James Kimberly Corden is an English actor, comedian, singer, writer, producer and television host. He is best known for his talk show “The Late Late Show with James Corden” which has been on CBS since 2015. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey.
Corden began hosting the U.S. weeknight show in 2015 and generated buzz with his viral “Carpool Karaoke” segments in which he sang along with stars including Adele and Lady Gaga. however, James created a major buzz on social media with his announcement to step down as the host of the show.
For eight years, the Buckinghamshire-born entertainer has held his own against some slick US competition and “truly reimagined many elements of the late-night format”, as the boss of the CBS network put it. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert may have reigned in the ratings for the past five years, but the entertainment website Deadline said “Corden’s show has been built for a viral age”. The Late Late Show’s YouTube page has had almost 10 billion views, Deadline added and has more than 27 million subscribers, second only to Jimmy Fallon with 29 million.
Vagueonthehow/ Flickr | James Corden has a net worth of $70 million
From Crosswalk the Musical to the legendary Carpool Karaoke
During his time on The Late Late Show, he introduced segments such as Drop the Mic and Carpool Karaoke, which featured celebrities including singer Adele and Prince Harry. The segments went on to have their own standalone series. In 2016, the Wall Street Journal said Carpool Karaoke had become “one of the most successful YouTube franchises of all time”, and its views were “approaching Super Bowl numbers”.
The Lowry/ Flickr | James Corden started his acting career with a role on the London stage when he was 17
CBS chiefs, including President and CEO George Cheeks, CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl, SEVP Programming Thom Sherman, CBS Studios boss David Stapf and Nick Bernstein, SVP, Late-Night Programming, West Coast, were keen to keep Corden and offered a variety of deals including a three-year extension, a two-year extension and a rolling one-year deal before he made his decision. The comedian’s contract was due to expire in August but he agreed to host the show for one more season that will run through spring of next year.
Luke Harold/ Wikimedia | His CBS channel boss announced the 40-year-old presenter has reached a new £5million-a-year agreement
Corden’s move marks the second high-profile change in late-night in the last 12 months after a relatively stable few years. Conan O’Brien recently left the space after a long career behind the desk, and Jimmy Kimmel’s future is also uncertain with the comedian publicly discussing whether he will continue to host his ABC show. CBS also will have to work out what it does after Corden and how they will replace him. There’s been much speculation during the past few years about whether Corden would exit The Late Late Show and return to the UK. But Corden told the media that he and his family “genuinely don’t know the answer to that.”
