Late night TV has been in turmoil recently as the writer’s strike has forced most shows to shut down, and The Late Late Show is coming to an end. Now in some good news for CBS, Stephen Colbert has agreed to extend his contract to host The Late Show for three more years, according to Deadline.
The Late Show has been a strong winner for Paramount’s CBS. The show is consistently winning late-night audiences beating out ABC and NBC. Keeping Stephen Colbert helps CBS try to keep its rating high with The Late Show.
Back on April 27th, 2023, The Late Late Show With James Corden aired its final episode. CBS stated the show simply wasn’t profitable, earning approximately $45 million yet costing the network between $60 to $65 million a year to produce.
Sources report a CBS executive stated, “It was simply not sustainable. CBS could not afford him anymore.”
The Late Late Show originally aired in January 1995 and was hosted by Tom Snyder until 1999. After retiring, the torch was passed to former The Daily Show host Craig Kilborn from 1999 to 2004. A number of potential hosts auditioned live as the hunt for Kilborn’s replacement took place, finally landing on Craig Ferguson who remained on from 2005 to 2014. James Corden has been hosting since 2015 and announced in April 2022 he would be retiring from the show.
While the news of his departure isn’t new, CBS’s decision not to replace him and shutting down the series is somewhat of a shock to long-time fans of the 28-year-old series.
The Late Late Show has been a staple of late-night television for decades, evolving its formula as each new host joined the series. Corben definitely had a unique approach to hosting and maintained a large following for his outlandish and creative episodes. His show was nominated for 12 Emmys and in 2019 took home an Emmy for outstanding interactive programming.
This all comes as how people watch TV is changing, affecting what shows networks are renewing.