In just a couple days, it’s all over.
James Corden began his run as host of The Late Late Show on March 23, 2015. Over 8 years later, he’s calling it a day and moving back to London, but not before he says goodbye in a primetime special to air on CBS this Thursday, April 27. His final episode will air later that night at the show’s regular time of 12:37am EST.
It’s not just his last show, however, it’s also the apparent final episode of The Late Late Show altogether, as CBS is not bringing the successful show back next year, ending a series that began with Tom Snyder on January 9, 1995.
Now, we say goodbye with our countdown of the 20 greatest moments of The Late Late Show with James Corden.
20. Corden becomes field goal kicker for the Raiders (2015)
Corden’s first year on the show was filled with many memorable moments, including one where he suited up as an Oakland Raider (who now play in Las Vegas) and attempted a field goal during the pregame. Corden’s kick had a chance to make it — and then it dramatically hit the post. You’ll have to watch the video to see if it bounced in or out.
19. David Blaine and James underwater (2019)
In one of The Late Late Show’s appearances in Corden’s home city of London, magician David Blaine showed off his ability to hold his breath under water. However, the twist here was that it wasn’t just Blaine who was going into the water tank, which was set up outside on a London street. Corden actually joined him for as long as he could. Then, Blaine sent him on a mission to get — of all things — wine. Corden happily departed the tank, ran down the street to buy wine, came back, and Blaine was still underwater. They celebrated with a unique glass of wine.
18. Carpool Karaoke with Stevie Wonder (2015)
When Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” was just taking off in popularity, he landed the legendary Stevie Wonder for the segment, whose in-car performance was as amazing as you’d think it would be. Corden started in the passenger seat, talking to the driver and asking him if he’s sure he can drive. When the camera panned to Stevie Wonder as the driver, the crowd’s laughter was only overshadowed by the excitement to watch the wondrous segment.
17. Arnold Schwarzenegger re-enacts his films with James (2015)
One of the many popular segments filmed live during the show was “Roll Call.” Corden would re-enact the numerous roles of a famous movie star with that very movie star. Running through the films of Tom Hanks with Tom Hanks was pretty unforgettable, but there’s nothing quite like when Corden did this with Arnold Schwarzenegger, thanks in part to Corden’s outfit during the True Lies scene.
16. The $10,000 beard (2019-2020)
One of the delights of The Late Late Show with James Corden were the ongoing unscripted occurrences. One such instance was when James Corden randomly asked the band’s keyboardist, Steve Scalfati, how much money it would take for him to grow out a beard and not shave it for a year. Steve answered, “Ten grand,” and the bet was on. As the months passed, staff would measure how long Steve’s beard became until, finally, one year later, Steve’s beard was shaved off by Corden on the show and he earned his $10,000.
15. Niall Horan and ‘500 Miles’ (2020)
One wouldn’t necessarily think that a silly skit in which James and One Direction’s Niall Horan walk into emergency situations like they are The Proclaimers twins singing I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) would be a hit, but by the end of the segment you likely won’t be able to stop laughing.
14. James joins the Backstreet Boys (2018)
James Corden always wanted to be in a boy band. He finally got his chance to join the Backstreet Boys and even be a part of a real performance that actually opened one of their shows.
13. The cold open Kanye parody (2018)
In September of 2018, Kanye West released a bizarre video with ‘Lil Pump for a new song called I Love It. The graphic lyrics were not exactly praised, but the two rappers were talked about for their attire of oversized boxes with clothes over them. The bizarre costumes received a lot of attention, and James Corden couldn’t resist to create a one-minute parody of the video with his trusty band leader, Reggie Watts, dressed in similar fashion. The result was a rare cold open for the show, and one of the more hilarious parodies of a video that unintentionally looked like a parody itself.
12. Corden makes a Harry Styles music video (2022)
When the pop star appeared, yet again, on The Late Late Show, this time it was for the purpose of filming a music video for his song Daylight. Corden and Harry Styles decide to randomly knock on people’s doors to find someone willing to let them use their apartment for the video, and the result is not only highly entertaining but it also created a quality music video.
11. Steve’s ever-changing news intro (2021-2022)
When James Corden wanted a unique jingle for his news segment, keyboardist Steve Scalfati experimented for a few weeks, constantly changing the tune until the jingle took on a life of its own.
A few weeks turned into a year, with fans of the show wondering what Steve’s news jingle was going to be like each particular night, since it never stayed the same. It kept growing until finally, one night, the band snuck an orchestra into the studio, to James’ surprise, with Steve himself acting as the conductor, culminating a one-year journey of Steve’s outrageous news jingle.
