It’s out with the old and in with the new in late-night television. 29-year-old comedian Taylor Tomlinson will host the new late-night show After Midnight on CBS, taking over the slot formerly occupied by James Corden’s The Late Late Show, making Tomlinson the only female host in the late-night space on network television at the moment and the youngest by two decades.
After Midnight is based on Comedy Central’s @midnight With Chris Hardwick, which premiered in 2013 and was cancelled four years later. A late-night internet-themed game show, it featured a panel of comics and host Chris Hardwick playing games related to the world wide web. @midnight showrunner Jack Martin will helm After Midnight alongside Eric Pierce, and comedian Jo Firestone will serve as head writer. One of the executive producers of After Midnight will be Stephen Colbert, who announced the new series on The Late Show on Wednesday. “I will be producing the show that is on right after this one, if I am able to stay awake that long,” quipped Colbert.
“My hope is that, every night, After Midnight will be just as ridiculous as the internet is every day,” said Colbert in a press release. “Plus, the original @midnight aired after The Colbert Report, so welcoming this new show to 12:30 feels like coming home.”
After Midnight will take the 12:37 a.m. late night slot vacated by The Late Late Show which ended in April 2023 after host James Corden announced he was leaving the show to spend more time with his family. The Late Late Show originally launched in 1995 with host Tom Snyder, who was succeeded by Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson. “When I started this journey, it was always going to be just that. It was going to be a journey, an adventure,” Corden said about his decision to depart the show. “I never saw it as my final destination, you know? And I never want this show to overstay its welcome in any way. I always want to love making it.”
Tomlinson has quickly ascended the comedy ranks, breaking out with a 15-minute set on Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup in 2018. Since then, she’s taped two Netflix specials, Quarter-Life Crisis and Look at You, and has a third coming out this February. She’s set to begin hosting After Midnight in 2024.
