James Corden is stepping down from The Late Late Show next year
Corden will end his run after nearly nine years in the summer of 2023
Aux News Corden
Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go… Sorry, we’re just feeling wistful over the ceaseless passage of time and how the good things can never truly last—because their impermanence is what makes them good. (Whoops, we were being sarcastic and now we actually feel sad.)
Anyway, James Corden is leaving CBS’s The Late Late Show in 2023, and while that itself is not terrible news (late night shake-ups are always fascinating, regardless of who or what is getting shaken up), we must admit that we’ll miss the easy target of poking fun at Corden’s brand of endlessly crowd-pleasing, viral-friendly comedy… and his Cinderella mouse crotch. And his “regular people jobs are funny” thing. And his “Asian delicacies are gross” thing. Look, we’ve poked a lot of fun at a lot of James Corden things over the years and we’ll miss the guy. He was so fun on Doctor Who! Everybody has to give him that.
This news comes from Deadline, which notes that Corden will have hosted The Late Late Show for eight and a half years once he finishes his run next summer, and he said in a statement that he had initially planned to only do it for five years until he actually reached that mark and didn’t want to stop. But, he says he’s been “thinking about it for a long time” and was wondering “whether there might be one more adventure.” He hinted to Deadline that he’d “like to try and write,” even though he’s scared, but “the fact that it’s terrifying is the reason to do it.”
See, he seems like a relatively genuine guy who just loves putting on a show, which can be a little grating for us snotty loners, but his show clearly connected with a lot of people based on the success of “Carpool Karaoke” and “Crosswalk Musical.” Also, his Late Late Show gave band leader Reggie Watts an absurd amount of time in front of a much more mainstream audience than his weirdo musical comedy would normally get, and that’s pretty cool.
So we take it all back, James Corden. We like you now and we think you should stick around. Oh, what’s that? It’s too late? Okay, never mind. We’ll see you on Sunday at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
159 Comments
Here’s how you write a headline: Corden CorDONE.
Late Night Shakeup: Viewers Thrilled, Corden Blue
Yeah but more words means more SEO
Late night is dead. I won’t be shocked if they don’t bother with a replacement and just axe the show.
I wouldn’t go that far. There’s obviously an audience for late night talk shows, but five hourlong network talk shows with the same format and often the same guests and variations on the same jokes seems a bit much, especially in an era when people who are up at 1 a.m. have so many other viewing options. So go ahead and cut the late late night talk shows (after giving Fallon’s spot to Seth Meyers, just because I like him).
Seth Meyers (since “returning” from the COVID times) has had more than a little bit of…well…*his* version of Ferguson’s chaos/”do whatever the fuck we like” attitude.And I am 100% here for it.
I’ll host! Put me in, coach!
And air what? Infomercials? I watched a few clips of youtube. Not my thing but I love that he was ok with being dorky. For-real, boy band loving, broad comedy, dorky. And when he talked about fat representation and body shaming he was actually pretty thoughtful.
you probably think the carpool karaoke stuff is as genuine as his laugh
I’ve never watched carpool karaoke. I don’t get why everyobe cares if tv talk show hosts are “genuine”. What does that even mean? Why does it matter if Ellen Degeneres is a nice lady you want to grab a beer with? Why do people need to imagine James Corden is really a goofy talk show host all the time? It’s silly.
After Ferguson left, the show was mildly interesting during the few months(?) when they had a different stunt-host every few weeks.
And nothing of value was lost.
His comment about writing seems really strange since he’s written for and created Gavin & Stacey and The Wrong Mans.
And his crap sketch comedy double act.I wonder whatever happened to the other guy? Seething with jealousy somewhere, I expect.
Yeah, maybe he meant writing on his own? He had partners for those other projects.
Look, we’ve poked a lot of fun at a lot of James Corden things over the years and we’ll miss the guy. He was so fun on Doctor Who! Everybody has to give him that.Except he wasn’t.People take the piss out of him for the same reason people take the piss out of Fallon, they’re “comedians” who are so inoffensive they’re the opposite of comedians and so desperate to be liked by everyone it’s fucking painful.
