CBS Will Reboot ‘@midnight’ to Replace ‘Late Late Show with James Corden’

Did James Corden kill The Late Late Show? Sure sounds like it. According to a new report from Deadline, CBS is pulling the plug on the late night talk show when Corden’s hosting gig ends this spring. Instead of finding a new host to fill his shoes (or mouse costume), the network is scrapping the show altogether and replacing it with a Comedy Central reboot.

When Corden signs off for good later this year, CBS will reportedly use the vacant Late Late Show @midnight, a game show that aired from 2013 through 2017 in which contestants faced off in internet-themed challenges.

Decider has reached out for comment from CBS, but did not hear back by time of publication.

Deadline reports that the @midnight reboot will stick pretty closely to the original — noting that viewers can “expect the games to change but the general format to remain the same” — and will be executive produced by another CBS fixture, Stephen Colbert, who currently hosts the network’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Funny or Die, the company that initially launched @midnight, will be involved in the new show, but former host Chris Hardwick, who was previously accused of abuse by an ex-girlfriend, “is not expected to have direct involvement,” per Deadline.

CBS is allegedly making the switch from flashy late night series to game show for cost-cutting reasons. Deadline reports that the network wanted to majorly scale down the 12:30 a.m. time slot from its current $60 million price tag (the amount it takes to produce The Late Late Show each year) to nearly half the cost, at $35 million per year.

The network also appears to be making an appeal to a younger set of viewers by broadcasting a very online game. Deadline notes, “@midnight is likely to appeal to a slightly younger audience, who generally watch online or through clips on social media.”

Seeing as the internet has changed dramatically since the show first launched in 2013 — and even more so since it ended in 2017 — rebooting @midnight sounds like a big gamble to us, but hey, maybe it’ll be a smash on TikTok.