Taylor Tomlinson to Host CBS’ ‘After Midnight,’ Produced by Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert has announced that comedian Taylor Tomlinson will be the host of CBS‘ new late night series After Midnight.

The slot, which was previously held by The Late Late Show with James Corden, is executive produced by Stephen Colbert and is inspired by Comedy Central’s comedic game show @midnight with Chris Hardwick.

Colbert shared the news during Wednesday’s episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, with Tomlinson joining him on stage. “Last night after the show I called to tell you you had the job, and I also told you the best part of having one of these jobs is being able to find and hire really good people,” said the host. “And this is the moment that I told you that you had the job.”

After revealing a screenshot of a visibly shocked Tomlinson, the new After Midnight host admitted, “This is the face of… you know when you think you’re going to get dumped but they propose instead?” In response Colbert assured her, “Taylor if I was letting you down easy, I wouldn’t of called.”

Tomlinson got her big break on Netflix with a 15-minute set on 2018’s The Comedy Lineup. Since then, the rising comedian has become one of the most praised stand-ups in the industry, gaining her first comedy special, Quarter-Life Crisis, on Netflix in March 2020, and following it up with Look at You in 2022. Tomlinson is known for her candidness on stage when covering topics like her bipolar diagnosis and the death of her mother when she was 8 years old.

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After embarking on her Have It All tour this year, Tomlinson spoke to Forbes about her candid approach to comedy. “Whatever my current hour is is just what’s happening in my life. There’s not really like… a plan,” said the comedian. “I have stuff that I was talking about on part of this tour that I’ve decided to probably save for the next hour — because I just feel like it’s kind of still unfolding and it’s not quite ready yet. It’s harder subject matter — that I think people can relate to. But, sometimes, I think you’ve got to just process things. Especially when it’s deep-rooted grief or family stuff,”

Tomlinson continued, “You’re not going to mess anything up by thinking about it a little longer. You’re just going to develop a more well-rounded perspective on it. So, right now, I like where the hour is at. It’s very much where I’m at currently.”