From New Orleans to Vegas
In the span of less than a week Craig Ferguson is spending time in two of America’s most beloved cities for parties and good times. After a fun-filled week in New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Craig will be in Las Vegas this weekend for two shows at the Venetian Resort Hotel and Casino. Seats are still available for both shows. And later this month, Craig will be appearing in Wisconsin and in Michigan. You can find the dates, times and links to tickets on our Live Comedy Tour page.
Family Ties
Craig’s sister, actress/writer/comedienne Lynn Ferguson started blogging back in January and always has interesting things to say. In a recent post, she reflected on her family, struggles and survival.
[pullquote]”He’ll definitely be one of the highest regarded late night hosts ever when his time is done.”
– Independent Film Channel[/pullquote] Legends of Late Night
The Independent Film Channel has named its top 10 legends of late-night comedy, and guess who made the list. In the article, they say “He’ll definitely be one of the highest regarded late night hosts ever when his time is done.”
Marathon Man
Craig rants about marathons and fitness:
Video courtesy: ParanoidFellow
Tonight’s Guests
Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig chats with actor David Boreanaz and actress Alison Becker. On Wednesday, Craig welcomes actress Emmy Rossum and author Jon Ronson.
Olivia Wilde
Guest Update
The listings for future guests have been updated to include Jon Cryer, Keith Olbermann, Christina Hendricks and Olivia Wilde. You can find the most complete listings on our Guests page.
Big Night in the Big Easy Craig Ferguson is smiling and so is everyone at CBS, after a Super Bowl Sunday to remember. It was an exciting game that was close at the end, it was a good year for touching and funny commercials and it was a successful night for the network, despite the 34-minute delay thanks to a power outage. The game was the third most-watched ever, and while we rarely talk about ratings, it’s worth noting that the Late Late Show special had it’s second-largest audience ever, drawing nearly triple the number of viewers it gets on a typical night, hopefully introducing a new audience to the craziness of the show. Which LLS had the biggest audience ever? Craig’s 2007 Super Bowl special, which aired earlier in the evening that night.
Super Blackout Of course, the biggest story of the game was when in the early part of the third quarter, half the lights in the stadium suddenly went dark.
Craig & Company had already taped some segments in Los Angeles nine days earlier, taped more segments on the streets of New Orleans on Monday and Tuesday, as reported by Hollywood.com, and recorded the guest interview segments on the CBS stage on Wednesday. They even taped two beginnings of the monologue; one to use if San Francisco won, the other to use if Baltimore won, so the start of the show could look as “live” as possible. The show’s editors were standing by to insert the correct part as soon as they knew who won the game, with plenty of time to get the final version to New York for broadcast later that night.
But when the lights went out, it was Craig who had a light-bulb moment. Inspired by the comedic situation, he huddled with the crew, recruited actress Lucy Liu from the CBS VIP seats at the game, went “backstage” at the Superdome and recorded an entirely new, improvised start to the show.
Craig tweeted:
You might as well know the truth.
Late Late Show producer Michael Naidus explained:
True story: ad-libbed cold open conceived by @craigyferg, filmed in 3rd Qtr at Superdome…tape traveled by pedicab to transmission room. // Big thank you to awesome folks at NFL Films for helping make our show…right up to the last minute.
And the voice of Geoff Peterson, Josh Robert Thompson, added:
Uh oh. Looks like the SuperDome is using the same battery as @GeoffTheRobot.
The moment became one of the most talked about highlights of the Super Bowl festivities on Monday morning, as the clip was shown on morning newscasts around the country. Plenty of media outlets wrote stories about it as well, including Newsday, and TV Worth Watching. In case you had to fall asleep early and missed it, here it is:
Video courtesy: CBS
Tonight’s Guests Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guests are actress Zooey Deschanel and actor Adhir Kalyan. On Tuesday, there’s been a schedule change, and the guests will be actor David Boreanaz and actress Alison Becker. Wednesday’s lineup stays the same with actress Emmy Rossum and author Jon Ronson. Then on Thursday, we’ll see the guests originally planned for earlier in the week, actress Amanda Peet and musician Paul Williams. Finally on Friday, watch for actor Alfred Molina and previously-bumped radio host/comedienne Ophira Eisenberg.
Sutton Foster
Guest Update
The guest listings have been updated through February 14th, including new additions George Lopez and Sutton Foster. You can see most complete listings on our Guests page any time.
