KANSAS CITY — Ladies and gentlemen, I have glimpsed the 10th circle of TV hell.
If you think the kick-off times back home are tortuous, at least you’ve been spared the spectacle of James Corden and Rio Ferdinand, nursing a pint of flat-looking lager, chewing the fat about the day’s World Cup events.
Welcome to After Hours with James Corden, Fox Sport’s flagship “post-game” programme and the bright idea of an American TV executive who presumably hadn’t suffered through James Corden’s World Cup Live in 2010.
Think the vuvuzelas were the worst thing about that tournament? Not me. I still have PTSD about Corden and Abby Clancy lightly bantering about New Zealand’s 1-1 draw with Slovakia with a succession of uninspiring studio guests. What do you mean you don’t remember “Uru-guy or Uru-girl”, the feature where they picked out a fan who looked a little bit androgynous and guessed at their gender? Shame on you.
Corden brushed off that embarrassment to become the host of The Late Late Show for 10 years, relocating to Los Angeles before creating last year’s absolutely brilliant finale to Gavin and Stacey, the sitcom he helped co-create. He really should stick to that sort of thing, because the live football format is not his friend.