100% this. To quote a real comedian…. “I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.”I just dont understand the appeal of Cordon and Fallon. Fallon is a decent talent and i’ve seen some good late night bits of his. But does he have to insert himself into everything? Can’t he just say, Here’s a talented actor/singer and idk.. let them perform?
Do you think someone like Jim Gaffigan isn’t a real comedian?
Gaffigan is largely inoffensive, but grumpiness has always been a major part of his comedy persona. It’s an edge (albeit a relatively safe one) that crosses well the line of polite amicability.
Right? Neither Jim Gaffigan nor Jerry Seinfeld nor Steve Martin are comedians, because they aren’t EXTREEEEEEEEEME, MAAAAAAAN!It’s adorable when a 14-year-old finds out about George Carlin and decides they’ve now graduated from Comedy U. Did I say adorable? I meant eye-rolling my pathetic.
Lots of people don’t want challenging comedy. They want safe comedy. And to a degree, how can you argue with that? Having all art be challenging all the time doesn’t seem sustainable. Not even people who like challenging art want to be challenged 24/7. Sometimes you want to watch something that makes you feel good.
Yeah, Corden doesn’t suck because he’s safe, he sucks because his “fun-loving one-of-the-guys” persona feels intensely inauthentic and he relies heavily on it for most of his material.
And they chose “safe” “pick me” guy to replace Craig Ferguson.
Can we just say he sucks, period? I’ll grant I thought he was okay in the movie version of Cats (apparently, I’m the only person who liked it!) and I know he’s won a Tony — but for the most part I find him cosmically desperate and unpleasant.
To paraphrase something from The West Wing that I recently just saw, art doesn’t have to say something. The art just has to keep your attention for how long the artist is demanding. A statement is a plus.
Art that doesn’t say anything is just illustration. Or worse, ad copy.
most pretentious thing ive read all week
No, because art can also make you laugh, make you cry, make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, make you angry…and I suppose I need to include make you want to lose your lunch.
Eli Roth can Paypal me for that last one.
People who say “having all art be challenging all the time doesn’t seem sustainable” are either shit artists, connoisseurs of shit art, or both, and should stick to resetting passwords at their IT helpdesk job.
Right, so you only ever consume art that’s cutting-edge and challenging. Sure. /rolls eyes
RdThis makes you sound insufferable, and not as intelligent as you suspect yourself to be. People with this attitude invariably have some comfort based, unchallenging tastes they have a blind spot for. You’re not an authentic unless you recognize that you spend some of your waking hours adverse to dissonance. And I say this as a person who values subversion in art above all else. Every person – including your heros, the artists you respect the most – are garaunteed to like some simple shit that horrifies you. And that’s ok!
I don’t think insulting anyone who doesn’t share your taste in entertainment is making a good case for your position.
“I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.”
So…Ricky Gervais?
Yeah, and that’s how you get Andrew “Dice” Clay and Chris Rock.
Tons of brilliant comedians have generated laughs without “crossing the line.” That’s just bullshit. The pivotal element of being a comedian is that you have to be funny. If you want to cross a line, go ahead, but it’s ridiculous to think that defines humor. Steve Martin was hardly Richard Pryor back in the day, and Pryor openly stated that he thought Martin was a genius.
Cosby (I know, I know) and Carlin were contemporaries who sold out arenas with their shows. Why would we expect public taste in comedians to vary any less than it does in music, movies, TV and the like? In fact I’d say the best-sellers are generally going to be the ones who go down the smoothest. The George Carlin Show lasted on season, while Cosby…
I agree with your larger point but Steve Martin is a terrible example. He wasn’t political, but his act crossed all sorts of lines. He was singular.
