Comedian Taylor Tomlinson is poised to helm a new CBS show, becoming the sole female late-night host in the United States.
Named “After Midnight,” the program is scheduled to debut next year, following “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and stepping into the gap left by the departure of James Corden.
At the age of 29, Tomlinson has risen to fame thanks to her two Netflix stand-up specials, “Quarter Life Crisis” and “Look at You.”
This announcement also makes her the youngest late-night host by over two decades.
She joins the ranks of late-night hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers on NBC, as well as Jimmy Kimmel on ABC, filling the void left by Corden’s departure from “The Late Late Show” earlier this year.
Taylor Tomlinson has cultivated a substantial following on social media, particularly TikTok. She was also a finalist on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” in 2015 and received recognition as one of the top 10 comics to watch by Variety after her appearance at the Just for Laughs festival in 2019.
Her new show, “After Midnight,” will take its format inspiration from Comedy Central’s “@midnight With Chris Hardwick,” which aired from 2013 to 2017 and featured a panel of comedians.
The production company Funny Or Die, known for producing shows like “Brockmire” and “Billy on the Street,” was behind the original “@midnight” and will be involved in creating this series as well, with Colbert serving as an executive producer.
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Colbert officially announced the launch of “After Midnight” on his show, emphasizing the need for someone “fun, likable, young, in touch with online trends, and available every night of the week.”
He even shared a screenshot capturing the moment he informed Tomlinson about her new role over a recent Zoom call.
During her appearance on Colbert’s show, Tomlinson humorously remarked, “I’ve never had a real job,” and recalled her journey in stand-up comedy, which she’s been pursuing since the age of 16, adding, “which is not a job.”
For those who might not be familiar with her, she quipped, “I’m 29, so if you don’t know who I am, don’t worry. I barely know myself.”
She also mentioned that her 30th birthday is approaching, to which Colbert humorously responded, “Happy birthday, I got you a network show.”
The United States has seen a scarcity of female network comedy television hosts in recent years, with Lilly Singh’s brief stint as Carson Daly’s replacement on NBC being one of the few notable roles, lasting from 2019 to 2021 before the show was discontinued.
