Hailing from Rockefeller Center in the heart of New York City, Jimmy has made it his mission to make sure viewers end the day with a smile. Each weeknight, he hosts A-list guests, from movie stars to athletes, comedians, public figures and everyone in between. He also delivers a signature nightly monologue, performs in topical comedy sketches, plays fan-favorite games, and presents recurring segments like Thank You Notes. Today's popular musical guests also stop by to perform alongside house band The Roots.
Improv actor and comic Stephen Colbert flexes the hosting muscles he honed over nearly 1,500 episodes of the popular and critically celebrated "The Colbert Report" at the helm of this long-running late-night talk show. Following the genre's classic formula, each show kicks off with a monologue and a look at recent headlines, and features sketch comedy, celebrity interviews and musical performances. Joining Colbert is his bandleader, Julliard-trained Jon Batiste, and house band Stay Human. The show is filmed in New York's famed Ed Sullivan Theater, the longtime home of "The Late Show."
After being on the air for more than four decades, the essential format of this show hasn't changed: Get an A-list guest host (or reasonable facsimile) and throw him or her into sketches with the ensemble players, which included some heavy hitters such as Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Jane Curtin, John Belushi, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Mike Myers. Each week's show also offers two musical numbers from someone at, or aspiring to reach, the top of the charts.
Broadway, television and film star James Corden takes over the reins of the late-late-night franchise at CBS from fellow U.K. import Craig Ferguson. The British performer -- whose previous hosting gigs include five years of The Brit Awards -- puts his charm, warmth and creative instincts to use as he interviews celebrities and newsmakers, and hosts musical performances in his post-"Late Show" time slot.
Emmy-winning funnyman Jimmy Kimmel serves up comedy bits and welcomes guests that include other comics, celebrities, athletes and musicians, as well as everyday people with unusual or compelling personal stories. Kimmel's family and friends take part in the festivities, including his Cousin Sal, Uncle Frank (until his death in 2011) and childhood friend Cleto Escobedo III, who leads the show's house band. Recurring segments include the FCC-pleasing This Week in Unnecessary Censorship in which they take TV clips and "bleep and blur things whether they need it or not," as Kimmel describes it. But it's too bad they consistently run out of time for Matt Damon's segment.
