For those of us who watch these things closely, James Corden’s decision to step down as host of The Late Late Show—and, more consequently, CBS’ decision to end the franchise altogether—does not bode well for the future of the late-night comedy shows that have been a staple of network television for the past 70 years.
And it did feel like something was coming to an end Thursday night when Corden aired his final episode and recruited his fellow network late-night hosts to stop by for an elaborate sketch that featured more self-awareness about his own place in the landscape than anything else he had done in the past.
In Corden’s “Late Night Nightmare,” he’s joined in his bedroom, first by Seth Meyers, then Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Jimmy Fallon—the four other white guys who currently host similar shows on network TV—to lay out the ground rules for his departure.
“Hosting a late-night talk show makes you part of a very exclusive club and if we’re going to let you leave, we need to know you’ll keep our sacred secrets,” Kimmel tells him. Over the next few minutes, the group roasts him for “breaking into song and dance every single night” and generally being “a lot.”
For a look at what Corden’s Moses-bearded, post-Late Late Show future might look like, they are joined by David Letterman, who may or may not have filmed his section separately. “God did speak to me and he told me I don’t need to be in this bit,” he jokes.
Soon, Corden is attempting to lead the group in an emotional musical number about how there are no “late-night wars” and “we’re a family,” before they swiftly shut him down.
“Will you stop?” Colbert asks, followed by this from Kimmel: “You’re embarrassing your country.”
As for the host’s signature bits, his rivals all say they want “Carpool Karaoke,” and even Corden acknowledges that his other recurring segments, like “Emoji News,” don’t measure up. “Now that I’m saying it out loud, it doesn’t sound like the best idea,” he says.
By the end of his “nightmare,” Corden is imagining a deeply unsettling professional move, including one more cameo from someone else who recently decided he was done being a host. All that was missing was any mention whatsoever about his toxic reputation.
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