James Corden’s most memorable moments on The Late Late Show, for better or worse
The Late Late Show With James Corden, we've had a lot of laughs
Aux Features James Corden
It’s been real, it’s been fun, and, sometimes, it’s even been real fun.
Tonight, James Corden’s The Late Late Show will air its final hurrah. Since taking up the mantle from Craig Ferguson in 2015, Corden has carved out his own space in the late-night game—a space that has probably earned him at least as many fans as critics. But during an era where it seemed that audiences turned away from late-night talk shows in favor of YouTube clips or Instagram lives, no one can deny that Corden regularly had people talking about his show.
It’s a role and a skillset that CBS believes can’t be equaled with someone else behind the Late Late desk. Instead, the time slot is reportedly going to a reboot of @midnight as Corden himself heads off to greener pastures. In the meantime, let’s look back at the Late Late moments we remember above all others—for better or worse.
67 Comments
“we’ve had a lot of laughs”I don’t believe that.
Late night comedy in general is a bit anemic for me. It’s just another way I know I’m old now. I miss early Adult Swim, Letterman, Ferguson, Conan, Jon Stewart’s version of The Daily Show, and Colbert 1.0.
I literally was sitting watching old slots of Ferguson on Youtube and being pissed about it. The dude was an absolute master of the interview and a shamelessly smooth flirt.I even got a coiled snake coffee cup sitting on my office desk in his honor.
Watching old episodes of Ferguson is part of my evening routine. It’s fun to see who the guests were 10+ years ago, and how many are now dead or revealed to be horrible people.
Join Or Die!
Join Or Die!
Dude is Hollywood poison now. I wouldn’t even let him through the front door of anything worthwhile.I can guarantee a Hollywood Squares slot but thats about it. Can he just go fuck off back to the UK and be the annoying theatre kid who no ones likes across the pond?
I don’t think so. Working stage, and big/little screen for years. Enough names showed up for the show and send-off. What was his crime, being a shitbird? Thank God it isn’t really a criteria or we’d be down to a couple of handfuls. You do a bad bad thing nowadays and it sometimes follows you for a time or it does bupkis. He has a decent pile for an “Emergency Fund” and can lie back and wait. One thing he could book is a bunch of darker roles.
This list smacks of someone having to assemble a bullshit montage of mediocrity because their corporate overlords told them to. “We have to remain topical, we need a new slideshow for today!!”
So iconic!
As the sun set on the small town of Millville, James Corden hopped into his karaoke car with a special guest. They were ready for a night of singing, laughter, and fun. As they drove down the deserted road, James belted out a tune with all his might. Suddenly, a strange feeling overcame him. His stomach was rumbling and churning in a way he’d never felt before.He tried to ignore it, but the pain grew more intense with every passing moment. His guest noticed his discomfort and asked if he was okay. James assured them that everything was fine, but deep down he knew something was very wrong. Suddenly, without warning, a foul odor filled the car. James had let out a massive shart that echoed through the vehicle.His guest gagged and tried to roll down the window, but it was stuck. James frantically tried to open the doors, but they were locked tight. The smell grew stronger and stronger, and the car began to swerve out of control. James lost control of the vehicle and it careened off the road, crashing into a nearby ditch.When the police arrived on the scene, they found the car wrapped around a tree. James was slumped over the steering wheel, his face twisted in agony. His guest was nowhere to be found. It was as if they had vanished into thin air. But some say that on quiet nights, you can still hear the haunting strains of James Corden’s karaoke singing, accompanied by the eerie sound of a ghostly shart, echoing through the abandoned roads of Millville.
The crash had been a traumatic experience for Megan Trainor, but as she slowly regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was the unbearable smell. It was a mixture of something rotten and something acrid, and it was almost suffocating. As she looked around, she saw James Corden staring back at her, his face pale and his eyes wide with fear.“What happened?” she asked, groggily.James took a deep breath before replying. “I sharted,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.Megan looked at him in confusion. “What’s a shart?” she asked.James hesitated for a moment before explaining. “It’s when you try to fart, but a little bit of poop comes out instead.”Megan recoiled in disgust. “Ew, that’s gross!” she exclaimed.“I know, I’m sorry,” James said, looking embarrassed.Megan couldn’t help but feel a little bit amused by the situation. Here was this big, boisterous man, and yet he was embarrassed by something so human and natural. She couldn’t help but laugh a little, and James joined in.As the two of them sat there in the wreckage of the car, they realized that sometimes, even the most embarrassing and uncomfortable situations can bring people closer together. And maybe, just maybe, this whole ordeal would make for a great story to tell on James’ show.
