When James Corden concludes his run as the host of “The Late Late Show” in 2023, he will have hosted the series for eight and a half years, the second-longest tenure as host of the series behind only Craig Ferguson.
According to Deadline, Corden will exit the late night staple ahead of summer 2023. He had previously signed an extension agreement with CBS in 2019 that would keep him as host through the end of August 2023.
“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],” Corden told Deadline. “I always thought I’d do it for five years and then leave and then I stayed on. I’ve really been thinking about it for a long time, thinking whether there might be one more adventure.” Although executives at CBS did everything they could to keep Corden in the fold, the comedian ultimately felt the time was right to say goodbye. “My bosses here at CBS have been incredibly supportive and extraordinarily patient with me while I made this decision,” Corden noted.
In a statement, CBS President & CEO, George Cheeks said, “Seven years ago, James Corden came to the U.S. and took television by storm, with huge creative and comedic swings that resonated in a big way with viewers on-air and online. From Crosswalk the Musical to the legendary Carpool Karaoke, and every unique comedy segment he introduced, James has truly reimagined many elements of the late night format. He has also been the consummate network showman, entertaining audiences from his nightly perch at Television City as well as the Tony and Grammy stage.” He added, “In my two years at CBS, I’ve had the privilege to see James’ creative genius up close and experience his valuable partnership with CBS, both as a performer and a producer. We wish he could stay longer, but we are very proud he made CBS his American home and that this partnership will extend one more season on The Late Late Show.”
While one would expect Corden to return to his UK routes following his departure, he told the publication he and his family “genuinely don’t know the answer to that,” stating, “It’s something we think about and we talk about a lot but we haven’t really made a decision on that yet. That’s the life side of things which we’ll figure out.” He added, “I love living here. I love everything it’s given. My family and I have never taken this incredible adventure for granted. Every day I drive down Sunset to work and I just think I’m from High Wycombe.”
In addition to hosting, Corden has also served as a producer on “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” The series debuted on March 23, 2015, with Corden as host, and currently sits at just over 1,000 episodes recorded. Previous hosts have included the aforementioned Ferguson who hosted from 2005-2014, Craig Kilborn (1999-2004) and Tom Snyder (1995-1999). Overall, “The Late Late Show” debuted on CBS with Snyder as the show’s first host in January 1995.
There are no current plans on how the network plans to handle the show following Corden’s exit next year. During the period between Ferguson’s exit and Corden’s debut, CBS initially aired reruns before switching to special editions featuring numerous guest hosts including the co-hosts from “The Talk,” Drew Carey from “The Price is Right,” Wayne Brady from “Let’s Make a Deal,” filmmaker Judd Apatow, and actors Will Arnett, Billy Gardell, Sean Hayes and Kunal Nayyar, among others, stepping behind the desk.
