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James Corden Getty 2.jpg

It Cost HOW MUCH To Keep James Corden On Our TVs Against Our Will?!

By Kayleigh Donaldson | TV | May 1, 2023 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | TV | May 1, 2023 |


James Corden Getty 2.jpg

Our long nightmare is finally over. After eight years of abject terror, James Corden’s iteration of The Late Late Show came to an end. Last week, CBS aired the final episode, allowing Corden a major climactic rollout that included a star-studded line-up and hours of butt kissing (an honour they never extended to Corden’s predecessor, Craig Ferguson.) The show had its fans but the sheen had long disappeared from Corden’s giddy nice boy image after years of rumours and reporting of his sh*tty behaviour. Even if he hadn’t been revealed to be a prize jerk, it felt as though his appeal had begun to wane in recent years. One of the few stances that seems to unite people from all walks of life is the belief that James Corden is irritating as all hell.

Yet CBS clearly got something from his run on The Late Late Show. Corden introduced Carpool Karaoke, which has its own spin-off show (notably not on CBS), and he went on to host a bunch of awards shows on the network, such as the Tonys. His last contract renewal reportedly saw him receive a major pay increase, and he was already making about $4 - 5 million a year when he signed on. At a time when late-night was eagerly chasing YouTube views and online virality, he seemed to nail the formula more effectively than any of his contemporaries, except for possibly Jimmy Fallon. But apparently, that business model was costly. How costly? Enough that CBS felt the need to pull the plug, not just on Corden but on The Late Late Show altogether.

According to Brian Stelter over at Los Angeles Magazine, the series cost $60 million to $65 million a year to produce but only made less than $45 million. Yikes? One executive said this was ‘unsustainable. CBS could not afford him anymore.’ So, where did the money go? Corden’s own payday must have been sizeable, and those viral moments weren’t cheap. You don’t get Tom Cruise to teach you how to fly a fighter jet for pennies. It seems as though Corden was far costlier an investment than his competition, Seth Meyers, who was also pulling in more reliable live ratings with a show that is almost entirely comedy monologues, political analyses, and solid interviews. Indeed, one could never claim that interviewing was Corden’s strongest suit. He may have tried to copy the Graham Norton mold of multiple guests at the same time, but he lacked Norton’s deft touch.

But it’s not just about Corden. It’s about late-night as a whole. Once the grand institution of American network comedy, the formula doesn’t hold the same thrall for newer generations. They’re competing against far more platforms, way more content, and the wrath of the internet in its various forms. If you care about a celebrity appearing on a talk-show, you’re probably more likely to catch up the next day on YouTube and go to bed at a reasonable hour.

The format is now no longer CBS’s priority. While they’re keeping The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, they won’t be replacing Corden in The Late Late Show. Instead, they’ll have a revival of the Comedy Central panel show @midnight in that slot. It’ll undoubtedly be cheaper to produce and won’t rely so much on one well-paid host’s ego. I’m British so comedy panel shows are in my blood, and I get this choice. I’m curious to see if other networks will follow suit. Then again, the likes of Kimmel, Colbert, and Meyers are not so reliant on stunts or virality. They’re good interviewers, they land good guests, and the buzz comes from that.

And the other question, of course, is where does James Corden go from here? He keeps threatening to return to the UK, which none of us have agreed to, and his reputation is certainly very different now than it was when he became CBS’s golden boy. Will he try to occupy another musical adaptation? Will he revive Gavin and Stacey again, because that’s the one thing he did that we all still love? Will he continue to latch onto BTS like a limpet crab in the hopes of second-hand popularity? The possibilities are endless and upsetting. He’s loose now. He could be anywhere …