CBS
Farewell James Corden, hello Taylor Tomlinson. CBS debuted its new late-night show “After Midnight” last night in the time slot after “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” Instead of a talk show like The Late Late Show, After Midnight is a reboot of the popular Comedy Central game show @midnight, which ran for 600 episodes.
For his debut, Tomlinson enlisted fellow comedians Whitney Cummings, Aparna Nancherla and Kurt Braunohler, who competed against each other in a series of improvised games. Tomlinson joked that the top prize was “my father’s approval.” “It’s rare but winnable,” she quipped.
The comedian added of the show's intent: “We're using the internet and trying desperately to make it fun.” Games included “Group Chat” and “Hashtag Wars.” For the latter, Tomlinson gave attendees #LesserKnownTVShows in honor of Monday night's Emmys.
“No matter where you stand politically, you can’t deny that the Emmys are yesterday,” Tomlinson told the audience. “And I was there. They will invite everyone. Have you seen the Emmys?” The comedians were silent. “There’s no obligation, it was on Fox,” Tomlinson continued. “Here at CBS we don’t care if you saw it! I just wanted to make sure. So no one watched the Emmys? The TV is dead? Great.”
She added: “I don't even know what awards our show can win because it's a kind of talk show where there are no conversations. It's a game show, but the scores are fake. It’s a vanity project, but it somehow makes me look worse.”
Trending
After Midnight continues tonight with Paul F. Tompkins, Sophie Buddle and Carl Tart and on Thursday with Max Greenfield, Ike Barinholtz and Robby Hoffman.
Tomlinson was announced as host of After Midnight during an appearance on The Late Show in November. The comedian got her big break on Netflix with a 15-minute set on 2018's The Comedy Lineup. Since then, the aspiring comedian has become one of the most critically acclaimed stand-ups in the industry. In March 2020, she received her first comedy special “Quarter-Life Crisis” on Netflix and “Look at You” followed in 2022.