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Vice President Kamala Harris is heading back to CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” marking the Democratic presidential candidate’s first late night interview since landing the nomination in August. Harris will appear this Tuesday, Oct. 8, on “The Late Show” (which airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. Et).

According to CBS, Harris’ appearance this Tuesday will rep her seventh with Colbert on “The Late Show,” most recently on March 15, 2023. Harris first appeared on April 19, 2018, back when she was a U.S. senator from California.

Harris on “The Late Show” will come a night after her running mate, Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is set to appear as a guest on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” Walz’s booking on Monday, Oct. 7 reps his first-ever late-night appearance.

Meanwhile, Harris and Walz are both set to appear on Monday’s “60 Minutes” primetime election special. The hour-long edition,...

Unlike many of her late-night peers, Taylor Tomlinson is not known for delving into politics on After Midnight.

But after last night’s debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, the comedian weighed in on the topic on the CBS show.

“It’s difficult to watch debates like these, where one person is spreading alarming lies and all the headlines are like ‘Trump and Harris clash on issues’. If Kamala had said, ‘Let’s give everyone $100’ and then Trump responded, ‘I’m going to fill every American home with locusts’, the headlines would be like ‘Candidates present different visions for the future’,” she joked.

Tomlinson said Trump’s claims that Harris wants to transgender operations on illegal aliens that are in prison and immigrants eating pets in Ohio were like “some bad conservative Mad Libs”. “I genuinely think he might have been trying to fill out a bingo card.

Exclusive: J.D. Amato (Desus & Mero) has joined After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson as a new co-showrunner on the upcoming second season. He’ll join Jack Martin who will continue to serve as co-showrunner on the CBS late-night show.

Amato most recently served as executive producer on the fourth season of late-night talker Desus & Mero on Showtime. He also was an executive producer on The Chris Gethard Show from 2015-2018.

Season 2 kicks off on Tuesday, September 3. Guests Thomas Lennon, Kimia Behpoornia and Sandy Honig will join Taylor on September 3, followed by Guy Branum and Kate Micucci on September 4 and Jordan Temple and Will Miles on September 5.

Amato will take over duties from Eric Pierce, who departed earlier this summer.

After Midnight is produced by CBS Studios, Spartina Industries and Funny Or Die. Amato and Martin will executive produce along with Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, Tom Purcell and Evelyn McGee Colbert of...

CBS will continue to stay up extra late with After Midnight.

The network has renewed the late-night show, hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, for a second season in 2024-25. After Midnight is an updated take on @midnight, Comedy Central’s former late-night show, and boasts some of the same creative team.

“Taylor is a gifted comedian who brings a unique voice, energy and plenty of rizz to late night. I learned rizz is a real word thanks to the show,” CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said in a statement. “We’re excited for more of her daily smart takes about the dumbest things on the Internet.”

Like its predecessor, After Midnight features a group of comedians giving their take on the best/worst/weirdest of the internet and social media each day. The show recently added a monologue for Tomlinson that includes her interacting with the studio audience.

After Midnight,...

“After Midnight,” the late night show hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, has been renewed for its second season at CBS.

The series is a revival of “@Midnight,” which was hosted by Chris Hardwick on Comedy Central from 2013 to 2017. Like its predecessor, Tomlinson’s show features celebrity guests as they compete in pop culture and internet trivia games. “After Midnight” premiered in January and airs directly after “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” with Colbert serving as an executive producer.

Tomlinson recently spoke to Variety about vying for a Season 2 renewal — and what that would mean for the TV landscape, given that she’s currently the only female host in late night TV.

“It feels like pressure when people ask me about it,” she said. “Should I be more worried about that? I’m more worried about how we get a second season so that this crew of people gets to keep working together.

Exclusive: Taylor Tomlinson for the win.

CBS has renewed her late-night show After Midnight for a second season. It comes after the show launched in January.

Airing after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the show will return for a second season in the 2024/25 season.

The series features a panel of three celebrity guests, including a large number of comedians, who compete in a series of topical segments from pop culture and social media. Segments include Group Chat, Hashtag Wars and sketch The Talk Show Portion.

The winner usually receives a gag prize including a pair of Tom Brady-signed boxer shorts or Tomlinson’s own haunted doll.

Guests have included Whitney Cummings, Max Greenfield, Natasha Leggero, Jerry O’Connell, Josh Johnson, Bianca Del Rio, Billy Eichner, W. Kamau Bell, and Weird Al Yankovic.

“Taylor is a gifted comedian who brings a unique voice, energy and plenty of rizz to late night.