10. Carpool Karaoke with Adele (2016)
Adele’s appearance on Carpool Karaoke in 2016 was not only highly-anticipated but it delivered, as she sang many of her hits and even rapped to Nicki Minaj hits, though it must be noted that Adele’s recent appearance as the last guest on the show’s “Carpool Karaoke” could easily take the place of her initial appearance.
9. Crosswalk the Musical: Frozen (2019)
One of the many entertaining segments on Corden’s show was “Crosswalk the Musical.” The idea was to perform songs from a musical on a crosswalk during a red light, thus giving the drivers some free entertainment before they threaten to run over everyone once the light turns green, resulting in a mad dash back to the sidewalk. No “Crosswalk the Musical” was more memorable than Frozen, partly because it was actually with the stars of the film, including Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Jonathan Groff.
8. Michelle Obama hits Harry Styles in the balls (2019)
Dodgeball wasn’t new to The Late Late Show, nor to Harry Styles — who had previously appeared with his One Direction teammates for a dodgy game — but this time around, Styles would join Corden and others from the U.K. to face Michelle Obama and those pesky Americans. It was U.K. vs U.S.A. in a best out of three games dodgeball showdown. Unfortunately for Harry Styles’ balls, he didn’t dodge Michelle Obama’s throw. He tried to, in fact he leaped up in an attempt to jump over the incoming ball but ended up not jumping high enough and, well, it was nuts.
7. James gives his boss a lie detector test
The boss of The Late Late Show is one of CBS’s senior vice presidents, Nick Bernstein, who gained tremendous popularity on the show during on-air appearances after its in-studio return from the pandemic. He was involved, likely unwillingly, in many of the show’s memorable happenings, including when James and the staff decided to make over Nick’s office. However, one morning, someone had replaced a painting of James and Tom Cruise in the studio’s hallway with a painting of Nick Bernstein riding a horse. No one could figure out who made this switch or where the painting came from. James was convinced it was Nick himself, and managed to talk him into taking a lie detector test about it, which James then took full advantage of by asking his boss numerous questions he likely shouldn’t have. Perhaps the funniest thing about this is that they were never able to determine where the painting came from.
6. James visits the White House (2022)
When James Corden visited the White House, he not only joked with President Joe Biden, but also caused chaos in the kitchen and took over the role as Press Secretary in a way that only James Corden can get away with.
5. The Jeff Goldblum rap battle (2019)
One of the most talked about moments of the show’s run was when Jeff Goldblum and James Corden engaged in a rap battle, and threw so many insults at each other that the audience was both stunned and hysterical. Despite being on Corden’s show, Goldblum won the audience over to such a degree that they declared him the winner, making Corden walk away in defeat. One understands why when they watch the segment, because Goldblum raps to Corden, “You look like Andy Richter ate Conan O’Brien,” and even resorted to calling Corden “one giant bitch.” At one point he rapped that, “Crosswalk the Musical makes you a star because people tune in to hope you’re hit by a car.” No one was besting Goldblum that night, and Corden, to both his dismay and embarrassment, knew it.
4. The infamous Beckham statue prank (2019)
In James’ best on-show prank, he took advantage of his friend David Beckham, who was being honored with a statue for his footballing prowess. James devised a plot whereby he gave Beckham a sneak-peek of the statue, but unbeknownst to the soccer star, the statue shown would not be the real statue, and instead would be a horrible rendition of him. Beckham’s reaction was priceless, and the prank became one of the most talked-about segments ever from the show.
3. Tom Cruise convinces James to skydive (2018)
None of Corden’s many adventures could match the time he jumped out of a plane. Convincing Corden to do just that was thought to be a “mission impossible,” but that was before Tom Cruise came along and accomplished said mission, leading to one the most memorable moments in the show’s history.
2. Katie Couric’s unforgettable prank (2015)
The first moment in Late Late Show history to create a stir was when Katie Couric was a guest when the show was only a week old. When Corden introduced Couric, she was supposed walk down the stairs, but instead tripped and tumbled down them. The crowd gasped, and Corden ran to her aid in complete horror, believing that Katie Couric was just seriously injured on his brand- new program, but it was not Couric at all. It was a stuntwoman, and Couric appeared at the top of the stairs and said, “April Fools!” Never has James Corden appeared so relieved to be fooled by a prank.
1. Carpool Karaoke with Paul McCartney (2018)
There’s little doubt what the greatest moment on The Late Late Show with James Corden is. Even Corden himself will tell you that driving around London with Paul McCartney, paying an impromptu visit to his childhood home, and watching him perform in a local bar, is the best segment the show ever produced. It was so popular that CBS re-aired it in primetime and, if the show that gave us so many memorable moments is forced to be remembered for only one, it will certainly be this one. And what a moment it was — and what a show.
