After Midnight is ending its run after two seasons, marking the end of two eras at CBS: one for the show and another for its time slot.
Host Taylor Tomlinson is exiting the late-night panel show, Deadline reports, and the network does not plan to replace the host—or the show.
“Hosting After Midnight has genuinely been the experience of a lifetime, and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of this incredible journey,” Tomlinson said in a statement.” Though it was an extremely tough decision, I knew I had to return to my first passion and return to stand-up touring full-time.”
After Midnight’s executive producer and lead-in Stephen Colbert supported Tomlinson’s decision in a statement of his own.
“While we were excited and grateful for our third season to start in the fall, we respect Taylor’s decision to return to stand-up full time,” he said. “I want to thank CBS for their constant support and invaluable partnership on After Midnight and the whole staff for their amazing dedication.”
Tomlinson echoed that sentiment, saying “I appreciate CBS, Stephen Colbert, the producers, and the entire After Midnight staff and crew for all the love, support, and unforgettable memories.”
After Midnight first debuted on the network in January 2024, taking the 12:35 AM time slot following Colbert’s Late Show. It was renewed for a second season just five months later. According to Deadline, CBS had renewed the program for a third season prior to Tomlinson’s exit, but a public announcement had not yet been made.
CBS reportedly will not replace After Midnight with any new programming.
That development is the latest blow to late night as ratings and revenues on linear TV continue to decline. NBC slashed budgets for its two nightly shows, forcing Late Night with Seth Meyers to cut its house band, while The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon stopped airing new episodes on Friday nights.
CBS had introduced After Midnight itself as a less expensive alternative to traditional late-night programming. The show, adapted from Comedy Central’s 2013-2017 series @midnight, replaced The Late Late Show with James Corden after James Corden stepped down in 2023.
That move had marked the end of a 28-year run for the Late Late Show franchise. Now with CBS’ decision to not air original programming in the post-Colbert time slot, the network’s 12:30 hour will be vacant of any new late-night programming for the first time in three decades, when The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder debuted.
Tomlinson has maintained a very active standup comedy career while hosting After Midnight. She has often said that one of the most appealing aspects of the hosting job was her ability to continue touring as a comic. After Midnight typically tapes its entire four-episode week on Mondays through Wednesdays, allowing Tomlinson to travel for shows on weekends.
After Midnight is expected to continue with its second and final season through June.
That’s a shame. As a fan of the original @midnight, I was very excited when I heard it would return. I thought Taylor was an excellent choice as host. Personally, I felt the show would have been better suited at a half hour like its original show, and the frequent format changes probably didn’t help form a groove with the audience. Plus, it never seemed to get the same viewership other late night shows receive on YouTube. I read several years ago that TBS was concerned about decreased ad revenue from shifting Conan down to a half hour, so maybe that played a role in After Midnight being a full hour. Still, I wonder if this truly is the end of original programming for 12:30 late night on CBS. ABC seems to be doing fine with Nightline, and Seth Meyers has been a consistent 12:30 ratings leader, however I wonder if that truly is the case financially these days. CBS decided to green-light After Midnight as it was a cheaper show to produce than The Late Late Show predecessors, but I think a return to the format of TLLS’s original host Tom Snyder or Later’s Bob Costas would be valued and certainly cheaper. Still, like its competition, I wonder if any investment in the time slot just isn’t financially feasible.
I’m really sad. I love Taylor Tomlinson. I hope she lands somewhere accessible soon.
You can’t actually believe that….it’s just a lame PR move.
Like how Amber Ruffin “comedy” was cancelled, but NBC never actually officially announced she was cancelled.
Buried the lede. “Show renewed for third season; host quits” … is the story
The hour could have been re-formatted back into something like Tomorrow was. With long form interview podcasts being popular, something cheap and apolitical could have been created but interesting with the right host. Tired of all these late nights shows being politically driven and the smugness is unbearable. Colbert and Kimmel alienate half their potential audience and Gutfeld isn’t his RedEye humor anymore. Leno was vanilla most nights but he left his opinions in his dressing room. Carson did too and that’s why late night is dying now.
There’s no way Carson would’ve held his tongue in today’s surreal political freak show. It would be un-American, like siding with a ruthless Russian dictator, arresting non-violent protestors, ignoring court decisions, dismantling the federal government, and threatening news media that exposes political corruption.
The show was a pathetic mess. A bizarre combination of a truly awful game show with a bunch of third rate comedians attempting to make jokes about what their answers were.
It’s a shame that Colbert put such an engaging personality like Tomlinson into this disaster.
Will miss the intro to Comics I was unfamilliar with 💔
❤️❤️❤️ to ALL COMICS!!!
Thanks for all your hard work, committment, and sharing your HUMOR!!!
The show was garbage anyway. good riddance.
I want Chris Hardwick to return as host. Return @Midnight to its glory.
Chelsea Handler is available for a Late Night spot.