See You (Late) Later!
The Late Late Show officially came to an end on April 27, 2023. James Corden has hosted this talk show since March 2015. Having hosted over 1,200 shows, Corden is known for his cheeky British accent that captivates not only his guests but also the viewers. The show had a multitude of celebrity appearances, created some of the most iconic late-night talk show segments, and even shocked the internet a couple of times.
Some may say that Corden’s creation of Carpool Karaoke was a defining moment in pop culture history. This segment started during the first season that the show was aired (March 25, 2015), and featured Mariah Carey. This bit consisted of James and Mariah singing some of her most legendary songs such as “Always Be My Baby” and “All I Want For Christmas''. Many other celebrity guests broke the internet for this bit. Justin Bieber, for example, has been featured in Carpool Karaoke three times. At the end of each season of Carpool Karaoke, James and his announcer/bandleader, Reggie Watts, created a compilation of all of their past guests from the season singing along to a Christmas song. Another classic segment of the show is called Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts. Corden and the guests take turns asking a series of “controversial” questions that viewers at home have a craving to know. The premise of this bit is that if the person being asked the question does not want to say it on live TV, they will have to eat some kind of gross food that the person asking the question picks. Some of the disgusting foods include a 1000-year-old egg, a fish eye, a calf’s brain, bird saliva, and more… gross right?
The Drop the Mic skit is one in which James battles a guest in a “rap battle”. This is not your average rap battle though, both James and his guest take small digs at each other throughout, with the crowd adding to the fun with their “oohs” and “ahhs”. In the end, the crowd ultimately decided on the winner, cheering loudest for who they thought did the best. James has been up against stars such as Samuel L. Jackson, Anne Hathaway, and Kevin Hart. Some of the most iconic disses from this segment were when Anne Hathaway ended her battle with the statement “I was hated and shaded, but now I’ve been liberated, now you know what it’s like to get Hatha-Slayed.”
Crosswalk the Musical was created to highlight various artists' music, especially those that performed in plays on Broadway or elsewhere. James, his crew, various backup dancers, and the guests perform on a crosswalk in front of the Late Late studio. They wait till the walk sign is on, then James signals his famous “Go! Go! Go!” yell and they begin to set up the scene. They only have about 30 seconds to perform, so the skit goes fairly quickly. The group performs multiple times, with the cameras highlighting the people in their cars taking videos or honking with annoyance. The bit goes as smoothly as one “crosswalk performance” could go. It is a hectic, yet poised celebration of the guest's many talents. One of the most famous segments featured James traveling to New York and doing a crosswalk musical outside Stephen Colbert’s lead on 57th Street. This bit included the stars from the movie The Greatest Showman: Hugh Jackman, Zendaya, and Zac Efron.
For Take a Break, James goes to various jobs and offers to let a manager or employee have some time off while he fills in for them. For his final Take a Break, James became the Kardashians' “manager” for the day. James did tasks for every sister and even Kris. He drove Kim to the gas station to get candy, brought Khloé a salad for lunch, face-timed Kylie to talk about some Kylie Cosmetics inventory, and took calls for Kris. He even became the mayor of Los Angeles for a day when he gave a break to the current mayor, Eric Garcetti. He did multiple ribbon cuttings, including opening a bathroom stall, cutting an employee's lunch open, and doing a ceremony for an already full elevator. James put on his press conference for his new “James Corden Plan to Make LA Better”. In this plan, he would limit citizens to only being able to take one selfie a week.
For his final shows, James wanted to end with a bang. He revealed his last couple of guests in a statement saying “We’ve got some great friends joining us for the #LastLateLateShows, including Ben Affleck, Tom Cruise, Josh Gad, Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson, The Kardashians, Mila Kunis, and more!” His final carpool karaoke aired on April 24, 2023, and featured Adele. She woke James up at his house and drove him to work for the last time. The two reminisced on the memories that they shared and Adele got emotional when talking about what an impact James made on her life. Adele sang a song that he inspired her to write. When she asked James to recall what surprised him the most regarding Carpool Karaoke, James replied, “Stevie Wonder changed it a lot because when he did it, other artists would do it too, he’s just so iconic.” On April 27, at 11:37, the very last Late Late Show aired. This episode featured Harry Styles and Will Ferrell, and they both reminisced on what an impact James had made in their lives. They celebrated this ending by playing one round of Ferell’s favorite segment: Fill Your Guts or Spill Your Guts. James ended his finale with a sentimental song on the piano remembering all of his amazing moments and thanking his fans and crew.
Written by Alexa Davis, Graphic Design: Jade Sung, Social Media: Sudiksha Pai