CBS is halving its late-night output after canceling After Midnight, hosted by Taylor Tomlinson.
The network canceled the show, which airs at 12:30am, after two seasons. Tomlinson, a rising star in the stand-up world, said that she wanted to return to her “first passion” of touring.
As a result, CBS has decided to move out of programming the 12:30am slot, which was previously filled by The Late Late Show. This marks a major blow to late-night in general, which has seen the number of late-night shows airing across broadcast, cable and streaming, fall over the last few years.
CBS had quietly renewed the show for a third season but had not announced it publicly. Its second season will run through June.
“Hosting After Midnight has genuinely been the experience of a lifetime, and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of this incredible journey,” she said. Though it was an extremely tough decision, I knew I had to return to my first passion and return to stand-up touring full-time. I appreciate CBS, Stephen Colbert, the producers, and the entire After Midnight staff and crew for all the love, support, and unforgettable memories.”
Tomlinson has made three stand-up specials for Netflix over the last five years including 2020’s Quarter-Life Crisis, 2022’s Look At You and 2024’s Have It All. She is currently performing on her Save Me tour with dates in San Antonio later this month and over 60 more shows over the next ten months, including across Europe.
The series features a panel of three celebrity guests, including a large number of comedians, who compete in a series of topical segments from pop culture and social media.
Last year, it was renewed for a second season with Desus & Mero’s J.D. Amato joining as co-showrunner alongside Jack Martin in place of Eric Pierce.
During its run, Tomlinson did tweak elements of the show to make it feel more like a late-night show than a gameshow with a monologue, making a rare dive into politics ahead of the Presidential election last year. The show, which shoots in LA, was also forced to pause production during the wildfires that engulfed the city earlier this year.
CBS has had a relatively long history of late-night at 12:30am. The Late Late Show launched in January 1995 with Tom Synder as host, followed by Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson. But the introduction of James Corden, a relatively unknown Brit at the time, in 2015 gave the show and the slot a boost, particularly in the digital age with viral segments such as Carpool Karaoke and Crosswalk The Musical going viral on YouTube. Corden stepped down to much fanfare in April 2023 after nearly 1,200 episodes.
It’s a blow for the wider late-night community for a number of reasons. Firstly, it highlights the difficulty of keeping a late-night show going on a broadcast network in the current environment. This comes as the likes of Oscar host Conan O’Brien, Full Frontal’s Samantha Bee, Hell of a Week’s Charlamagne Tha God and Desus & Mero have all exited the genre, while long-serving host Jimmy Kimmel, who always seems to be one contract away from ending his ABC show, said last year that he doesn’t know if “there will be any late-night television shows on network TV in ten years”.
Last year, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon trimmed its production schedule to air four nights a week rather than five, joining the majority of other shows, while its sister show Late Night with Seth Meyers had to get rid of its live band as a result of budget cuts.
It’s also a blow when it comes to awards as the late-night Emmy race has been struggling to bring in a large enough number of nominations to warrant at least four slots after Last Week Tonight and SNL were moved to their own category.
“I want to thank CBS for their constant support and invaluable partnership on After Midnight, and the whole staff for their amazing dedication. While we were excited and grateful for our third season to start in the fall, we respect Taylor’s decision to return to stand-up full time,” added Colbert.
After Midnight is produced by CBS Studios, Stephen Colbert’s Spartina Industries and Funny Or Die. Amato and Martin executive produce along with Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Tom Purcell and Evelyn McGee Colbert of Spartina Industries; James Dixon of Dixon Talent, Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Whitney Hodack and Henry R. Muñoz III of Funny Or Die and Jason U. Jo Firestone was co-executive producer and head writer. Sharon Everitt directed.
