James Corden never expected to become the host of a late-night show on US television. In the UK, Corden is known for the sitcom Gavin & Stacey. In 2011, Corden took the lead in One Man, Two Guvnors, a comedy play that made it to the West End before transferring to Broadway. The success of the play led to a meeting in Hollywood with CBS executives.
Corden turned down the idea of adapting his English sitcom for the US. The execs started talking about the hour after Stephen Colbert’s show. Corden suggested a show that embraces the internet: “Make a show that launches at 12:37, but people consume and watch all day; that’s how that audience are consuming their content now.” Corden’s idea took off.
As is now well known, The Late Late Show with James Corden mixed up the US late-night-TV format. Instead of appearing in sequence, Corden’s guests appeared together and the discussions were interspersed with segments that were “more a viral variety show than anything else.” Of the many segments, from Flinch & Honest Headlines to Drop the Mic & Crosswalk the Musical, the most popular is Carpool Karaoke. Adele’s first appearance on Carpool Karaoke (14 Jan 2016) has over 26M YouTube views.
The above video, also featuring Adele, is the last Carpool Karaoke on James Corden’s The Late Late Show, which had its last episode on 27 April 2023. The video has over 19M views in two weeks! Corden has said that he decided to stop hosting The Late Late Show while at the top of his game as he needed to spend more time with his growing children than the job allows. Here is one of James Corden’s personal favourite Carpool Karaoke episodes.
The episode features Paul McCartney spontaneously visiting his old Liverpool home. In an interview in April 2023, Corden says of this incident: “I sort of go, ‘Should we go in?’ And he goes, ‘Yeah. Let’s do it!’ And, my God! What have I done to deserve such memories?” Speaking of Carpool Karaoke in general, Corden speaks of the “intimacy” of the interviews. “It’s a humanizing environment. It’s what we all do. We all sing these songs in the car.”
After eight years hosting the Late Late Show, Corden and family are moving back to the UK. Corden and his wife want their children to experience life in London.