Stephen Colbert is taking “The Late Show” on the road.

The late-night program will broadcast live from Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre during this year’s Democratic National Convention, also taking place in Chicago, from Aug. 19-22 on the CBS Television Network. “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” will also be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount .

Colbert announced the news on Wednesday night’s episode of “The Late Show.”

“I lived in Chicago for 11 years, and it holds a special place in my heart — and not because of all the Polish sausage lodged in my aorta,” Colbert said. “Chicago is where I cut my teeth performing at the Second City, and it’s also where this South Carolina boy got an education in winter. Did you know that tears can freeze?”

In a statement, Colbert said, “I am very excited to broadcast from the beautiful Auditorium. I started my career in Chicago,...

CBS debuted its newest late-night show last night and the numbers are.

After Midnight, hosted by Taylor Tomlinson, was watched by an average of 686,000 viewers in the 12:37am hour, per Nielsen’s live same day fast national data.

This compares to The Late Late Show with James Corden’s live same day average of 806,000 for its final season.

Some caveats, the data does not yet include viewing from out-of-home, which will be available on Friday, most of the networks only really pay attention to the live 3 numbers, and it was After Midnight’s debut show. It will be interesting to see whether the game show format gets a bigger jump in delayed viewing than a traditional late-night show, which is slightly more topical.

After Midnight was up 31% across all viewers compared to the time period over the season, where Comics Unleashed has often aired while CBS waited to debut The Late Late Show replacement.

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“After Midnight” debuted to a lukewarm audience with host Taylor Tomlinson at the new late night show’s helm.

The reboot of “@midnight,” which originally ran on Comedy Central from 2013 to 2017, brought in 686,000 viewers to CBS during its Tuesday night premiere, according to Nielsen fast national figures.

Viewership for the new show was up 31% in terms of total viewers when compared to the time period this season to-date, which has been filled by Byron Allen’s syndicated show “Comics Unleashed,” since the end of “The Late Late Show With James Corden” last spring.

The 12:30 a.m. premiere also scored CBS’ largest regularly scheduled audience in the hour time slot since the finale of “The Late Late Show” on April 27, 2023.

Tomlinson’s late night debut was also buzzy on social media,...

After Midnight finally made its debut January 16 in the timeslot formerly held by James Corden.

Hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson, the show is a reboot of the old Comedy Central game show @midnight, which ran for 600 episodes on the sibling Paramount-owned network. For those who didn’t see the original version, imagine a combination of Who’s Line Is It Anyway? and Tosh 2.0: it’s an internet-themed panel game show that challenges comedians to come up with the best yuks during a series of improv games.

For the premiere, Whitney Cummings battled it out against Aparna Nancherla (former writer on Late Night with Seth Meyers) and Kurt Braunohler (former host of IFC’s Bunk) in front of a studio audience for the grand prize of “my father’s approval,” quipped Tomlinson. “It is rare but winnable.”

“We are taking the internet and desperately trying to make it fun,...

Taylor Tomlinson is gearing up for the premiere of her new, late-night show After Midnight on CBS on Tuesday night.

The series, which replaces The Late Late Show with James Corden, has now unveiled its first week’s line-up of guests that will compete on the game show.

Whitney Cummings, Aparna Nancherla, who has appeared on series including Corporate and has written for Late Night with Seth Meyers, and Kurt Braunohler, who hosted IFC’s comedy game show Bunk, will appear on the first show on Tuesday, January 16. This episode will also be repeated on Friday night.

Paul F. Tompkins, Sophie Buddle and Carl Tart will appear on Wednesday, followed by The Neighborhood star Max Greenfield, Ike Barinholtz and Robby Hoffman on Thursday.

The series, which is based on the old Comedy Central format, will feature moments that have been setting the internet ablaze that day.

Jack Martin, who was...

CBS is making good on its promise to bring After Midnight to its late night lineup in early 2024.

The network will debut the show, hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson and based on Comedy Central’s @midnight, on Jan. 16 — or technically Jan. 17, as it debuts at 12:37 a.m. Et/Pt, but at the tail end of the Jan. 16 broadcast day.

The show will feature a panel of comics, actors and other celebrities (guest lineups will be announced later) discussing the internet buzz of the day in a game-show format. After Midnight’s mission statement is to be “the smartest show on television about the dumbest things on the internet.”

After Midnight will air in the post-Late Show With Stephen Colbert spot previously occupied by The Late Late Show, which ran for 28 years under four different hosts. James Corden ended his eight-year tenure as host in April 2023. For the past several months,...

