“The Late Late Show with James Corden” only has 12 episodes left before the show ends in late April — and they’re making it count. For the next three weeks, there will be one “Carpool Karaoke” segment per week, plus a final “Crosswalk the Musical” segment. Corden will also participate in a “Take a Break” segment featuring the Kardashian family.
The news was revealed Sunday night onstage during “The Late Late Show with James Corden” panel at PaleyFest LA. Held at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, the event included Corden, executive producer Ben Winston and executive producer Rob Crabbe. Also on stage: Reggie Watts and the band “Late Late Show”, who kicked off the evening.
CBS previously announced that the final hour of “The Late Late Show,” which Corden has hosted since March 2015, will take place on Thursday, April 27. The network will also air a primetime special that night, “The Last Last Late Late Show with James Corden Carpool Karaoke Special,” which airs that night at 10 p.m. ET and will feature guest Tom Cruise In this new encounter, Corden and Cruise will take part in an epic musical performance of “The Lion King” at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.
“Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston served as a moderator for the PaleyFest event, which also served as the FYC Emmy event for members of the Television Academy.
“That’s everything I ever wanted this show to be,” a visibly emotional Corden said at the start of the panel, after watching a clip of some of the show’s iconic moments. “It’s incredibly strange and unnatural to walk away from something you love so much. It’s not right, because you’re having such a good time. But at the same time, I’m so sure it’s the right thing to do. I think it’s important to get out the way we came in.
Asked by Cranston about ideas for shows that almost happened, but ultimately didn’t happen: Corden revealed that he and Jennifer Lopez were going to live in a glass box for a day on Sunset Boulevard. In the end, Lopez couldn’t erase a full day from her schedule.
Corden told the audience he would be willing to return to host the Tony Awards, which he has hosted twice in the past. He is also looking forward to getting back on stage, including on Broadway. “I would be really mad at myself if I didn’t do it next year… I would give absolutely anything to go back and do another show,” he said.
On stage, Corden and the producers were also tasked with performing a version of the show’s “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” game. Corden received “frozen blood sausage and fisheye skewers.” Winston was asked to eat a “hot sauce shooter” of Carolina Reaper peppers. Crabbe received a “trifle of mixed insects”. The three were also given buckets of vomit just in case.
Winston was asked what he thought was Corden’s worst movie, and instead of the shooter he named “Lesbian Vampire Killers” (a real movie). Crabbe was asked to rank the hosts he’s worked with from best to worst and decided to eat his big trifle. Corden was asked which “Carpool Karaoke” singer was the worst. He ate the skewer. “It’s a terrible game!” Winston joked. “I don’t know why we do it!”
Corden’s departure also represents the end of “The Late Late Show” as a franchise. CBS is set to replace the hour with a reboot of “@midnight,” the old Comedy Central game show.
As for what’s next for Corden? “I thought a lot about what I would like to do,” he said. “They are very dependent on people wanting me to do them, so I don’t know. It’s going to be important to breathe and take a moment. I can’t begin to understand what these eight years have done to me, to say goodbye… if I’m being reasonable, I’ll try to embrace some silence, because it’s been really loud for eight years. I’m sure it’s been the most overwhelming year of my life, professionally. I haven’t felt that fear since I decided to take the show, to move here. I’ve never felt on such unstable ground, where I don’t know what I’m going to do. I have to embrace this feeling.