I saw one where they just showed up and filmed at somebody’s house that would’ve been much funnier without him contantly repeating “Can you believe we’re filming at somebody’s house?”Parts of it were really funny, but he kinda ruined it.
With Colin Farrell?
Yeah, I guess that was it. Funny ideas, but Corden’s so over the top, it just gets annoying.
I don’t have feelings about James Corden one way or another, but I’ve been really surprised at how NOT uniformly negative the send-off seems to be for him. I feel like the last few years he has been nothing but a punching bag, and now that he’s leaving it’s “boy we did have some good times though, huh?” and I don’t know where this sudden good mood is coming from. It keeps making me wonder if I’m thinking of the wrong person–this is the same one who was in Cats, yeah?
I think *he* is a punching bag. I don’t think that has always been directed at his show. Like Fallon gets far more criticism for what’s on his show. Corden is criticized more for being an asshole off screen.
Nah, he is an annoying bootlicker to celebrities on his show. Alos preteinding to be a pretentious asshole in a bit only works when you don’t already come off as a pretentious asshole the rest of the time.
The Paul McCartney episode was truly awesome.
You’re thinking of The Chris Farley Show.
“Do you remember that song, All you need is love? Is that really true?”
“You remember when you went to Japan and at the airport they arrested you ‘cause you had some pot and it made all the papers and everything?”
When they went to that Liverpool pub & that red velvet curtain opened to him performing for unassuming patrons, I lost it! And then going to his childhood home?! COME ON, MAN! 😭
Annoying as he is, that was great. And for me and a lot of my friends and family, very emotional as we grew up in the same part of South Liverpool as Macca. And if you ever visit Liverpool, that pub, the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, is well worth a visit. Classic horseshoe bar, side rooms called the Brahms and Liszt (geddit?) and the most ornate gentlemen’s toilets in the North of England. A classic Victorian Gin Palace. John Lennon once said that the worst thing about fame was not being able to go for a pint in the Phil.
He pretty much did apologize for the Balthazar incident, but then, incredibly, he took it all back within in a week in another interview. Reneging on an apology is one of the most dishonorable things a human being can do, so he showed his true colors. He’s a jerk. Good riddance
Do NOT send him back here to the UK ffs.Come on, you loved him when he first went there. Give him another chance!
As long as we are returning your stuff, can you take this royal dipshit as well?
Look, we hoodwinked you with both of them. No takesie-backsies. Corden should stay, it’s only fair. Take the L.
Look, I just returned a way more racist Piers Morgans. No issues. I’m going to have to speak with your manager.
I’m afraid they are in a meeting right now!
Piers Morgan was an act of inexplicable mercy, given he’d been hounded out of the UK in the first place. You keep Corden and his mates, like Adele, Chris Martin, Harry Styles, etc. The trans-Atlantic relationship will be golden.
I am up for keeping Adele, she looks gorgeous and sounds divine.
He may be kind of a prick, but he was smart to borrow from Graham Norton and interview his guests together.I think wining the Tony is what probably inflated his ego so massively, he beat a murderers row of talent and not undeservedly, but it seems to have done a number on him.
Yeah, but from I’ve seen, Graham is a nice guy.
nah, he’s been a nightmare long before that. i used to be a celebrity booker for a about a year- every single booker who has met james corden has had a negative experience with him. he’s just not a nice person. yet, some of the biggest stars in the world are polite and easy going – but this guy not so much
And Norton was just on Seth Meyers talking about sitting celebrities next to each other is his secret sauce for getting them to spill great stories. Because they are trying to outdo each other.
That murderer’s row being Frank Langella, John Lithgow, James Earl Jones and Philip Seymour Hoffman at the height of his career, no less.
Wow, this is like an entire universe that I never knew existed!
“So that’s it after 8 years? So long, good luck?”“I don’t recall saying good luck”
James Corden sleeps in a racing car, do you?