Who are we talking about?? Lenny Bruce, maybe Woody Allen, Richard Pryor, George Carlin…and Steve Martin?? Because he once said “Grandpa bought a rubber”?? Or was it the balloons twisted to look like a dinosaur? Or thinking that “S & M” meant “Spaniards and Mexicans”?? Or the song where he tells people to be “obsequious, purple, and clairvoyant??” Or the skit where he rides a tortoise while pretending to be a rodeo cowboy? Or the skit where he plays a cowboy who’s in love with a chimp? The guy would say “fuck” onstage once every performance, did zero political humor, did zero race-based humor, would once in a rare while mention sex the way a fourteen year-old would, and did a “drug routine” exactly once under the guise of “getting small” instead of “getting high.” That performer is a “terrible” example??He was groundbreaking, but we’re talking about people confronting the audience in an aggressive manner- making them flinch or feel uncomfortable. How on earth is that supposed to be Steve Martin?
I find Corden and Fallon unwatchable. But I’ve also always found the “we’re so edgy, we push things forward” thing a joke itself.There are like 5-10 comedians who have actually done that. Most just tell jokes to various degrees of success.Corden and Fallon aren’t comedians… because they don’t really tell jokes. They are friendly personalities, which is not the same things as being a comedian.
It’s the reason that, even as Millennial, I can’t fucking stand what’s been called “millennial” humour – that exceedingly bland, don’t offend anyone or anything, if-people-don’t-laugh-play-it-off-as-ironic-anti-humour bullshit.
That’s shocking, because you come off as such a jovial fellow.
Isnt the main purpose of comedians to make us laugh? That’s what comedy is, right? Say what you want about how unfunny people like Fallon and Corden are but I don’t understand why comedians all of a sudden have to be activists.
I think it’s more their late-night show host personas. As comedic actors, I think they’re both perfectly adequate.
I will say that out of all the things I’ve seen James Corden in I minded him the least in Doctor Who.
Doctor Who had him turned into a cyberman and then somehow reversed it through the power of a father’s love for the toddler who up to that point he hated.So that can fuck right off.
Look, I didn’t say he was good in Doctor Who…
Hate to say it, but you can’t blame that plot twist on Corden — that’s on Gareth Roberts who wrote it, and Steven Moffat who produced it.
That’s a fair assessment, Liebkartoffel — I didn’t know who he was when I watched it so I figured, “Oh, some Brit actor that The Doctor moves in with for…a while….”
At least Fallon is a genuinely nice man-child who seems can’t get over his college party animal phase. Corben, not so much.
Cordon isn’t a comedian though (and I need to make this perfectly clear now, I dislike his whole being), he’s a drama school kid writer/actor.
>See, he seems like a relatively genuine guy who just loves putting on a showHe is…not that.
There are long reddit threads of people outing Corden as a gigantic a-hole.
I tend to assume that of every successful person tbh. Which is why we need strong labour laws and unions, rather than hoping successful comics are cuddly.
And yet I notice that the vast majority of the hate Corden gets is because people don’t think he’s funny or can’t stand his mannerisms. If you’re going to have true hatred for someone at least do it for the right reasons.
Super “nice” personalities always end up being huge aholes. See: Rosey and Ellen.
I don’t know how you can watch 4 minutes of Corden performing in anything and conclude “ah, yes, that is a genuine person.”
Craig Ferguson was the best host of any later late night show and pretty much nobody could do the kind of thing he did.
I loved Kilby, too. Such a wackjob.
IK,R? Craig just connected with guests in a way that Corden would sell what’s left of his soul to do.
Wait, Wait, WAIT!Jamoche — are you saying James Corden still has a soul to sell…?
mostly because Ferguson didn’t give a crap about whatever the guest was there to promote, which probably made it easier for the guest since that can get exhausting I’m sure.
He was incredible, and somehow never got the credit he deserved.
Yeah I miss him. He was the perfect deconstruction of the late night formula. Wish he’d do something similar again, rather than lame game shows and a radio show you need siriusxm for.
