Tonight is the premiere of British comic James Corden as the fourth host of the CBS Late Late Show. Last year we saw the debut of Jimmy Fallon as the new host of NBC's The Tonight Show after Jay Leno left. We also had announcements of David Letterman leaving CBS later this year and Stephen Colbert taking over that coveted slot. The CBS Late Late Show has followed Letterman's program since 1995. Tom Snyder was the host from 1995-1999. Craig Kilborn then hosted the show from 1999-2004. The last host was Scottish comic Craig Ferguson from 2005-2014.
Since the arrival of Letterman in 1993, CBS has had a strong comedy presence in late night. For decades, NBC ruled late night with Johnny Carson's show, and the other networks struggled to keep up. The other networks and syndicators tried to compete with Carson with shows hosted by Dick Cavett, Joey Bishop, Pat Sajak, Merv Griffin, Magic Johnson, Chevy Chase, Arsenio Hall and more. From 1972-1989, CBS aired the late movie after the late local news. This started after the cancellation of Merv Griffin's attempt at a late night show. CBS tried various shows during late night such as their Crimetime After Primetime from 1991-1993. This lineup featured various crime shows such as Sweating Bullets, Scene of the Crime, Silk Stalkings, Forever Knight, Fly By Night and more. From 1992-1995, CBS aired Lorne Michaels' sketch show The Kids in the Hall on Friday nights.
* Some information from en.wikipedia.org.
