EXCLUSIVE: James Corden prepares to say goodbye to The Late Late Show.
The Brit has extended his contract for the CBS late-night series by a year and will leave before the summer of 2023.
Corden will have hosted The Late Late Show for eight and a half years before his departure — quite an achievement.
“It was a really tough decision to leave because I’m so incredibly proud of the show. I’m happy about the extension [for a year]’ Corden told Deadline. “I always thought I’d do this for five years and then leave, and then I stayed. It really took me a long time to think about whether there could be another adventure.”
Corden signed in 2014 to host The Late Late Show, previously hosted by Ferguson and premiered on March 23, 2015.
The Gavin & Stacey co-creator was a somewhat surprising choice, but he revitalized the 12:30 pm slot on CBS and breathed new life into the late night with viral segments like Carpool Karaoke, Drop The Mic, Spill Your Guts and Crosswalk Musical life one.
In fact, Corden’s Carpool Karaoke with Adele has been viewed more than 250 million times on YouTube, while his journey with One Direction has racked up 189 million views. The Late Late Show YouTube page itself has nearly 10 billion views and over 27 million subscribers, the second-highest on the night.
Kate Schellenbach, Zeberiah Newman, Rob Crabbe & Ben Winston Terence Patrick/CBS
CBS executives including President and CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl, SEVP Programming Thom Sherman and Nick Bernstein, SVP, Late-Night Programming, West Coast were keen to keep Corden and offered a variety of deals, including one Three-year contract extension, a two-year extension and a rolling one-year contract before making his decision. “My bosses here at CBS have been incredibly supportive and extremely patient with me as I made this decision,” Corden added.
“Seven years ago, James Corden came to the United States and took television by storm, with tremendous creative and comedic swings that resonated with viewers on-air and online. From Crosswalk the Musical to the legendary Carpool Karaoke and every unique comedy segment he has introduced, James has truly reinvented many elements of the late night format. He was also the network’s consummate showman, entertaining audiences from his nightly slot at Television City and the Tony and Grammy stages,” Cheeks said. “In my two years at CBS, I have had the privilege of seeing James’ creative genius up close and experiencing his valuable partnership with CBS as both a cast member and a producer. We wish he could stay longer, but we are very proud that he has made CBS his American home and that this partnership extends another season on The Late Late Show.”
Corden’s move marks the second high-profile move on the night in the past 12 months after a couple of relatively stable years. Conan O’Brien recently left the room after a long career behind the desk and Jimmy Kimmel’s future is also uncertain as the comedian publicly debates whether or not he will continue hosting his ABC show.
CBS also needs to figure out what they’re going to do after Corden and how they’re going to replace him.
There has been much speculation in recent years as to whether Corden would leave the Late Late Show and return to the UK. But Corden told Deadline that he and his family “really don’t know the answer to that.”
“We’re thinking about it and talking about it a lot, but we haven’t really made a decision about it yet. That’s the life side of things that we’re going to find out,” he added. “I love living here. I love everything there is. My family and I never took this incredible adventure for granted. Every day I drive down Sunset to work and I just think I’m from High Wycombe.”
Corden has always been an anomaly in the night, starring in films such as Peter Rabbit, Cats and The Prom, where he earned his first Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor, and hosted HBO’s Max’s Friends: The Reunion while hosting a nightly talk show. He is also a partner in Fulwell 73, the production company responsible for Hulu’s The Kardashians and Camila Cabello’s Cinderella, and stars in Amazon’s upcoming comedy-drama series Mammals opposite Sally Hawkins.
“There are some other things I want to do. I want to try to write. There are [stories] I want to tell. I want to see if I can do that. The fact that it’s terrifying is the reason to do it,” he added.
James Corden & Tom Cruise Terence Patrick/CBS
But first he has 200 more shows to go which will take him to around 1250 since the start. After telling his staff this afternoon, Corden wanted to give his entire team plenty of notice so the move wouldn’t come as a surprise.
Produced by CBS Studios and Fulwell 73, and executive produced by Rob Crabbe and Ben Winston, Corden called The Late Late Show the “most joyous work environment.”
“Out of respect for everyone [staff]. I want to say this to you now and to say that we really can go into this final year with absolute excitement and passion and love. These shows are not built by one person. I’ve been very fortunate to work with some people whose talents and gifts just blow my mind,” he said.
The extension also means he can spend some time on the putting green with friend Mark Noble, captain of his beloved West Ham United, who is retiring at the end of this season. “He’s happiest that I’m not going in September because he’s dying to go out and play some golf,” Corden laughs. “I’ve been here for eight and a half years, he’s been with this club since he was nine. Nothing makes me happier to be named in the same breath as Mark Noble, but I don’t deserve that kind of praise.”
Now Corden and his team must try to top their performance — where Corden persuaded Tom Hanks to do a career retrospective with him in his opening episode, which also featured appearances from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock and Meryl Streep .
“I’ll miss the adrenaline of thinking, ‘Next week I’ll be jumping out of a plane with Tom Cruise, or in two weeks we’ll be driving through the White House in a car with Michelle Obama, or singing Penny Lane with Paul McCartney driving down Penny Lane “, he said.
“All my biggest ambitions for what it is what [the show] could be, it surpassed them all,” he added. “My intention is to try to walk out exactly the way we walked in, which is just walk out with a bang.