So, we need someone willing to push the boundaries, is funny, isn’t reeking of desperation to be liked, has talk show experience, and is Scottish?My friends, there is but one man who can save us…
he’d be terrible in the job, despite mellowing from his tedious tramadol nights era
CBS cares.
I know there’s a joke here, but I’m drawing a blank on the punchline.
Who the hell is that schlub? He looks like an unfinished create-a-player in Brooklyn: The Video Game.
I enjoy Frankie Boyle’s comedy, but I don’t know how well his jokes about the Queen’s genitals or Jimmy Savile would play on American television.
Meh, Seppoes could do with some culture. Only way they’ll learn.
THAT would be amazing!
Ferguson and O’Brien. Those are basically the only ones worth a damn.
I miss the other Craig. Kilborn. Bring me some five questions and countdowns to Dido, baby. He really went MIA after leaving though…
His brand of fuck you, and you as well smugness was fantastic. Old School put that persona to great use in his brief cameo.
Yeah…I *really* miss Craig and his wonderfully insane boundary-pushing and honest conversations; I can hardly believe it’s been nearly NINE years. :/Aside: Seth Meyers (post-COVID times) has been leaking a little (very much WELCOME) comedic chaos onto our airwaves of late; just a soupcon of Mr. Ferguson, I daresay.
Bring back Craig!
Nah Jack Docherty was the best.
truth.
Craig was the best because he literally couldn’t have cared less about having a format, or what anyone thought. He just did what he wanted and went off the cuff, and it was just the best. He and Conan are my two favorites (I’m even including Dave, who I love; I just loved the weird, give no shits comedy of Craig and Conan. Dave never gave a shit either, but he stuck to the Carson format more closely).
I give James Corden a pass for two reasons: Gavin & Stacey was delightful, and writing this exchange in The Wrong Mans:
Mom: What did I tell you about watching mucky ladies?Phil/James’s character (defeatedly): They’re not happy.
He’s also fine in the play One Man, Two Guv’nors, mostly because he’s supposed to be an obnoxious fool.
In a better universe/timeline Craigy Ferg would come back to host.
Even at half energy he’d be more interesting to watch.
Craigy Ferg left the Late Late Show in December 2014.Isn’t that about the time the universe spiraled off into our current dark timeline?Coincidence???
There were a bunch of big TV finales around that time. I know because I’m a longtime Daily Show fan, and The Colbert Report ended the day before Ferguson and Jon Stewart’s last Daily Show was on August 6, 2015. In between we had the finales for Letterman, Mad Men, Parks & Rec, and Community.
Dark days indeed.
Seems like Letterman left years before the others somehow.
I, quite literally, grew up watching (and LOVING) Letterman, but, I don’t know, after experiencing Ferguson, I’ve got to say: the time of that same-y, staid, not-quite-honest, performative talk show host format had gotta get gone.TL;DR: Letterman got out about exactly when he needed to.
In fairness, his last few years were really just him trolling the audience and seeing how indifferent he could be while still getting paid. Man was bored out of his mind.
Wow. That’s like the American Pie of late night.
I know you disagree with me on this, but I enjoy Colbert on The Late Show(dunno how you feel about this, but I like Trevor Noah on The Daily Show too).
Colbert finally wore me out during the Trump years. Every single night was the same, him reading a tweet in that terrible Trump impression voice, then a limp one-liner. I have caught him a few times since and the jokes were just not good. He’s an excellent interviewer, I’ll grant that.
I actually liked his Trump impression, especially the way he’d verbalize all of Trump’s writing tics. His Biden doesn’t really do it for me, though.This doesn’t make me think any less of its quality, but I’m struck by how dated The Colbert Report is now. For one thing, in its early years a big part of the character’s schtick was worship of George W. Bush, but Republicans forgot about Bush as soon as he left office. In fact Trump made a big deal out of bashing Dubya when he started talking about running for president back in 2011, and now Republican worship of Trump dwarfs any worship of Dubya during his presidency.I also think the fact that we elected Trump drove home just how limited the impact of satire is. Remember all the outcry from conservatives when CBS gave Colbert the Late Show about what an offensive stereotype his character supposedly was? These same conservatives went on to support a president more extreme that Colbert’s character. Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.
