CBS Banks On James Corden To Replace Craig Ferguson: VIDEO
Despite one late-night pundit’s crack that they’d be shocked if CBS went with another white male Brit to host its Late Late Show, it appears the network has done just that. CBS has lassoed James Corden to replace Craig Ferguson when Ferguson steps down at the end of the year, according to informed sources.
Related: Watch Craig Ferguson Announce He’s Leaving ‘Late Late Show’: Video
“Corden?” you respond. Glad you asked. Corden was co-creator, co-writer and star of BBC comedy hit Gavin & Stacey, for which he won a BAFTA. He also appeared in Doctor Who and was the lead in the comedy play One Man, Two Guvnors, which emigrated from the National Theatre to Broadway, winning him a 2012 Tony Award for best actor. Not coincidentally, the Tonys are broadcast by CBS. But Corden also has TV hosting experience; in 2010 he began as host of the Sky1 comedy/sports panel show A League Of Their Own. He next will be seen starring as Paul Potts in the biopic One Chance for the Weinstein Company; he’s also slated to appear in Disney’s musical, Into The Woods.
To give you some vague idea as to Corden’s talk-show talent — here he is guesting on BBC One’s The Michael McIntyre Chat Show:
Onstage, Corden also had been in talks to star in the Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum in the works for next spring. Plans are for him to play Pseudolus, the part created by Zero Mostel (who also starred in the 1966 film), played in subsequent revivals by Phil Silvers and, most recently, by Nathan Lane in 1996. Broadway sources confirm to Deadline that the production could be put on hold for a season, depending on Corden’s availability. “Plans for the Spring 2015 Broadway production of A Funny Thing Happen on the Way to the Forum continue,” a spokesman for the producers and director Alex Timbers told Deadline this afternoon, adding, “The star, additional casting, theatre, and dates will be announced in the near future.”
Related: Bill Maher Says CBS Treated Craig Ferguson “Shabbily”: Video