The Last Last Show With James Corden
The Late Late Show With James Corden Comes to an End.
by BELLA ROSS ★MAY 5, 2023
After 8 seasons, the show we all know and love, The Late Late Show With James Corden, had its last episode on Thursday, April 27, 2023. To end with a bang, Corden invited his good friends, three-time Grammy award winner Harry Styles, and four-time Emmy award winner Will Ferell to be a part of this iconic finale. In addition, the infamous carpool karaoke had its final hoorah with Grammy award and Oscar winner, Adele.
James wasn’t always the host of The Late Late Show; there was first Tom Snyder (1995-1999), Craig Kilborn (1999-2004), Craig Ferguson (2005-2015), then James Corden (2015-2023). When James was announced to be the replacement for Craig Ferguson, the #1 trend on Twitter was “Who the **** is James Corden?” America at that time didn’t know Corden, but now he’s unforgettable.
If there’s one thing The Late Late Show is known for, it’s the entertainment aspect of the show. To name a few, there’s Carpool Karaoke, Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts, Drop The Mic, Crosswalk The Musical, and all the other insane segments Corden produced with the celebrities. In this episode, we got to see Carpool Karaoke, and Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts but the rest didn’t make the cut. Drop The Mic was when a celebrity guest and James had hilarious rap battles; some celebrities who have participated in this bit include David Schwimmer, Cara Delevigne, and Liam Payne. Crosswalk The Musical was a recurring segment on the show in which a group of performers stopped traffic with a musical number; there were props, costumes, and choreography. Musicals that were performed involve Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserables, Frozen, and many more.
The Last Episode
On April 24, 2023, YouTube released the final Carpool Karaoke with special guest Adele. For the finale, Adele hilariously woke up James Corden with crashing cymbals before the ride of a lifetime. This sentimental drive consisted of tears, laughs, and cherished memories. Corden told Adele that his first guest on this segment–Mariah Carey–initially refused to sing when filming; but of course when James played one of the singer’s songs, there was no hesitation in Carey singing along. Since then, he’s had amazing people like Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Michelle Obama, and Britney Spears.
As James Corden entered the studio for his last show, the crowd loudly chanted, “James! James! James!” A video from President Joe Biden was sent to The Late Late Show team as a farewell and good luck to Corden. Biden stated, “Thanks for never asking me to sing in the car. I can’t wait to see what you do next.” How sweet, but seriously, thank you James for never sending an invite.
A small but comical bit was with talk show legends Seth Myers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, and a quick cameo of David Letterman. In this segment, there’s banter among the five exaggerating the “secrets” they all have as talk show hosts; James then wakes up from this late night nightmare. Overall, as much as this was supposed to be humorous, it was bittersweet.
As James invited Harry Styles and Will Ferrell to the show, Will had a sledgehammer in his possession and smashed James’ desk. That’s for sure an entrance! In the beginning of this interview, Harry showed off his Late Late tattoo which he got during a segment called Tattoo Roulette; this was back when he was in the boy band, One Direction.
There’s no way this show was going to end without playing Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts one last time. The questions were tame, but one that stood out the most was when Harry Styles got asked, “Yes or no, will there be a One Direction reunion?” To which Styles replied, “I would never say never to that. I think if there was a time where we all felt like that was what we wanted to do, then I don’t see why we wouldn’t.” So in other words, yes. We’re all a little bit delusional I fear. Ending the interview, Harry praises James and says, “On a personal note, you’ve been a safe space for me always as a friend. And I’m selfishly very excited that you’re coming home.”
James Corden tearfully says to the audience and his team, “This was never my show, it was ours.” The show ends in a song with Corden singing while a montage occurs: “Goodnight, thanks for watching. That’s our show.” Good luck on your next adventure in England James!