CBS kicks off a new era in late-night on Tuesday, January 16, when it launches “After Midnight” at 12:37 a.m. hosted by comic Taylor Tomlinson.

The series, which will rely on a rotating series of panelists to discuss the latest trends and memes in the digi-sphere, will follow an original hour of CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“After Midnight,” based on the premise of “@midnight,” a program that ran on Comedy Central between 2013 and 2017,” breaks late-night tradition at CBS, which has long depended on a more typical program after 12:30 a.m. But network executives, realizing that the business of wee-hours TV is in flux, canceled “The Late Late Show” that has run for decades in that slot, hosted by people such as Tom Snyder, Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson and James Corden. “After Midnight” is said to cost significantly less to produce — a boon in an era when...

Nearly nine months after James Corden said goodbye to The Late Late Show, CBS has finally dated his replacement.

After Midnight, a reboot of the old Comedy Central game show @midnight, starring rising comedian Taylor Tomlinson, will premiere on Tuesday, January 16.

The show will, of course, air in The Late Late Show’s former spot at 12:37am, following The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

It comes almost a year after Deadline revealed that a reboot of @midnight, which ran for 600 episodes on the sibling Paramount-owned network, would replace Corden.

Tomlinson, who has recorded a number of Netflix specials, won the hosting job at the end of last year, beating X Mayo and Ricky Velez for the gig.

Jack Martin, who was the showrunner of all four seasons of @midnight, will serve as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has exec produced series including CBS’ The Challenge: USA and The Wheel.

After Writers Guild of America waged a protest regarding the Television Academy‘s decision to move the outstanding writing for a variety series or special categories out of the upcoming Emmy telecast, the TV Academy has reversed course.

In a joint release sent out today, the Television Academy, Fox and the WGA said they were “happy to announce they have reached an agreement to include the Writing for a Variety Series category in the 75th Emmy Awards telecast airing live on Fox on January 15, 2024, at 8pm Est / 5pm Pst.”

Because this year’s Primetime Emmys has moved the variety special (live) category into the telecast (it was on the Creative Arts show last year), the TV Academy was likely looking to keep the telecast capped at 25 awards, so something had to fall out. And in this case, it was the variety writing field that originally got pushed to the Creative Arts ceremony.

Stephen Colbert is still recovering.

The Late Show has once again been canceled as its host continues to convalesce from his ruptured appendix.

The CBS show will be in repeats this week.

The news means that guests including Sarah Paulson, Jason Isbell, Mark Ruffalo, Nicki Minaj, Sara Bareilles and Rep. Liz Cheney will no longer appear on the show.

They are the latest stars to push their appearance after his first week off saw the likes of Jennifer Garner, Baz Luhrmann, Patrick Stewart, Jon Batiste and Kelsey Grammer set to attend.

Colbert revealed on Threads that he was “listening to my doctors and continuing to rest and heal” and hope to see audiences “soon”.

The Late Show is produced by CBS Studios and Colbert’s Spartina Productions with Colbert, Tom Purcell and Jon Stewart as exec producers.

The Late Show won’t air this week on CBS after Stephen Colbert had another medical emergency.

The comedian revealed that he is recovering from surgery for a ruptured appendix.

There was no show planned for tonight (Monday November 27) but there were shows planned for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

In fact, it was going to be a big week for Colbert as he had a phalanx of A-list guests including Barbara Streisand taking The Colbert Questionert. Other stars set to head to the Ed Sullivan Theater included Jennifer Garner and Baz Luhrmann on Tuesday and Patrick Stewart on Wednesday as well as an interview and performance from former bandleader Jon Batiste. On Thursday, Kelsey Grammer was swinging by to talk about the reboot of Frasier.

The Late Show is produced by CBS Studios and Colbert’s Spartina Productions with Colbert, Tom Purcell and Jon Stewart as exec producers.

View this...

Before being linked to CBS’ new late-night series “After Midnight,” Taylor Tomlinson had little connection to the world of broadcast TV and the ebbs and flow of nocturnal programming. She is best known as an up-and-coming comic who has found success with stand-up specials on Netflix and video clips on TikTok.

So how did a comedian known for her digital presence land a spot in the linear media world?

Executives at CBS have been hunting for months for someone to take over the network’s 12:30 a.m. slot, but with the realization that the business of wee-hours TV is in flux. The new program is said to cost significantly less to produce than James Corden’s tenure at “The Late Late Show,” a program that had been on CBS, with several hosts, since 1995. “All the broadcast networks in that space have to be really thoughtful about what we spend,...

CBS is putting the pieces in place for its next late night show.

