Who Is Taylor Tomlinson? 5 Things About the New CBS Late Night Host
CBS has found its successor to James Corden in comedian Taylor Tomlinson.
Tomlinson, 29, will take over the network’s 12:37 a.m. ET time slot, which was previously held by Corden’s The Late Late Show, with her new late night series, After Midnight, CBS announced in a November 2023 press release.
Stephen Colbert is set to co-executive produce the series, which will air after episodes of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Tomlinson will become the only female late night host on network TV upon After Midnight’s early 2024 premiere.
Despite doing stand-up comedy since she was 16, Tomlinson joked that she “never had a real job” before landing her After Midnight hosting gig on a November 2023 episode of The Late Show. “This has been a really fun couple [of] months. I was on TikTok searching, like, ‘How to nail a job interview’ — TikTok is Google for children — and, ‘How to impress your maybe boss,’” she told Colbert.
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Keep reading for everything to know about Tomlinson:
1. What Is Taylor Tomlinson Known For?
Tomlinson has established herself as one of comedy’s biggest up-and-coming stars with her hit Netflix specials Quarter-Life Crisis and Look at You. Her The Have It All comedy tour began in January 2023 and will run through November 2023.
In 2022, she was honored with the Just for Laughs Award for Breakout Comedy Star of the Year and opened up for Tina Fey and Amy Poehler at their Netflix Is A Joke Fest that May. That same year, Tomlinson was named on Time‘s Time100 Next 2022 list and Variety’s 2022 Comedy Impact Report. Her Look at You special was also featured on the Los Angeles Times’ Best Comedy Specials of 2022 list.
Tomlinson has over 2.5 million followers on TikTok and over 1.4 million followers on Instagram.
2. Where Is Taylor Tomlinson From?
Tomlinson grew up in Temecula, California, and has used stories from her upbringing in her comedy. “I did not grow up in a household that was very, like, mental health conscious. Like, we were very religious,” she stated in her March 2022 Look at You special. “I don’t know if you’ve ever tried to tell your conservative dad that you have a mental health issue. It doesn’t go great.”
She continued: “When I was in high school, I was like, ‘Dad, I think I’m depressed.’ And he was like, ‘You just need some protein. Get a scoop of peanut butter. Yeah, there’s a lot of dads out there just white-knuckling it through life right now, clinging to a jar of chunky Jif like it’s the answer, just a buoy in the storm. ‘It’ll pass.’”
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3. What Is Taylor Tomlinson’s Signature Look?
Tomlinson has been known to rock several stylish jackets during her stand-up shows, most notably a classic, black leather jacket. “In case anyone needs last minute costume ideas,” she captioned an October 2023 Instagram post featuring a fake Spirit Halloween costume of herself.
According to the costume’s description, all fans need to dress as Tomlinson for Halloween are “1 leather jacket, 1 pair of black jeans, 1 pair of ankle boots, 1 tank top, 1 hair tie, 1 pair of arm floaties [and] 1 microphone.”
4. What Will Taylor Tomlinson’s Show ‘After Midnight’ Be About?
After Midnight will be based on the Comedy Central series At Midnight (@midnight) with Chris Hardwick, which ran for four seasons from 2013 to 2017. Colbert will serve as co-executive produce the show with his wife, Evelyn McGee Colbert, @midnight cocreator Jason U. Nadler, Spartina Industries president Carrie Byalick, The Late Show executive Tom Purcell, James Dixon of Dixon Talent and Funny or Die’s Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Whitney Hodack and Henry R. Muñoz III.
“My hope is that, every night, After Midnight will be just as ridiculous as the internet is every day,” Colbert stated in CBS’ November 2023 press release. “Plus, the original @midnight aired after The Colbert Report, so welcoming this new show to 12:30 feels like coming home.” (Colbert previously hosted Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report from 2005 to 2014.)
5. How Did Taylor Tomlinson Find Out She Would Host ‘After Midnight?’
Tomlinson found out via a Zoom call with Colbert that she booked After Midnight one day before she was announced as the show’s host on a November 2023 episode of The Late Late Show.
“Last night after the show, I called you to tell you you had the job. I also told you the best part of having one of these jobs is being able to find and hire really good people,” Colbert told Tomlinson before showing viewers a hilarious pic of her shocked reaction to the news.
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“It’s such a beautiful photo. I want to have a caption contest. ‘What is going through her mind? What is she reacting to?’” Colbert stated, to which Tomlinson followed up by poking fun at her appearance on the call.
“’When you log onto the Zoom and realize you should’ve dried your hair and put on more makeup,’ is what’s actually happening,” she stated, noting that she initially thought Colbert was calling her to “let her down easy.”
Tomlinson later celebrated her new role via Instagram. “I got a job
,” she captioned a pic from her Late Late Show appearance, as well as her funny Zoom reaction.
