CBS retools their late-night lineup for Ferguson's departure in December.
Craig Ferguson chose to step aside for Stephen Colbert to succeed David Letterman at Late Night and ensure a smooth transition for CBS. He also plans to step down from his own late-night perch in December, but he's not giving up the talk show format.
The Scottish comedian is in final-negotiations with Tribune Media to host a daily syndicated talk show, according to Variety. The half-hour show would air at 7 p.m. on Tribune Broadcasting's 42 stations. The media company hopes to reach about 42 percent of U.S. households including top markets like New York (WPIX), L.A. (KTLA) and Chicago (WGN).
Craig Ferguson will move into an evening time slot for his new talk show. (Brian To/WENN)
Craig would face less competition at the evening hours, avoiding daytime and late night programming. Tribune plans to pair his show with a prime sitcom like The Big Bang Theory or Two And A Half Men.
CBS hasn't confirmed the successor for The Late, Late Show when Craig leaves in December, but all reports point to British comedian James Corden. The actor starred alongside Keira Knightly and Mark Ruffalo in this summer's Begin Again and will appear in Disney's Into The Woods next year.
James looks most likely to take over CBS' post-midnight gig next year. (Joseph Marzullo/WENN)
James will follow Stephen, who will take over Late Night when Dave steps down some time next year. The current Late Night host announced his retirement in April.
"I phoned [CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves] just before the program, and I said 'Leslie, it's been great, you've been great, and the network has been great, but I'm retiring,'" Dave announced during his April 3 show.
CBS didn't waste anytime filling his seat. The network announced Stephen as his replacement just a week later.
"We're looking forward to the interest Stephen is going to bring," the CBS president said during an April panel at the Milken Institute Global Conference. "He's very smart, he's very funny, and it's going to be exciting."
Stephen and James will go head-to-head with NBC duo Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. ABC also has its 11:35 p.m. challenger Jimmy Kimmel, who re-upped his contract for two more years in May.
A veteran comedian, Larry will get his own show for Comedy Central next year. (Brian To/WENN)
Over on cable, Comedy Central will replace The Colbert Report with The Minority Report hosted by comedian and Daily Show correspondent Larry Wilmore. Jon Stewart's contract with the Daily Show stands to expire midway through next year.
HBO picked up John Oliver, another Daily Show alum, for his own talk show gig in April, after he did a stellar job sitting in for Jon last summer. His series Last Week Tonight With John Oliver airs for a half-hour on Sundays at 11 p.m.
Conan O'Brien extended his TBS contract in May. He'll remain with the cable network through 2018. Netflix also jumped into the talk show game by hiring Chelsea Handler in June. The former E! host will launch her new show in 2016.