The network has named a host and hired the key creative team for After Midnight, which is set to take over the 12:35 a.m. Et spot in early 2024. The show is inspired by Comedy Central’s comedic game show @midnight and getting a truth-in-titling name change.

Comedian Taylor Tomlinson will host After Midnight. Tomlinson, who has two Netflix specials to her name, appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday following the afternoon announcement of the creative team.

Jack Martin, a veteran of @midnight and currently showrunner of CBS’ game show Raid the Cage, and Eric Pierce (The Challenge: USA, Hollywood Game Night) will be showrunners on the new series, which comes from CBS Studios, Stephen Colbert’s Spartina Industries and Funny or Die. Writer and comedian Jo Firestone (The Tonight Show, Joe Pera...

CBS has tapped stand-up comedian Taylor Tomlinson to host its new late night franchise “After Midnight.” The series is executive produced by Stephen Colbert, who announced Tomlinson during Wednesday’s episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Tomlinson then discussed the news with Colbert on stage.

Tomlinson’s recent TV credits include her Netflix comedy specials “Look At You” and “Quarter Life Crisis.”

As announced earlier today, “After Midnight” will launch in early 2024 in the slot previously held by “The Late Late Show with James Corden.” It’s based on “@midnight,” which followed “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” from October 2013 to August 2017, was a panel series with mostly guest comedians, who would interact with host Chris Hardwick.

Earlier this year Tomlinson sealed a deal with Netflix for her next two standup specials to premiere on the streamer. Tomlinson taped her latest special in Washington, D.C., for a 2024 premiere date.

Stephen Colbert has announced comedian Taylor Tomlinson will host new CBS late-night series “After Midnight.” He told the crowd at a taping of “The Late Show” on Wednesday.

Stephen’s excited about his new late night series (Taylor’s Version)!@taylortomlinson @midnight pic.twitter.com/9wcKELfTm3

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) November 2, 2023

Colbert joked to the audience that, while it’s part of his job to stay up to date on current events, he gets “most of my news” from CBS News press releases. He then shared the network’s release announcing “After Midnight” and said, “I was so excited to see CBS’ new foray into late-night. What would it be?”

“Maybe ’60 Minutes After Dark’?” he added. “I was even more excited to find out that it’s actually going to be a new show called ‘After Midnight’ inspired by the comedy gameshow ‘@Midnight’ that used to follow me on ‘The Colbert Report....

Turns out it’s Taylor Tomlinson hosting After Midnight.

The comedian has scored the late-night CBS gig. She beat out X Mayo and Ricky Velez for the hosting job.

The news was announced on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, whose host will exec produce the series, launching in 2024 (see below).

Tomlinson is a rising stand-up who has released Netflix specials including Quarter-Life Crisis and Look At You.

After Midnight, which is based on Comedy Central’s @midnight, which ran between 2013 and 2017, replaces The Late Late Show with James Corden.

Jack Martin, who was the showrunner of all four seasons of @midnight, will serve as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has exec produced series including CBS’ The Challenge: USA and The Wheel.

The duo will exec produce alongside Stephen Colbert, Carrie Byalick, president of Colbert’s Spartina Industries, Tom Purcell, an exec producer on The Late Show, Colbert’s wife...

CBS Studios and Stephen Colbert’s “@midnight” reboot has found its creative team.

“After Midnight,” which will premiere on CBS Television Network and Paramount in early 2024, has named Jack Martin and Eric Pierce, comedian Jo Firestone and Alexx Wells as co-executive producers. Martin and Pierce will also serve as co-showrunners, while Firestone serves as head writer.

@midnight, which ran on Comedy Central from 2013 to 2017, was a game show hosted by Chris Hardwick that posed Internet-themed questions to its three guests. Hardwick is not expected to return to the reboot.

A host and premiere date for the upcoming late night series will be announced at a later time.

In addition to Colbert and his wife Evelyn, “After Midnight” is executive produced by Spartina Industries president Carrie Byalick, “The Late Show executive producer Tom Purcell and Dixon Talent’s James Dixon.

The Spartina team is joined by executive producers Joe Farrell, Mike Farah,...

CBS is getting ready to let it all hang out after 12 a.m.

The Paramount Global network said it will launch its newest late-night entry, now titled “After Midnight,” in early 2024. And while a host has yet to be named for the program, an array of producers and top writers are already in place.

“After Midnight” will serve as an updated version of “@midnight,” an ersatz game show that focused on the latest trending topics served up on digital and social media. The program, which followed “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” from October 2013 to August 2017, relied heavily on a coterie of guest comedians, who would interact with host Chris Hardwick. CBS executives are said to have narrowed their list of potential talent down to a few and are doing due diligence on each.