Politics is fickle. There are some politicians willing to lose a battle to win the war, but not many, because the war is pretty much perpetual so all you have is the battles. So they grab victories where they can and worry about the rest later. Trump galvanized a lot of people and so as long as his plusses are bigger than his minuses, he’s in.
Weird how much loyalty Trump inspires in others considering how little he has himself. Dubya actually had a certain old-fashioned good ‘ol boy loyalty to him.
By all accounts he’s maniacal about demanding it entirely, but his gauge for what constitutes betrayal is extremely sensitive and he has a one-strike rule. So he blows through allies until the only people left are true sycophants.
He does seem willing to take people back if they grovel hard enough. Recently when he announced his endorsement of J.D. Vance he said: “You know what, he’s a guy who said some bad shit about me. But you know what, every one of the others did also. In fact, if I went by that standard, I don’t think I would have ever endorsed anyone in the country.” Unusual for him to show that much self-awareness.
Wow. With the exception of Community (no opinion), you just listed some of my absolute favorite shows. That was a tough run!
Honestly that started in like 1974-1981. 2014 is where it hit the gas pedal.
Craigy Ferg Geoff Peterson left the Late Late Show in December 2014.Isn’t that about the time the universe spiraled off into our current dark timeline?Coincidence???FTFY
*monkey’s paw finger curls up* Tomorrow’s headline: James Corden cast as the 14th Doctor
Oh shit oh no that makes too much sense stop it stop it stop it.
I know, I hate it too.
Don’t worry , rumor is the Doctor is cast and it’s not him.
Hopefully the Beeb can’t afford Corden now.
Colbert (‘s staff?) already tweeted this as a joke and unleashed chaos.
So I’m not the only one with an unspeakably cursed imagination.
Corden would’ve been a perfect Doctor to pair with Chris Chibnall’s storytelling skills.Actually, you know what, scratch that. Chibnall had a very good actress in that role (along with national treasure Bradley Walsh) and still almost murdered the franchise, Corden might’ve pushed it over the line and actually caused the BBC to go “you know what, let’s maybe let it rest for a while again.”
Ugh — Chris Chibnall and James Cordon?
That only works if you’re trying to create a black hole of suckitude so powerful it can re-start the TARDIS.
I just genuinely don’t understand wtf happened. I really liked Broadchurch, Jodie’s 1st episode was a promising start, and then everything just fizzled out after that. What a waste.
I think Broadchurch season one must have just been some kind of weird accident where everything happened to fall into place perfectly in spite of him being in charge.
They’re pretty different, tonally and in genre, along with one being new the other being a long-running thing to fit into. It’s possible to just be a bad fit for the job, rather than bad at the role in general.
Yeah, this kept him safely tucked away where his opportunity for mischief was contained. We’ve seen what happens when he has time on his hands. He does this with them…
I liked the Late Late Show back when they had hosts named Craig. But then I got a fucking life. Reggie Watts is a good dude, though.
Hope James Corden gets replaced by Ian Karmel. Dude’s hilarious.
I would be OK with this or Reggie taking over to host and getting weird with it.
Also an excellent way to go.
I would watch Corden Minus Corden.
That’s the answer. Just do like a weird live podcast with Ian Karmel and Reggie Watts hanging out being charming and hilarious while talking to cool guests and doing bits.
Keep the band, writers and technical crew and the occasional appearance by Nick Bernstein.
“He was so fun on Doctor Who!”Counterpoint: Nuh-uh.
Tom Snyder, Craig Ferguson and this dude. Let’s watch CBS fuck this up again. I never understood the logic of going with him.
Has Kilborn been forgotten that much?
