Three years after he signed off CBS’ “The Late Late Show,” James Corden is having the time of his life hosting the World Cup after show for Fox, “After Hours With James Corden.” On the latest episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, the multihyphenate discusses the joy of indulging in his lifelong love of football and why the call from Fox Sports was the one hosting gig that he’s been offered in recent years that he couldn’t turn down.
“After Hours” debuted on the first day of the tournament, June 11, and is airing nightly at 11 p.m. through the final game on July 19. Corden’s set is right next to the studio for Fox Sports’ World Cup anchor team including Rebecca Lowe, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
The “After Hours” set is decorated like a clubhouse, with all manner of soccer memorabilia — photos of star players past and present, balls, cleats, flags, pennants and of course, the many scarfs that fans don to show their loyalty to favorite clubs. Another eye-catching element is the life size wax figure of soccer great Pelé that is on loan from Madame Tussauds in London.
For Corden, the opportunity to get the “Late Late Show” team back together for a finite assignment revolving around a subject that he knows well was impossible to turn down, once he gave it some thought. He’s working with “Late Late Show” executive producer Ben Winston and former head writer Ian Karmel, who mixes it up at a big table with Corden and British soccer great Rio Ferdinand.
