Announcing James Corden as the host of “The Late Late Show” in September 2014 was a risky move by CBS.
Corden was an unknown actor for the majority of American late night viewers; few people knew him from his work in the U.K., and his appearances on Broadway in “One Man, Two Guvnors” and in 2014’s musical film “Into the Woods” by no means made him a household name.
However, a year and a half into Corden’s reign, the gamble has paid off. Corden has not only boosted ratings for the show – his season one premiere attracted the show’s largest audience on a Monday since November 2011 – but he has taken late-night talk shows in a new, viral direction.
By creating the hit series “Carpool Karaoke” on his YouTube channel and by putting celebrities in funny skits rather than sitting them down on a couch and grilling them, he has adopted the friendly Jimmy Fallon mold of hosting and made it feel more genuine.
Although Corden will never compete with the ratings of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” or “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” with the creation of “Carpool Karaoke” he has cast himself as the celebrity guest’s best friend. Viewers tuning in to the show will never see the hard-hitting confrontational interviews of David Letterman or Jay Leno, but Corden’s strength is in his likability and his ability to connect with his guests as a friend rather than as an acquaintance.
The breakthrough moment for Corden was Justin Bieber’s first appearance on “Carpool Karaoke.” After the pair had harmonized to a couple of the singer’s recent hits, the nasal wailing of Bieber’s song, “Baby,” threatened to ruin the video. I expected Bieber to be ashamed of the song, or perhaps even apologize to viewers for lyrics such as “Like baby, baby, baby oooh” and “Like baby, baby, baby nooo.” But instead, he joined in with Corden’s singing and even threw in some dance moves.
Corden puts celebrities at ease in the car next to him by having them sing along to their worldwide hits the same way any of us would do. “The Late Late Show” YouTube channel is in the top 20 fastest-growing channels and gained more than 500,000 subscribers in the last 30 days, 200,000 more than the total subscribers of “The Tonight Show” and 15,000 more than “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” As his YouTube channel grows, so does Corden’s reputation, and it’s only a matter of time before a studio offers him a chat show that’s not on when most of the people still awake are sleep deprived.
Corden’s concentration on reaching and exploiting the viral potential of videos was plain to see when he brought the “Chewbacca Mom” on the show this week.
On May 19, Candace Payne posted a video of herself on Facebook in which she couldn’t contain her excitement after purchasing a growling Chewbacca mask. The amusing build-up to the mask, combined with her infectious laugh that morphed into a Chewbacca roar, caused the video to go viral. The video currently has nearly 150 million views.
The “Chewbacca Mom” video and its star are a flash in the pan. However, her appearance on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” a mere four days after she posted her video demonstrates how in tune Corden is with the viral potential of short sketches and how quick he is to exploit them for YouTube views.
The previous host of “The Late Late Show,” Craig Ferguson, was a dour yet funny Scotsman who delivered sarcasm and biting dark humor. Although Ferguson was witty, he looked so tired and haggard most of the time that viewers could tell the show aired at half past midnight.
With the arrival of James Corden, the show has been revitalized by his enthusiasm and childish exuberance. Corden banished the desk, remodeled the set and brought in off-the-wall musician and comedian Reggie Watts as his part MC, part sidekick.
I first realized Corden’s potential in the British sitcom “Gavin & Stacey” and saw him hone his hosting abilities on the game show “A League of Their Own.” Now that Corden has been given his chance on this side of the Atlantic, it’s only a matter of time until he becomes a household name in American homes, too.