MORE.
Holy shit! Lol that must have been my club kid years cause I never watched him. What became of him?
He appeared in a TV commercial for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in 2016!
He was a pretty awful late-night host in his own way. Hard to believe he was the first Daily Show host, too.
Daily Show was obviously a dramatically different animal before Stewart’s arrival.
I started watching The Daily Show a few years into Stewart’s tenure, but before that show was even created I used to watch Kilborn on SportsCenter.
He needs to spend more time with his hideous cackle.
The man is a total wanker. Goodbye!!!
The give-and-take with the crew in the post-Quarantine shows has been a lot of fun. Probably unsustainable, so maybe this is just as well.
Yeah, for all the deserved hate he gets, the show has been significantly better the last 12-18 months. And that’s mostly because new voices were added.
I know it’s kind of a hacky thing at this point to say “Finally, some good news” but…Finally, some good news.
Hate to break this to you. But this just means Cordon has more time on his hands to star in movies and shows!!!
Good. He’s fucking terrible.
Fun fact… out of the five late night network talk shows, three are hosted by a white guy named James.
Extra fun fact… Jay Leno’s real first name is James.
It is so fashionable to take a shot at [James Corden]. Look, the fact is the man is out there every bloody night with fresh material and he’s charming.
So…reruns of Columbo? Has the phony late night “interview” format run its course?
As long as TV, film and music studios share ownership, there will be demand for the late night format.
Look, if it means we can have another interregnum where Adam Pally and Ben Schwartz host the most fantastically awkward hour of late night possible, I’m here for it.
You want awkward? Try Michael Rappaport who is guest hosting for Wendy Williams. Especially when he attempts to report on black news & he doles out advice. I love it!
Remember that AMA Corden did where most of the questions were “is it true you’re a massive prick and a nightmare to work with?”
I dont know anyone who likes or watches him. I’m sure a lot of that is because I dont want to hang out with people who think his style of “comedy” is funny. I’m betting he is popular in the midwest, and areas where the big bang theory is popular.
He literally has more fat on his neck than I do on my potbelly. He has a potneck. Ride a bike, go to a gym once in a while, get lipo. How can you be worth that much money, go on TV nightly and still let yourself look like that?
Oh no, now we’ll be down to only 7,809 people forced to pretend the Kardashians aren’t monsters.
See, he seems like a relatively genuine guy who just loves putting on a showI can point out there is an island across Atlantic which the majority spite on the existence of James Corden, and more than happy of saying “Good Riddance!” When he jump ship to the ex-colony.
Somehow, you Yankees got smitten by James Corden is befuddle me.
Trust me, we’re not smitten.
We’re full of smit.
The accent. We fall for it every time.
America: Please, please, please keep him.
Fuck that. No job, no green card. See ya.
I’m quoting someone far more intelligent than I, from Reddit, when I type, “Can’t he just do the thing where you put in your 2-week resignation and the boss just says, ‘Nah, you can go *now*’?”The world will be a slightly better place with just a skosh (sp?) less fawning mediocrity/cringing unoriginality on the airwaves.
It’s amazing how unfunny all the late night hosts are. This idiot, Kimmel, poor Stephen Colbert, human-cringe-factory Jimmy whathisface. It’s a comedy gas chamber.
I thought he already left to do “3 Peter 3 Rabbit” or whatever.
Poor guy. I wonder if this makes Corden Bleu.
I will say this about James Corden: I am impressed that despite hosting a late-night talk show four nights a week, he still found time to appear in crap like Cats. I haven’t watched late-night talk shows in years, so I don’t know how long his hiatuses are or if he does guest hosts, but IDK, he seems like he is constantly working.Anyway, I don’t find him funny either.
Oh no. 😐
James Corden can fade back into obscurity because I still don’t know who he is. Talk about bland! Are there no AMERICAN comics to hire? What about Jim Gaffigan? or Tig Notaro?
Replace him with Chris Rock.