We Will Never Escape James Corden

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | November 7, 2023 |

By Andrew Sanford | Celebrity | November 7, 2023 |

In 2012, I was in awe of James Corden. I was bartending at the Music Box Theater in NYC at a show called One Man, Two Guvnors in which Corden starred. He was incredible, handling the absurdist nature of the show with aplomb. His physical comedy was some of the most adept I have seen on stage (and I have bartended quite a few shows, no big deal). I never would have imagined that, over ten years later, I would be so sick of Corden as to lament him having a new show even though I don’t have to look at him in said show.

Corden will begin hosting a new, weekly interview show on SiriusXM in 2024. It will be called This Life Of Mine and will have the host interviewing “the world’s biggest stars.” What strikes me immediately about this announcement is that the appeal of Corden’s late-night tenure has never been his interviews. If anything, doing them roundtable style allowed for a buffer. He could pivot or even let the guests talk to each other. I’ll admit that I found myself laughing at a sketch of his occasionally, but I never felt inclined to watch the interviews.

It’s also funny to me that SiriusXM is hiring a former host with a rep for being rude. They are already employing one of the nicest. Conan O’Brien sold his podcast to the radio conglomerate over a year ago. He has his own channel on the network. Now, his name will be featured alongside James Corden. That’s what happens when one giant company can buy up anything and everything. Eventually, there is some unsavory crossover.

There was a moment when Corden quit his show when I genuinely thought he would kind of disappear. He was wracked with scandals and seemed genuinely disliked by most people. There is still a market out there for a man who dressed as a mouse and thrust his junk at unsuspecting drivers. Perhaps he got lucky that Jimmy Fallon jumped on the proverbial grenade. That or we’re living in a kind of hell dimension where people who are openly jerks continue to fail upwards. The jury is still out.