Taylor Tomlinson made her debut as the only current female late night talk show host on Tuesday with the premiere of After Midnight on CBS.
The 30-year-old American stand-up comedian took over the time slot after The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and opened with an introduction.
‘I’m Taylor Tomlinson and this is After Midnight, where three comedians enter, one wins and two will regret participating,’ Taylor said while wearing a black top and crimson suit.
‘We’re taking the internet and desperately trying to make it fun. It’s gonna be fun, right? Comedians, you’ll be competing for the grand prize of my father’s approval. It is rare but winnable!,’ she added.
The premiere episode featured comedians Whitney Cummings, Aparna Nancherla and Kurt Braunohler as contestants who also make jokes about pop culture and Internet videos.
Taylor Tomlinson made her debut as the only current female late night talk show host on Tuesday with the premiere of After Midnight on CBS
Taylor showed off her buzzer and admitted that she acted like a ‘diva’ about having one for the show.
The premiere episode was taped on Tuesday at the Paramount lot in Hollywood and Taylor referenced the Emmy Awards that were held on Monday.
‘No matter where you stand politically, you can’t deny the Emmys were yesterday,’ Taylor said. ‘And I was there. They’ll invite anyone. Did you guys watch the Emmys?’
The comedians stared back at her silently and Taylor reminded them that they weren’t obligated to watch the awards show because it was on Fox.
‘We don’t care here at CBS if you watched it! …I was just making sure. So nobody watched the Emmys? TV’s dead? Great,’ she quipped.
‘This will do well on the internet,’ Kurt joked.
Taylor said After Midnight was unfortunately not nominated since this was their first episode.
‘I don’t even know what awards our show can possibly win, because it’s kind of a talk show where there’s no conversation. It’s a game show but the points are fake. It’s a vanity project but it somehow makes me look worse. Panelists, what award would After Midnight win at the Emmys?,’ Taylor asked.
The premiere episode featured comedians Whitney Cummings, Aparna Nancherla and Kurt Braunohler as contestants who also make jokes about pop culture and Internet videos
Kurt, Whitney and Aparna participated in a segment as host Taylor looked on
Taylor awarded points to the comedians who the host said were ‘competing for the grand prize of my father’s approval’
Kurt buzzed in and responded, ‘Best Female late night host! Sorry, only female late night host.’
‘Absolutely right. Not a lot of competition right now. That’s where I like to live,’ Taylor said.
Whitney was the first to be eliminated, but she tried to quit first.
Taylor revealed that Whitney also had to apologize for losing.
‘It has come to my attention that I have lost, but now that I can no longer play the woman card to win, I have become a Republican. So I will dispute the charges from jail, I believe this show is rigged and you’re all jealous pigs,’ Whitney said.
A funny category involved the comedians making up Lesser Known TV Shows such as Bottom Chef and NCIS: Modesto
After Midnight takes over the time slot previously held by The Late Late Show with James Corden that was hosted by the British comedian, shown in April during his last episode
Aparna and Kurt in the final ‘For The Win’ part of the show were asked to create new holidays with the audience determining the winner.
‘Today is Harbor Day: A celebration of America’s Harbors, the parking lots of the sea. That’s Harbor Day, not Arbor Day. Everybody knows what a tree is, so why doesn’t Arbor Day just shut the f*** up and go with Tree Day. Sincerely, Harbor Day,’ was Kurt’s entry.
‘Ashley Wednesday. It’s Ash Wednesday, for girls with bangs,’ Aparna wrote for the second answer, which received the loudest applause from the audience.
After Midnight will air in the time slot that previously held The Late Late Show With James Corden, which came to an end last April after nine seasons on CBS.