Super Bowl Note: Due to an extended power outage at the Superdome in New Orleans during the third quarter of the Super Bowl, the CBS program schedule was pushed back further than expected on Sunday evening. Post-game coverage wrapped up at 11:11pm ET, which meant an episode of the CBS drama Elementary ended at about 12:11am ET and late local news ran another 35 minutes. That meant Craig’s Super Bowl special should began at approximately 12:46am ET/11:46pm CT/10:46pm MT.
In the Pacific time zone, stations will ran Elementary, followed by The Good Wife, then local news and then Craig, so he was scheduled to appear at about 11:46pm PT, only be 16 minutes later than planned in the West.
Additional Note: The Late Late Show may have aired even later “in your region” due to local Sunday night programs such as sports recaps. Consult your local listings for specifics.
We will keep you posted and tweet updated times as soon as we hear about them. Be sure to follow us @RSA_News. Thanks to Craig’s tour manager Phil Cottone for snapping a photo of Craig at the Super Bowl halftime show!
Welcome to New Orleans
As Craig Ferguson brings the Late Late Show to New Orleans for a post-Super Bowl special, robot skeleton sidekick Geoff Peterson invites us to his place for beads and swimming.
Video courtesy: CBS
Craig at NFL Honors
Although official word was sent out very late, Craig did appear Saturday evening as a presenter at the second annual NFL Honors, hosted by Alec Baldwin.
Kathy on Craig, Craig on Kathy
After being spanked on the Late Late Show last week (as dutifully reported by the Huffington Post and others), comedienne Kathy Griffin has invited Craig to appear on her talk show on the Bravo network on Thursday, February 7th. Craig will appear along with talk show host Larry King in a round-table discussion with Kathy.
Video courtesy: Bravo
Craig on The Talk
In case you missed it, here is Craig’s full appearance on The Talk earlier this week, thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb.
Video courtesy: bgrhubarb
Drew Brees
Tonight’s Guests
Sunday night on CBS following the Super Bowl, an episode of Elementary and your late local news, stay tuned for the Late Late Show Super Bowl Special, featuring actor Steve Carell, actor Channing Tatum, TV host Julie Chen, actor Neil Patrick Harris, actress Nikki Reed, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
This Week’s Guests
Adhir Kalyan
It’s another week of all-new episodes of the Late Late Show, beginning Monday with actress Zooey Deschanel and actor Adhir Kalyan. On Tuesday, Craig welcomes actress Amanda Peet and musician Paul Williams. On Wednesday, Craig’s guests are actress Emmy Rossum and author Jon Ronson. On Thursday, the guests have yet to be announced by CBS but we will post an update on our Guests page as soon as we hear from them. And on Friday, Craig chats with actor Alfred Molina.
Craig Tries Oysters Craig Ferguson got into the culinary spirit of the Gulf Coast on Saturday, and decided to try oysters for the first time. He tweeted:
He also tweeted about upcoming guest Channing Tatum:
If you hang out with Channing Tatum & have beads you can see wonderful things in New Orleans#alsoscareythings
Geoff Gets Repaired
The MythbustersGrant Imahara tweeted Saturday that he has fixed Geoff Peterson, after the robot sidekick’s unusual slowdown this past week:
Craig Talks Football
Craig spent some more time with radio host Jim Rome, talking about the game.
Video courtesy: CBS Sports
Craig Interviewed About The Game
Craig has been interviewed several times in the past week about Sunday’s big game.
Video courtesy: CBS Sports
Sunday’s Guests Sunday night on CBS following the Super Bowl, an episode of Elementary and your late local news, stay tuned for the Late Late Show Super Bowl Special, featuring actor Steve Carell, actor Channing Tatum, TV host Julie Chen, actor Neil Patrick Harris, actress Nikki Reed, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Big Show in the Big Easy Craig Ferguson & Company spent the week new New Orleans, taping segments for Sunday night’s Super Bowl special, which will air after your late local news on February 3rd. While in the city, Craig tweeted up a storm:
Once the taping was wrapped up on Wednesday night, the Late Late Show crew stayed in town for a while to absorb the atmosphere of Mardi Gras and the pre-Super Bowl festivities. Craig was enjoying his stay so much, he decided to get another tattoo (or possibly two, since he believes an odd number of tattoos is best).
twitpic.com/bzxbx1Â Anyone requiring a tattoo in N.O. would be well advised to visit these fine people at Electric Ladyland. #moreink
He even tweeted a comment from the tattoo artist:
“I have no idea who y’are but y’all seem too cool to be on TV” Ed – Tattoo artist @Eltnola New Orleans. #bestcomplimentever
The tattoo shop tweeted about the visit:
ow.ly/i/1sbvt got to tattoo Craig Ferguson tonight! He and his crew all got tattooed and were generally awesome!