No mention of The Proclaimers??
The Late late Show should be retired. Kilby (Craig Kilborn) was the best host, and the Scot, Craig Ferguson was fine. But Corden was shit. A lot of famous people don’t earn nor deserve their fame. But he decided to be an awful human being on top of that. I only watched during the Kilborn years because I stayed up late when I was, um, younger, and scrolling through socials was not a thing.
He seems like a dick in real life, but it’s easy to see why people like his on screen persona – He’s affable. He seems genuinely interested in his guests most of the time. He made some fun bits that many people felt they wanted to be a part of. He’s no better or worse than Fallon. A lot of the criticism towards him as a host seems to come from things we’ve heard about him as a person.
“He’s no better or worse than Fallon”. How deep a ditch did you have to dig to set that bar so low?
“Let’s look back at the Late Late moments we remember above all others.” —and then that’s followed by nothing. Well played, AV Club, well played.
I think if he did not have the misfortune of following Craig Ferguson, maybe the best interviewer of all time and was genuinely hilarious, he maybe would have fared better.
As much as I hear terrible things about the man, this is clearly the best…
I’d rather be run over by that car than be inside it.
Thank you, always got to sing it all the way through, no matter how many times I’ve seen the clip.
Good sweet lord, I love Hamilton but this is absolutely insufferable.
I think my favorite thing I’ve seen on there is when they did a studio Hide & Seek contest with Ashton Kutcher and BTS, where BTS members hid all over the studio, including backstage, and then it was a contest between Corden and Kutcher to see who could find the most members first. I thought it was good because the members of BTS can be intentionally chaotic in these kinds of things, and they were here, too. A bit of a spoiler, but it was funny how the last member to be found, Jungkook, was almost never found because he was hiding in plain sight by replacing one of the floor cameramen and then hunching over the camera like a guy doing his job.
I can’t believe you didn’t mention “Sidewalk Soulmates” from Tues night, where he revisited the 2 strangers he set up on the street a few years back who ended up getting married after their blind date! OMG, what a beautiful, hopeful thing. They had to reschedule their wedding because of Covid, so James had them on to give them so much & it was tearjerking. Call me a softie, but it was wondrous.
A talk show is only as good as it’s guest. I don’t watch a talk show because of the host. I check the guide or youtube and see If I like the celebrity guest that day and based on that I watch it. Which brings me to my favorite moment.
You know what? I really like his show.By all accounts, in real life he’s the biggest asshole you could ever find, but his show seems like a real party. He’s game for anything. He allows his producers and band to improvise. His recurring bits are all just a bit of silly fun. He didn’t revolutionize the format or anything but he did put out an entertaining product based on actual talent from him and his crew. He wasn’t my first choice in late night but I’d watch him every day of the week over, say, Fallon.
I haven’t always watched it, but I think during the lockdown, when they didn’t have an audience, the set at least became a lot more chill, and the monologues since have been fun. But that’s also because the rest of the core stage staff gets involved.
Regardless of what anyone says in the cynical, hyper-critical bubble of the Internet, the dude is very popular with audiences. And honestly, many parts of his show were pretty delightful, especially Carpool Karaoke and the aimless banter with his crew during the post-pandemic shows. Beats Fallon and current Meyers, as far as I’m concerned.
Agreed. I’ve watched him on British comedy shows for years – 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Would I Lie To You, etc. and have always enjoyed him there.
He succeeded despite being a terrible person, which is something I suppose.
Did “No Lockdowns Anymore” age well considering when it was released and what it promised, particularly by the lyric sung by Ms. Grande?
So, the “Best of Reggie Watts on the Late Late Show” slideshow goes up tomorrow, is that how this works?
Good riddance
I’ll miss his show. know it is cool to hate on him, but there was plenty of great skits along the way, and they were fun to watch.
The funniest moment, and one of the only things I even know about this show, was when Jimmy Kimmel asked him to name any of the show’s cameramen and he couldn’t, which pretty much tells you all you need to know about James Corden.
Did that happen on Corden’s show or his show. I want to see it and want to know where to look on youtube.
I think the Proclaimers skits should have made the list:
I never watched this show. Based on this article, I didn’t miss anything.
I miss Craig Ferguson