CBS’ late night talk show "The Late Late Show" is finally getting the ax and is set to be replaced by a reincarnated "Comedy Central" series from executive producer Stephen Colbert.
This marks the end of a CBS franchise that has been on-air for nearly 30 years.
According to Hollywood outlet Deadline, the series will be replaced by a "reboot of @midnight, a series that ran for 600 episodes on Comedy Central from 2013-17." Stephen Colbert will extend his reign over late night as in addition to still hosting his own talk show, "The Late Show," he has been made executive producer of the reboot.
In all, Colbert hosts and executive produces CBS’ flagship late show; he is an executive producer of two Comedy Central series, "Tooning Out the News" and "Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God"; and now oversees the new series.
Like its former cable iteration, the new "@midnight" will be produced by comedy brand "Funny or Die."
The news follows the 2022 announcement that "Late Late Show" host James Corden would be stepping down from the comedy series just ahead of summer 2023.
At the time, Deadline reported that CBS bosses "were keen to keep Corden and offered a variety of deals including a three-year extension, a two-year extension and a rolling one-year deal" before he made his announcement.
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In a statement provided to the outlet, Corden said, "It’s been it’s a really hard decision to leave because I’m so immensely proud of the show. I’m thrilled to be extending [for a year]. I always thought I’d do it for five years and then leave, and then I stayed on."
Corden hosted the show for just shy of eight years.
The most recent news reveals that the network has decided to scrap the entire program that was previously hosted by comedian Craig Ferguson for nine years until Corden took the gig in 2015.
CBS president and CEO George Cheeks explained to Deadline in 2022 that the network was looking for new ideas for the late-night lineup once Corden departed, something more modestly priced than the talk show.
The outlet claimed "network brass" has been "casting a wide net for different formats beyond a traditional talk show that also are modestly priced." It added, "They aimed to trim the cost in the 12:30 a.m. hour from the just north of $60M a year it takes to make ‘The Late Late Show’ to roughly $35M-a-year range for its replacement."