And Rebecca Tucker tweeted at the end of the evening:
Later, Craig set the scene as he relaxed in the hotel lobby, listening to music.
In hotel lobby in N.O. People watching, feeling new ink burn & listening to “Drugs” from Talking Heads Fear of Music. #psychokiller
The Late Late Show knows how to have a good time!
Nikki Tapes with Craig
Actress Nikki Reed will be on the Super Bowl special and liked hanging out with Craig, taping segments for the show, as JustJared.com reported.
Craig and Secretariat on ‘The Talk’
BroadwayWorld.com reported on Craig’s visit this week to the CBS daytime show The Talk, and how he brought Secretariat along.
Big Easy Ready for Craig
The New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper put together a great profile of Craig and the Late Late Show to preview the Super Bowl special. They also posted several pictures about the upcoming show.
Craig Discovers the Power of Beads
Craig was interviewed on the local New Orleans CBS television station this week and talked to the reporter about the phenomenon of beads in the Big Easy.
Video courtesy: keepintouch0
Tonight’s Guests
Friday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks football with Joe Theismann and catches up with reality TV personality and fellow pilot Ariel Tweto. Don’t forget, on Sunday, following the Super Bowl, Elementary and your late local news, watch for the Late Late Show Super Bowl Special, featuring actor Steve Carell, actor Channing Tatum, TV host Julie Chen, actor Neil Patrick Harris, actress Nikki Reed, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Tonight’s Guests
Julie Andrews
The guest listings for the Late Late Show have been updated through February 13th, including Zooey Deschanel, Adhir Kalyan, Amanda Peet, Paul Williams, Emmy Rossum, Jon Ronson, Alfred Molina, Julie Andrews, Grace Park, Ted Danson, Teresa Palmer, Russell Brand and actress Allison Williams plus future guests Actor David Boreanaz, Ophira Eisenberg, George Lopez, William Shatner. Molly Shannon. Mike Tyson and David Duchovny. You can see the latest, most complete listings on our Guests page.
CBS Ready in New Orleans
For it’s week of special programming leading up to Sunday’s Super Bowl, CBS has transformed a plaza in New Orleans into a broadcast center. The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is based there for the week, along with the network’s daytime show The Talk, several morning and evening newscasts, plus Face the Nation on Sunday, while most of the sports coverage will be based at the football stadium. The New Orleans Times-Picayune has more on the transformation of Jackson Square.
New Orleans Trivia New Orleans in recent years has been defined by its remarkable progress in recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. About 485,000 people lived in the city prior to the storm. A Census Bureau estimate in 2006 showed just 223,000 people living in the city, but that number grew to an estimated 360,000 by 2012. There is still a huge amount of work to be done in the hardest-hit areas, especially hampered by the economy in recent years, but the reconstruction of New Orleans continues to progress with an undiminished spirit.
Winter Secret Entrance
The RSA’s @hoborobot found the secret northeastern entrance to the hollowed-out volcano.
Mind Control
Craig uses mind control on viewers:
Video courtesy: Fergufool
Tonight’s Guests
Thursday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes actress Rashida Jones, actress Julie Gonzalo. On Friday, Craig looks ahead to the Super Bowl with football analyst Joe Theismann and talks with reality TV personality Ariel Tweto.
New Orleans Trivia
If you had to guess which city had more entries in the National Register of Historic Places, would you choose New York City, Washington, DC, Boston or New Orleans? The answer is New Orleans, with 35,000 structures on the list, far more than the 15,000 in Washington, DC, the city’s closest competitor. As an international port and center of commerce since its founding in 1718 and before, New Orleans remains a important American city.
Doctor Who Returns in March
The BBC has announced that series 7 of Doctor Who will resume on BBC America on March 30th. Author Neil Gaiman is writing one of the episodes, which is due to air on May 11th. The Huffington Post reported on the announcement and posted a preview (contains mild spoilers).
Lynn on Lance
Craig’s sister Lynn Ferguson wrote a recent blog post about Lance Armstrong and the value of telling the truth.
Craig on Baldness
Craig talks about baldness, and later talks about where is own bald spot came from:
Video courtesy: ParanoidFellow
Video courtesy: Fergufool
Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, enjoy actor Dominic Monaghan and actress Ellie Kemper. On Thursday, Craig’s guests are actress Rashida Jones and actress Julie Gonzalo.
