You can go home again: James Corden returns to London with ‘The Late Late Show’
For what likely is the last time, James Corden is taking “The Late Late Show” home.
That’s “home” as in his native England, where the CBS program had been based for the better part of a week three times previously. Corden brings it there again from Monday, June 27, through Thursday, June 30. Originating from Freemasons’ Hall in Central London, the stint will highlight much of the country’s atmosphere and culture while welcoming location-appropriate guests. Since Corden plans to leave the show at the end of the upcoming television season, this probably will be his final return “across the pond” with it.
Though it might seem like a science to relocate “The Late Late Show” to Corden’s home country after having done it in 2017, 2018 and 2019, it’s always a major operation to get the necessary personnel there, including those who oversee segments recorded in advance for the episodes. Those probably will include a new “Carpool Karaoke,” the popular feature that puts Corden in a vehicle with a popular music act to croon the artist’s or artists’ hits while driving around.
A very memorable – and ultimately quite emotional – “Carpool Karaoke,” from the show’s 2018 visit, saw Corden welcome Sir Paul Mccartney to the passenger seat. It culminated in a visit to a pub where the former Beatle surprised patrons with a mini-concert, and the result was so well-received, it was expanded into an hourlong primetime special.
Others who have been guests during Corden’s previous London sojourns have included Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Hudson, Emily Blunt, David Beckham, Chris Hemsworth, Lily James, Paul Giamatti (“Billions”), Kit Harington (“Game of Thrones”), Gillian Anderson, magician David Blaine, Michael Fassbender, James Mcavoy, Ian Mckellen, Simon Pegg and Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”).
Musically, Ed Sheeran also did a “Carpool Karaoke,” and Harry Styles and Kings of Leon performed as well. Though one of the most-watched sequences yet done on “The Late Late Show” was Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke” spin around London with Adele, that actually was done earlier, before his trips to the city became regular attractions on the program.