Be prepared drown in a sea of laughter this August as RTL CBS Entertainment HD has finally brought “The Late Late Show With James Corden” to Asia.
After Craig Ferguson ended his 9 year stint as anchor of the show last year, “The Late Late Show” once again became one of the most talked-about talk shows in the world with James Corden officially taking over the reigns.
Featuring Hollywood’s biggest stars, the American TV show has a growing list of award-winning and critically acclaimed credits. Corden’s addition to the show has consistently become the talk of the town as the 36-year-old British actor is a Tony Award-winning performer on Broadway and a BAFTA-winning star of a UK TV series. He is also known for writing, producing, and starring in several genres of TV and feature films.
Tom Hanks, Mila Kunis, David Beckham, Will Ferrell, One Direction, Kit Harington, and David Duchovny were among the Hollywood A-listers who have appeared on “The Late Late Show With James Corden” thus far. Its official YouTube channel also racked up more than 50 million views due to the popularity of the show’s creative segments.
In conjunction with the premiere of “The Late Late Show With James Corden” in Asia, here are some solid reasons why Corden is the perfect TV host:
1. He’s British national treasure (sort of)
Corden is considered a national treasure (sort of) by the people from his homeland (UK) as he wowed fans and critics with his outstanding yet hilarious performance in the UK series titled “Fat Friends”. His brand of humour in his own BBC Three sitcom “Gavin & Stacey” also earned him a BAFTA for “Best Male Comedy Performance”. In 2012, he won a Tony for his role as Francis Henshall in “One Man, Two Guvnors”.
Last year, he starred opposite Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in Disney’s musical adaptation of “Into the Woods“. He earned various award nominations and won the Satelite Award through his role as The Baker in the movie.
2. His journey to “The Late Late Show” is pretty darn epic
Trust “The Late Late Show” is in good hands as Corden made a pretty epic entrance to the show with a slew of Hollywood A-listers.
Prior to his debut on the show, Corden starred in a pre-taped segment that depicted him securing the hosting gig after winning a Willy Wonka-style Golden Ticket from CBS’s President and CEO Leslie Moonves. Joel McHale, Lena Dunham, Chris Rock, Simon Cowell, Billy Crystal, Eddie Redmayne, George Lopez, Katie Couric, and Chelsea Handler were among those who tried their hands on “winning” the ticket.
Of course, being a TV host isn’t easy at all. With Jay Leno starring as a “Whiplash”-inspired taskmaster, Corden was “trained” by Allison Janney, Shia LeBeouf, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Meryl Streep for his late-night hosting debut.
3. You wish you could join his carpool karaoke segment with celebrities
The show’s “Carpool Karaoke” segment is probably the best thing ever created and you’d definitely wish that you were in the very same car.
Through the segment, the British comedian enlisted the help of some of the most iconic A-listers in making his daily journey to the CBS studios a little easier. Mariah Carey, Iggy Azalea, Jennifer Hudson, and Justin Bieber were some of the celebrity guests he roped in for the carpool karaoke thus far. During his journey to work, he would sing and dance with the celebrity guests while chatting with them about almost everything including their careers and their personal lives.
4. A striking resemblance to British chat show The Graham Norton Show
“The Late Late Show” is an American TV show, but Corden is known for being a stand-up comedian. Instead of using the staple opening monologue, he has been using an interview format to host the show, making it easier for his guests to talk about things on the TV.
The show bears a striking resemblance to British chat show “The Graham Norton Show” as his guests would appear on stage simultaneously.
5. Every Tom Hanks movie in 7 minutes
Tom Hanks is one of the celebrity guests who appeared on the debut episode of “The Late Late Show With James Corden”.
In support of Corden’s new hosting gig, Hanks collaborated with him to re-enact the scenes from the former’s entire filmography in less than 7 minutes. The segment was so brilliant that the video has already raked in more than 13,000,000 views on its official YouTube channel.
We dare you to watch it without being hit by nostalgia:
6. A lot of people seem to think that the show got off to a solid start
The show has received positive responses from fans and critics in the US so far. Regarding Corden’s performance on the show, Brian Lowry of Variety said:
Corden comes across as natural and likable, including the self-effacing little song with which he closed the show.
The Guardian‘s Brian Moylan also said, “Corden proved himself to be very deserving of the role and, actually, tremendously charming indeed. Damn you CBS executives! How I wanted to hate him!”
Produced by CBS Productions and executive produced by Ben Winston & Rob Crabbe, “The Late Late Show with James Corden” airs weeknights starting 3rd August at 11:45pm (10:45pm JKT/BKK) with a selection of the best episodes to-date as well current episodes aired express from the US’ Season 2 will premiere on 10th September at 11:45pm (10:45pm JKT/BKK).
For more information, visit the show’s Facebook page.
