It looks like the Taylors of the world are having a moment.
CBS has named 29-year-old Taylor Tomlinson as the host of “After Midnight,” the show designated to take over the slot following “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Colbert, who serves as one of the show’s executive producers, announced the news on Wednesday’s show.
Her hire makes Tomlinson the only woman hosting a late-night show on broadcast television, essentially filling the job left vacant by James Corden when he retired from hosting “The Late Late Show” in the spring.
Late-night as a genre has been struggling to maintain its relevance in an era where the most up-to-the-minute comedy takes place on social media. Making Tomlinson the face of “After Midnight,” based on the four-season Comedy Central cult favorite “@midnight with Chris Hardwick,” both acknowledges that shift and may seek to capitalize on it. She's two decades younger than every other late-night host on TV right now.
While the format for this updated iteration hasn’t been revealed, Hardwick’s “@midnight” featured panels of comics and stars challenged to improvise jokes based on memes or trends drawn from what was once Twitter and other Internet platforms.
And Tomlinson is currently one of the most sought-after stand-ups working today, currently touring large theater venues as a result of her successful Netflix specials “Quarter-Life Crisis” from 2020, and “Look at You,” which came out in 2022.
Jo Firestone, who recently worked on “Ziwe,” will serve as head writer and co-executive producer along with co-executive producer Alexx Wells.Jack Martin, who served as the showrunner on all four seasons of “@midnight,” and Eric Pierce serve as the co-showrunners and executive producers. The new series will premiere in 2024.