The show, which will take over the 12:37 a.m. time slot previously occupied by...

CBS is making its latest moves in late-night.

The network has set the showrunners, head writer and exec producing team for After Midnight, its reboot of Comedy Central series @midnight, that will replace The Late Late Show with James Corden.

It comes as the series, which is set to air in the 12:30am slot in early 2024, is narrowing down the field for a host. We hear that Taylor Tomlinson, X Mayo and Ricky Velez are the three in contention and the trio did a test shoot last Wednesday. A decision is expected soon. CBS declined to comment on the host situation.

Jack Martin, who was the showrunner of all four seasons of Comedy Central’s @midnight, which originally ran between 2013 and 2017, will serve as co-showrunner alongside Eric Pierce, who has exec produced series including CBS’ The Challenge: USA and The Wheel.

The duo will exec produce alongside Stephen Colbert,...

Stephen Colbert returned to the Ed Sullivan Theater to a standing ovation.

The Late Show host is kicking off his first show back in five months with Neil deGrasse Tyson as his first guests. It also marked Colbert’s first show since it was revealed that he’d signed a new contract to remain as host of the show until 2026.

“It feels good to be back, it feels good to be back with all of you in the Ed Sullivan Theater because after the first few months of the strike, Evie refused to keep chanting my name,” he joked.

Obviously, he talked about the strike.

“Now the writers strike is over, with a new contract that includes protections against A.I., cost of living increases, better pay and better pay for streaming. Plus, thanks the picket lines, my writers got fresh air and sunshine and they do not care for that.

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.

Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:

Oscars | Emmys | Grammys | Tonys

2023 Emmy Predictions:

Outstanding Talk Series

Weekly Commentary: Jon Stewart is facing off against his buddy Stephen Colbert in the talk series category, and it’s a race too close to call.

CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” could manage its first significant win against Apple TV’s “The Problem with Jon Stewart,...

“Late Show” host and executive producer Stephen Colbert is sticking around at the CBS late night program for another three years.

Colbert, whose contract was set to expire at the end of the year, has agreed to extend his contract through 2026. He first took over hosting duties in September 2015 from David Letterman.

The news comes as CBS has been airing repeats of the comedy variety talk show since the Writers Guild of America strike began on May 2 after the group was unable to reach an agreement in contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The WGA strike involves a long list of concerns that the writers want Hollywood studios to address, from addressing the use of artificial intelligence to the low pay involved in writing streaming series to reining in “mini-rooms” used to skirt contractual pay practices.

“[Colbert] is happy — not so happy right now as they...

Stephen Colbert will continue to make CBS his TV home.

The host and executive producer of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert has signed a contract extension that will keep him at CBS for three more years. CBS president and CEO George Cheeks announced the extension Tuesday at the Banff World Media Festival.

The extension will keep Colbert at CBS through 2026; his current contract was set to expire at the end of the year.

The Late Show has been airing repeats since May 2, when the Writers Guild of America went on strike after the expiration of its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, representing studios and streamers.

“[Colbert] is happy — not so happy right now as they’re not working — but they’re really happy and it’s a really cohesive group that is firing on all cylinders, and Stephen is really enjoying himself,” Cheeks said. “We...

The King of Late Night isn’t going anywhere: Stephen Colbert will remain at The Late Show through 2026.

While speaking at the Banff TV Festival on Tuesday, CBS CEO George Cheeks revealed that CBS had reached a contract extension with the comedian to continue as host of its top-rated The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for another three years. His current pact was set to expire this year.

“We just extended him for three more years and I was praying for that to happen,” Cheeks said at a Deadline-moderated panel.

Although The Late Show is one of the late-night shows that have been hit by the writers strike – all of late-night is essentially dark, Cheeks said that before the strike, The Late Show was “absolutely crushing it”.

“It’s just a great cohesive group that is firing on all cylinders and Stephen’s really enjoying himself,” he said.

Colbert, who...

Stephen Colbert is joining the team that is adapting Roger Zelazny’s “The Chronicles of Amber” for television.

Colbert will now executive produce the potential series under his Spartina production banner. Spartina joins Skybound Entertainment and Vincent Newman Entertainment (Vne) on the series version of the beloved fantasy novels, with Skyboudn first announcing their intention to develop the series back in 2016. The books have been cited as an influence on “Game of Thrones,” with author George R.R. Martin recently stating he wanted to see the books brought to the screen.

