And now we know officially who'll be following Stephen Colbert's Late Show on CBS every night. British actor / comedian James Corden will take over for Craig Ferguson on The Late Late Show when both he and David Letterman step down later this year The Wrap originally reported the news early last month. Both Corden and Colbert will begin in 2015.
Congratulations to the spectacularly talented James Corden who will take over the LLS after me. Great choice. I heartily endorse & approve.
— Craig Ferguson (@CraigyFerg) September 8, 2014
Corden, somewhat unknown to American audiences, won a BAFTA in 2008 for Gavin & Stacy, a BBC sitcom he co-created and starred in. He also won a Tony Award in 2012 for his leading role in the play One Man, Two Guvnors. For Doctor Who fans, he played Craig in two episodes from the Matt Smith era ("The Lodger" and "Closing Time").
With Corden confirmed, this arguably marks the end of a late night shuffle that began earlier this year with Jimmy Fallon taking over for Jay Leno on The Tonight Show (and subsequently the addition of former SNL head writer Seth Meyers for NBC's Late Night). Meanwhile, Colbert's former slot will be taken by The Minority Report, hosted by Daily Show's correspondent Larry Wilmore — Not to mention John Oliver's successful stint on HBO and Conan O'Brien's longstanding tenure on TBS. The really interesting one, however, might be Chelsea Handler's original Netflix talk show — but that isn't until 2016.