While we have all been waiting and discussing Letterman taking his last bow on the Late Show stage, Craig Ferguson’s transition away from CBS has been a whole lot quieter. Ferguson’s last day on air will happen this December and CBS is looking to switch to his successor with lighting speed. On Thursday, the network announced that new guy James Corden will be taking over The Late Late Show in March of 2015.
The Late Late Show with James Corden will be hitting the schedule on a Monday March 9, to be exact. A few of the other details have also been worked out with CBS. Producer and director Ben Winston will join Corden on The Late Late Show, serving as his executive producer. CBS Entertainment Chairwoman Nina Tassler mentions in the announcement that Ben and James are friends in real life. The two have also worked with one another on the James Corden: May I Have Your Attention, Please? short.
We don’t know much else at this point about how The Late Late Show with James Corden will be set up, but we do know a bit about the British comedian, who appears to be a jack of all trades. He’s a writer and the co-creator of the British series Gavin & Stacey. In the US, people are probably a little more familiar with his stint on Doctor Who and his role in the Three Musketeers reboot, although you may not recognize him in the latter due to all the additional hair.
Finally, the man’s also a Tony and BAFTA winner.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Corden manages to sink or swim on American late night, but unfortunately, his tenure automatically means the loss of Craig Ferguson, who has dominated in the late late slot for the past decade. The man’s already forging forward with a new career path, signing on to host Celebrity Name Game and working on a deal for another talk show in a syndicated format. In the meantime, Ferguson is still set to host The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson until December 19, giving us plenty of time to say goodbye to the likable Scott and his robot sidekick, Geoff Peterson.
It’s always tough when late night shows transition, and CBS has two different hosts taking over timeslots within the next twelve months. We expect the late night shakeup to come with a few bumps, but maybe that’ll be just what CBS needs to get a leg up in the ratings, once more. Look out NBC and ABC, Colbert and Corden are coming for you.