“George R.R. Martin and I have similar dreams,” Colbert said. “I’ve carried the story of Corwin in my head for over 40 years, and I’m thrilled to partner with Skybound and Vincent Newman to bring these worlds to life. All roads lead to Amber, and I’m happy to be walking them.”

“The Chronicles of Amber” follows the story of Corwin,...

Stephen Colbert and Skybound Entertainment are developing an ongoing fantasy show based on Roger Zelazny’s novel series “The Chronicles of Amber.” The late-night host will be producing under his Spartina Banner, which has a first-look deal with CBS Studios.

He joins the existing partnership with Vincent Newman Entertainment and Skybound.

“The Chronicles of Amber” follows the story of Corwin, who awakens on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality (called “shadows”) and rules over the one true world, Amber. The story unfolds over 10 books with two definitive story arcs: “The Corwin Cycle” and “The Merlin Cycle.” The series has sold more than 15 million copies globally and has been credited as one of the main inspirations for “Game of Thrones.”

Also Read:

‘Public Defenders’ Pilot From Creator Eddie Quintana Greenlit at...

Stephen Colbert, a noted fantasy fan, has come on board to help develop and produce a series adaptation of Roger Zelazny’s The Chronicles of Amber.

Colbert, via his Spartina banner, will produce the adaptation alongside Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Entertainment.

It comes seven years after The Walking Dead creator Kirkman announced that he was developing a series based on the books with Vincent Newman Entertainment.

The Chronicles of Amber features two series of five books each – The Corwin Cycle and The Merlin Cycle – with a number of short stories and prequels also in the series.

It follows the story of Corwin, who awakens on Earth with no memory, but soon finds he is a prince of a royal family that has the ability to travel through different dimensions of reality, called shadows, and rules over the one true world, Amber.

The books, which have sold over 15M copies, are...

Meet the new team running CBS’ “Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” It’s largely the same team that has been managing the late-night program for years.

Colbert tells Variety he has no plans to bring another executive producer on board at present after Chris Licht left to take over management of Warner Bros. Discovery’s CNN in the spring.

“I am always open to producing the show in the most efficient manner. Right now, everything feels fantastic,” says Colbert in an interview to discuss “Pickled,” a new comedy-sports special he has produced with Funny or Die for CBS. “I miss Chris dearly as my friend. I wouldn’t want to run CNN.”

In September, Matt Lappin was named a co-executive producer of “The Late Show,” working alongside two other co-EPs, Tanya Michnevich Bracco and Denise Rehrig. Lappin has worked with Colbert for more than 25 years, including on “Colbert Report” and...

Michelle Obama is starting her book tour with a stop at The Late Show.

The former First Lady will join Stephen Colbert on the CBS show on Monday November 14 as she promotes her book The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times.

It sets up a busy week in late-night with Bruce Springsteen taking over The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on the same night.

Obama has been a regular guest on The Late Show with appearances last year and in 2018.

Her book, which “provides practical wisdom and powerful strategies for staying hopeful and balanced in uncertain times”, is published on November 15 by Crown an imprint of Penguin Random House

The Late Show is produced by The Late Show Inc. and CBS Studios and is executive produced by Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell and Jon Stewart.

Bono is taking over an entire episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

The U2 frontman will appear on the CBS show on Thursday, November 3 and will be the show’s sole guest for the hour as he promotes his memoir and performs solo.

Surprisingly, it marks his first appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He and his band had previously appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman and in fact were the resident band for a week in 2009.

However, late-night appearances have been limited as the band has only released one album – Songs of Experience – since Colbert has hosted the show. That time around, the group appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live!

This appearance will mark Bono’s only late-night appearance while on tour for his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. The book publishes on Tuesday.

The Late Show...

Each weeknight, Stephen Colbert takes the stage at CBS “Late Show” to find the lighter side of the latest headlines. In November, he’ll be doing something similar with sports.

The comedian will host a two-hour pickleball tournament, “Pickled,” that will feature 16 celebrities competing for a coveted “Colbert Cup” and benefit the non-profit Comic Relief U.S. “If you love pickleball and you love celebrities and you love helping people, you’re going to love watching these celebrities help people by playing pickleball,” said Colbert in a prepared statement. “Pickled” will debut on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 9 p.m. Et on CBS.

Celebrities taking part in “Pickled” include Jimmie Allen, Murray Bartlett, Dierks Bentley, Jaime Camil, Will Ferrell, Max Greenfield, Luis Guzman, Phil Keoghan, Daniel Dae Kim, Sugar Ray Leonard, Tig Notaro, June Diane Raphael, Kelly Rowland, Paul Scheer, Aisha Tyler and Emma Watson. Cari Champion, John Michael Higgins and Bill Raftery...

