Comedian Taylor Tomlinson named host of new Stephen Colbert/Funny or Die-produced late-night game show
Wise-cracking young entertainer thrilled to have her first "real job," saying stand-up comedy isn't one.
On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Wednesday, the host expanded on the news that broke earlier in the day about the new show that will be airing after his, by introducing the world to the newest host in late-night, Taylor Tomlinson.
CBS announced Wednesday that taking over the timeslot that was once home to The Late Late Show With James Corden will be a new show called After Midnight. As Colbert pointed out, it’s inspired by the late-night panel game show @midnight that used to air after his very own The Colbert Report on Comedy Central.
Colbert also mentioned that the show — which is slated to start up sometime early next year — will be produced by Funny or Die along with Colbert’s own Spartina Industries.
“That’s right, I will be producing the show that’s on right after this one. If I’m able to stay awake that long,” he joked.
Stephen’s excited about his new late night series (Taylor’s Version)!@taylortomlinson @midnight pic.twitter.com/9wcKELfTm3
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 2, 2023
And while the major players behind the scenes may be squared away, Colbert pointed out that the show was still in need of a host.
“That is a tough gig to fill, I mean we’re still trying to find a good host for The Late Show,” he joked about his own show. “After Midnight, for this show coming up, we’ll need someone who is, I don’t know, fun, likable, young, in touch with online trends and available every night of the week. So the search is on.”
Just then Colbert was politely interrupted by an audience member that turned out to be comedian Taylor Tomlinson who threw her hat into the ring to be host. And sure enough, after a quick “focus group” session of asking the audience if she should be host and the audience responding with applause, the job was hers.
Tomlinson is currently on a national tour and has two popular standup specials on Netflix, Quarter-Life Crisis and Look at You.
After Colbert brought the new host up for an impromptu interview, Tomlinson told him that this was her first “real job” because she has been doing stand-up, “which is not a job,” since she was 16.
Tomlinson, who said she looked for job interview pointers on TikTok — which she called “Google for children” while talking with Colbert — will turn 30 years old on Saturday.
“Well happy birthday, I got you a network show,” Colbert told her.
The original show, @midnight, was hosted by Chris Hardwick and ran for five seasons from 2013 to 2017. The panel game show featured internet-themed questions and an array of recurring games within the game.
After Midnight is set to premiere in early 2024, but an exact date has not been announced. It will air on CBS at 12:37 a.m. and stream on Paramount+.
