carey hosted show on March 6 and the premiere of Corden's show on the 23rd.


James Corden (2015–2023)

On September 8, 2014, CBS announced that James Corden would succeed Ferguson as host on March 23, 2015. His show, originally slated to premiere on March 9, 2015, CBS pushed back its premiere to March 23, 2015, in December 2014, in order to use the NCAA basketball tournament as a means of promoting Corden's debut, and prevent a situation where two episodes would be pre-empted during the first week of the tournament. Corden's hosting tenure is the first to have a house band (the lack thereof having been a running joke during Ferguson's tenure);
Reggie Watts Reginald Lucien Frank Roger Watts (born March 23, 1972) is an American comedian, actor, beatboxer, and musician. His improvised musical sets are created using only his voice, a keyboard, and a looping machine. Watts refers to himself as a "disinf ...
serves as the franchise's first bandleader. In keeping with customs employed on British chat shows, Corden interviews all of the nightly guests at once, opting for a more conversational style. He also eschews sitting behind the set's desk during the interview portion of the show, using it only for comedy bits and direct addresses to the audience. Corden's version of the show also originates from Studio 56 on a set that includes a
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
. His segment on "Carpool Karaoke" where stars sing their songs in cars became highly popular online and clips of the show became popular videos. David Letterman's contract included the right to control the time slot that follows his and produce the ''Late Late Show'' and it was his production company, Worldwide Pants, which selected previous hosts. With Letterman's departure, CBS became the sole producer of the show. During the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the British chat format was temporarily set aside for a more traditional American talk show format with two individual interviews (sometimes done through
videotelephony Videotelephony, also known as videoconferencing and video teleconferencing, is the two-way or multipoint reception and transmission of audio and video signals by people in different locations for real time communication.McGraw-Hill Concise Ency ...
or distant seating on-set), and musical guests recording in advance from outside studios. On April 28, 2022, it was announced that Corden would be leaving ''The Late Late Show'' after the following year.


List of hosts

ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:80 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1995 till:29/04/2022 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:01/01/1995 Colors = id:Guest value:gray(0.6) legend:"" BarData = bar:Snyder bar:Kilborn bar:Guest bar:Ferguson bar:Guests bar:Corden PlotData= width:5 align:left fontsize:9 shift:(5,-4) anchor:till bar:Snyder from: 09/01/1995 till: 26/03/1999 text: "
Tom Snyder Thomas James Snyder (May 12, 1936 – July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows '' Tomorrow'', on the NBC television network in the 1970s and 1980s, and ' ...
" bar:Kilborn from: 29/03/1999 till: 27/08/2004 text: "
Craig Kilborn Craig Lawrence Kilborn (born August 24, 1962) is an American comedian, sports and political commentator, actor, and television host. Kilborn began a career in sports broadcasting in the late 1980s, leading to an anchoring position at ESPN's '' Sp ...
" bar:Guest from: 20/09/2004 till: 31/12/2004 color:Guest text: "Guest hosts" bar:Ferguson from: 03/01/2005 till: 19/12/2014 text: " Craig Ferguson" bar:Guests from: 03/01/2015 till: 06/03/2015 color:Guest text: "Guest hosts" bar:Corden from: 23/03/2015 till: end text: " James Corden"


Broadcasting milestones


Schedule


First run episodes


References


External links


Official website


a ''
McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to n ...
'' article by
Michael Ian Black Michael Ian Black (born Michael Ian Schwartz; August 12, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and director. He has starred in several TV comedy series, including ''The State'', ''Viva Variety'', '' Stella'', '' Wet Hot American Summer: Fi ...
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Late Late Show CBS late-night programming Television franchises Television series by Worldwide Pants Television series by CBS Studios 1995 American television series debuts 1990s American late-night television series 2000s American late-night television series 2010s American late-night television series 1990s American variety television series 2000s American variety television series 2010s American variety television series English-language television shows