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has promoted Matt Lappin.

Lappin becomes co-exec producer of the late-night CBS show. He was most recently senior supervising producer of the show.

The move will see him expand his responsibilities on the creative side of The Late Show alongside exec producer Tom Purcell. Lappin will continue to be part of the writing staff and will lead the team that produces the monologue and other comedy segments.

It is the first executive move on The Late Show since the departure of exec producer Chris Licht. Licht, who now runs CNN, oversaw the business and operational side of the show with Purcell overseeing the creative direction.

Lappin has been with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since its launch in 2015 and has worked with Colbert for nearly 25 years. He first served as a writer on Comedy Central’s Strangers With Candy and then as a...

“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” has promoted Matt Lappin to serve as co-executive producer of the late night show. In his new role, Lappin will help oversee the show’s daily creative direction; his promotion was announced on Tuesday by executive producers Stephen Colbert and Tom Purcell.

Lappin was most recently senior supervising producer. As co-executive producer, he’ll be part of a team that also includes co-EPs Denise Rehrig, Tanya Michnevich Bracco, Barry Julien and Opus Moreschi. Together, they’re all helping Colbert and Purcell run the ship in the absence of former executive producer Chris Licht, who departed “The Late Show” earlier this year to take over CNN as its CEO.

As Variety wrote in February, there was no plan to immediately replace Licht, especially given the show’s solid roster of producers handling day-to-day duties.

While taking on more responsibilities in “The Late Show,” Lappin will...

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Veteran writer-producer Matt Lappin has been promoted to co-executive producer of CBS’ The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Lappin’s new role at the late-night show, which Colbert has hosted since 2015, was announced by EPs Colbert and Tom Purcell. He had been a senior supervising producer on the program, and also worked as a writer working on the show’s monologue and other comedy segments. Lappin will be expanding his creative responsibilities in the new role, while continuing to work with the writing staff.

Lappin has worked with Colbert for nearly 25 years, including working as a writer and producer on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, and as a writer on Strangers With Candy, which Colbert also acted in and developed with Amy Sedaris.

Lappin is the first major change in the late night show’s top producer ranks since EP Chris Licht...

Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.

To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit The Emmys Collective

Visit each category, per the individual awards show from The Emmys Hub

To see old predictions and commentary,...

Exclusive: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert is adding some musical firepower.

The CBS late-night show is introducing its first-ever musical residencies with artists St. Vincent, James Taylor and Joe Walsh each sitting in with Jon Batiste’s house band Stay Human for a week.

St. Vincent, aka Annie Clark, whose latest album Daddy’s Home came out last year, will kick off the move on July 25.

Sweet Baby James star James Taylor, who released his twentieth studio album American Standard in 2020, will join the week of August 1, followed by The Eagles’ Joe Walsh on August 8.

The residencies are also the first time each artist has performed with a late-night house band.

Colbert is replicating a move most recently favored by his network peer James Corden. The Late Late Show has had residencies with artists such as Harry Styles, Coldplay and Ed Sheeran.

The Late Show’s house band Stay Human...

It’s not easy putting on the green. The Muppets have been added to this season of ABC’s reality competition “Holey Moley,” the network announced Tuesday. It’s part of the Alphabet network’s Spring unscripted series lineup, with three shows set to premiere May 3.

Season 4 of “Holey Moley,” the mini-golf competition show executive produced by Steph Curry, will air at 8 p.m. Et. The series, which is produced by Unanimous Media and Eureka Productions, will feature characters from “The Muppets” as guest commentators this season, alongside established commentator duo Rob Riggle and Joe Tessitore. Sideline correspondent Jeannie Mai also returns to the show. Eureka Productions and Unanimous Media produce “Holey Moley,” with Curry, Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening, Charles Wachter, Michael O’Sullivan, Kate Shelbourn, Jeron Smith and Erick Peyton executive producing.

“The Chase,” ABC’s remake of the popular British game show, is back for its season premiere that night at 9 p.

It was only a matter of time before celebrity pickleball became a TV thing, and here we are. Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny or Die and CBS Studios are lobbing up Pickled, a two-hour primetime special to air on CBS and stream on Paramount this year.

The all-the-rage sport will get its close-up with a tournament of all-star teams battling it out for charity — and a chance to win the coveted Golden Gherkin.

“I love hosting The Late Show, but at the end of the day – and I’m specifically talking about the hours between 8 and 10 p.m. Eastern – I see Pickled as a chance to bring lots of different people together for something playful and unpredictable,” Colbert said. “And since the supply chain snarl has delayed delivery of my Margaritaville™ Frozen Drink Machine, I find myself with some free time.”

