Stephen Colbert announced Wednesday that Tomlinson will take over James Corden's time slot beginning next year.
On Wednesday night, Stephen Colbert announced 29-year-old comedian Taylor Tomlinson as James Corden’s successor. But instead of taking over hosting duties at Corden’s The Late Late Show, Tomlinson will headline a (sort-of) new show of her own. The announcement was made on Colbert’s The Late Show, with Tomlinson in tow.
Beginning early next year, Tomlinson’s After Midnight will anchor CBS’ 12:37 p.m. time slot. After Midnight is based on the defunct Comedy Central panel show At Midnight (also known as @midnight), which was hosted by Chris Hardwick and ran from 2013 until 2017. It followed The Daily Show and Colbert Report nightly and featured a rotating group of comedians competing to weave the funniest bits out of the day’s social media posts.
Tomlinson’s new gig anoints her as the sole female late-night show host of the moment, and the youngest by several decades. Though she might be a new face, the California-based comedian is hardly an industry novice. You may have even seen her performing on Conan and The Late Show in the past few years.
Tomlinson has been doing stand-up since the age of 16, as she noted to Colbert on Wednesday. She was raised in a strict Christian household and began her career in earnest playing church shows. In 2015, she became a top 10 finalist on the reality competition series Last Comic Standing, but her big break came in 2018 with a 15-minute set on Netflix’s The Comedy Lineup.
Her own Netflix special, Quarter-Life Crisis, premiered in 2020; a second special for the streamer, Look At You, debuted in 2022. In the intervening year, Tomlinson was named on Forbes’ “Hollywood and Entertainment'' 30 Under 30 list. She also launched a video podcast called Sad in the City, which earned her a cult following on social media. In 2022, Tomlinson ranked as the seventh-most-followed female comedian on TikTok, where she boasts 2.5 million followers.
Tomlinson is currently the only woman hosting a late-night show, a corner of the industry which has been particularly favorable to men. Joan Rivers had a brief run with her own Fox show from 1986 until ‘88, while comedian Wanda Sykes had a single-season run with The Wanda Sykes Show on the same network in 2009. In 2019, Lilly Singh took over for Carson Daly on NBC, but her show was canceled in 2021.
Though Chelsea Handler and Samantha Bee have had significant success in the hosting arena, with E!’s Chelsea Lately and TBS' Full Frontal, their ventures didn't air on any of the major networks.
Colbert is executive producing After Midnight, which is a co-production between CBS Studios, Funny or Die, and Spartina Industries. In a press release, he expressed his excitement over what he hopes will be a fresh addition to the late-night landscape.
“We are thrilled to be reunited with our friends at Funny Or Die. My hope is that, every night, After Midnight will be just as ridiculous as the internet is every day," Colbert said. “Plus, the original @midnight aired after The Colbert Report, so welcoming this new show to 12:30 feels like coming home.”
