Deadline has reported that CBS is bringing back @midnight, an old Comedy Central series to take spot of The Late Late Show, hosted by James Corden (Cats, Into the Woods), at 12:20 a.m. @midnight originally ran for 600 episodes from 2013-17. This replacement will mark the end of The Late Late Show’s nearly three decade long run.
This news follows Corden’s decision to leave The Late Late Show in 2023, which he announced in April of 2022. Corden has hosted the talk show for eight and a half years.
CBS’ reboot of @midnight will reportedly be executive produced by Stephen Colbert (Strangers with Candy, The Daily Show) who also executive produces Tooning out the News and Hell of a Week with Charlamagne The God as well as hosts and executive produces The Late Show at 11:30 p.m. @midnight will be produced by original producers, Funny or Die.
This change comes as the network looks for new and cost efficient formats for late night television. George Cheeks, CBS President and CEO, is searching for a new host and the network has said to want to cut the budget for the 12:30 a.m. slot from The Late Late Show’s $65M a year to $35M a year.
The original run of @midnight was hosted by Chris Hardwick (Talking Dead, Talking Saul), who is not currently expected to be involved in any way with the reboot. In the show, three contestants compete in an Internet-themed game show consisting of various games, such as Rapid Refresh, Hashtag Wars, and Live Challenges. Rapid Refresh required contestants to choose an answer based on Internet memes and headlines, Hashtag Wars was a tweet-themed improv game, and Live Challenges had contestants choose their answers during commercial breaks.
The Late Late Show first aired in January 1995 on CBS hosted by Tom Snyder, who was then followed by Craig Kilborn (Full of It, The Kilborn File), Craig Ferguson (Then Came You, The Hustler), and Corden.
This replacement leaves NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers the only talkshow in the 12:30 a.m. time slot, which may be effected — as well as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — if NBC gives the 10:00 p.m. scripted drama series time slot to local affiliates as they have reportedly considered.