For the uninitiated, CBS describes pickleball thusly: “The buzziest...

Celebrities will battle it out on the pickleball court in a new two-hour special from CBS called “Pickled.”

The “comedic tournament” hails from Stephen Colbert’s Spartina, Funny or Die and CBS Studios and will air later this year as a two-hour special event on CBS while also streaming live and on demand on Paramount .

Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis, and finds players using paddles to bat a wiffle-like ball over a net. While invented in the 1960s, it’s gained renewed popularity over the last few years.

The “Pickled” special will curate the best all-star competitive teams to play against each other for charity, with names to be announced at a later date.

“I love hosting ‘The Late Show,’ but at the end of the day – and I’m specifically talking about the hours between 8 and 10 p.m. Et – I see...

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert was sure that Chris Licht was the right person for the job of showrunner of his CBS late-night show when the pair met over a drink six years ago.

But Colbert said, “I wasn’t sure whether I would like him, whether we would become friends, because we’re all show folk here, and Chris is not…. I didn’t know whether I’d like him, but six years later, I love you, Chris.”

Colbert gave his showrunner and arguably the man who helped turn around his late-night fortunes a glowing send off after Licht was named Chairman and CEO of CNN Global, starting in May.

He joked that “he trained the next President of CNN”. “I believe legally CNN now stands for the Colbert News Network. Obviously Chris is still under contract so we’re going to have to do this like a baseball trade.

The showrunner is leaving, but the show must go on.

Staffers at CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” aren’t sure who the next top producer will be at the program, according to three people familiar with the matter, with top producers ready to take their time to examine the needs of the show after the departure of Chris Licht, who has been executive producer of the late-night mainstay since 2016. Licht’s decision to take a new role as the CEO of CNN once Discovery closes its acquisition of WarnerMedia leaked this weekend, well before the executive was able to formally inform George Cheeks, CEO of Paramount Global’s CBS operations, or Shari Redstone, chairman of the company, according to one of these people.

“Late Show” staffers were informed of Licht’s decision on Saturday afternoon, after many press reports had confirmed Discovery’s plans. A “Late Show” spokesperson...

Stephen Colbert will be offering his live take on the news on the night of the State of the Union.

The Late Show will be broadcasting live on the East Coast on Tuesday March 1 as the CBS late-night show marks the 44th time that it has broadcast live since 2016.

Senator Bernie Sanders will be Colbert’s guest at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City. There will also be a music performance by Jon Batiste and indie country rockers Big Thief.

It also marks Sanders’ 14th appearance on the late-night show.

March 1 will be President Joe Biden’s first official State of the Union – he delivered an address before a joint session of Congress last April. Earlier this week, former President Obama’s advisor David Axelrod warned Biden to “be humble” during his address, calling the state of the union “stressed.”

The Late Show is produced by The Late Show Inc.

Stephen Colbert has tapped his publicist Carrie Byalick as boss of his fledgling production company.

Byalick, who has worked with The Late Show host for 16 years, has been appointed President of Spartina Productions.

She will oversee all aspects of the company and joins Evelyn McGee Colbert and The Late Show exec producers Chris Licht and Tom Purcell as principals in the company.

It comes after Colbert signed a first-look deal with CBS Studios.

Byalick has been running her own talent management firm, B.Company since 2016, having spent nearly two decades as a publicist, latterly as SVP in ID’s New York office. She also produced HBO’s 2 Dope Queens.

Colbert said, “For 16 years, Carrie Byalick has been an invaluable creative partner who made every idea better, and I am so grateful she will now be leading Spartina Productions.”

“I’m incredibly excited to start this new journey with someone whose smarts,...

Carrie Byalick, a longtime Hollywood publicist who has become one of comedian Stephen Colbert’s top advisers, has been named president of his production company, Spartina Productions, as it prepares to increase its number of active projects.

Byalick will supervise all aspects of Spartina, which in October set a three-year pact with CBS Studios to develop content for linear and streaming venues. Colbert’s team already produces the animated “Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out the News” for Paramount Plus, as well as “Fairview” and “Washingtonia” on Comedy Central. Colbert is an executive producer on the Comedy Central late-night program “Tha God’s Honest Truth With Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey.”

Byalick joins Evelyn McGee Colbert, Colbert’s spouse, and Chris Licht and Tom Purcell, executive producers of CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” as principals in the company.

Those familiar with Colbert’s business relationships know he has long trusted Byalick’s counsel implicitly.