Richie’s Run
As the week wraps up with Richie Sambora‘s gig as house band for The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, The Hollywood Reporter has a great interview with Richie about being a fan of the show and how he jumped at the chance to be part of late-night television. They also have a nice collection of backstage photos from the week.

On Friday’s show, Denis Leary has some new lyrics to the Late Late Show theme. CBS was kind enough to send along a preview:

Video courtesy: CBS

Guest’s Perspective

In the years we’ve been following the Late Late Show, we have never seen an in-depth discussion about what it’s like to be a guest on the show. Actress Mayim Bialik wrote a fantastic piece for the website Kveller.com about her experience. Thanks to the RSA’s ever-vigilant @bgrhubarb for the link!



Backstage View
The president of Craig’s production company, Rebecca Tucker, tweeted a backstage photo with Craig and Richie:

I could get used to this pic.twitter.com/dYrvXMoV

Story Reaches Poland
Did the story of Miranda Kerr‘s visit with Craig on Monday’s show make it all the way to Poland?  Of course it did. Thanks to the RSA’s @keepintouch0 for the link.

Richie Backstage
In case you missed it, Entertainment Tonight talked with Craig and Richie backstage earlier this week, about the Late Late Show’s week-long experiment with having a house band.

Video courtesy: nashile

Tonight’s Guests
Friday on the Late Late Show, Craig welcomes actress Julie Delpy and actor Lamorne Morris, plus Richie Sambora is the Late Late Show house band.

CBS Super Bowl Plans
The 2013 Super Bowl in New Orleans will be broadcast on CBS on Sunday, February 3rd. The network has announced that it plans to host a week’s worth of events surrounding the big game, with coverage on many different shows, including the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. As we reported here a few months ago, Craig will be taping a special episode of the show to air immediately after your CBS station’s late local newscast following the game and an episode of the drama Elementary. We are told there will be a live audience for portions of the show but have not yet heard about tickets. Anyone considering traveling to New Orleans should be advised that plane tickets and hotel rooms may be very difficult to obtain because of all of the people visiting the city for the game and the party atmosphere surrounding it. As we hear more, we’ll keep you posted.

King’s Things
On Wednesday’s show, who would have guessed that Craig’s surprise mystery guest to sing the Late Late Show theme song along with Richie Sambora would be Larry King? We can’t wait to see that rock and roll tour, as long as Jon Bon Jovi doesn’t mind having a little competition.

Craig Around the World
One of our Euroskelly pals, the RSA’s @MissGraoully, found it amusing that the story of Miranda Kerr talking with Craig on Monday night has spread around the world, including France, Belgium, Greece, Spain, Germany, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Japan, as well as more English-language publications like the Times of India, OpposingViews.com, FashionNStyle.com, the HindustanTimes, DailyGlow.com, SplashNewsOnline.com, Cosmopolitan magazine, and Us Weekly.

Snake Christmas Gifts
The RSA’s @HoboRobot took a quick look around the Internet and was surprised to find all sorts of rattlesnake-related gifts. Craig would be proud.

Victim of Gravity
Craig recounts a story of falling from a horse.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Tonight’s Guests
Thursday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with actor/comedian Denis Leary. On Friday, Craig’s guests are actress Julie Delpy and actor Lamorne Morris, plus Richie Sambora is the Late Late Show house band all this week.

Miranda’s Underwear
We try to keep our eyes open for any news related to Craig Ferguson and the Late Late Show, including how the show is covered by the press. As Craig has often complained, the show doesn’t get a lot of publicity, so any time some media coverage comes along, it’s nice for the show. When it comes to attracting attention, a funny conversation with a guest might catch the attention of one or two media outlets. The new set was mentioned in a few places. Even Richie Sambora‘s week-long stint as the show’s house band was reported in three or four places. But that’s nothing compared to talking about model Miranda Kerr‘s underwear. As we mentioned in our most recent post, several outlets reported on her conversation with Craig about how wearing a little makeup and some nice underwear go a long way to keeping a marriage working.

That story just keeps rolling, as more websites and magazines report the story, including GossipCenter.com, Pedestrian.tv, Entertainment.ie, Handbag.com, IBTimes.co.uk, Vogue.co.uk, TheGloss.com, DigitalSpy.com, InStyle.co.uk, Canada’s Devine.ca, the UK’s New Magazine, the UK’s Daily Mail, Australia’s Courier Mail, the Huffington Post and People StyleWatch.

It appears a supermodel can give a super boost to media coverage.

Sambora Stint
Richie Sambora’s turn as the Late Late Show house band is getting some attention from Entertainment Tonight and Examiner.com.

NASCAR Notice
The folks at NASCAR’s Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee took note of Craig’s conversation Tuesday night with Reba McEntire, in which Craig said he wanted to watch a race at the track:

VID: From the @CBS Late Late Show, @CraigyFerg tells @reba he wants to visit Bristol for that mad #NASCAR race http://youtu.be/uPQAsQFdipI

Smashed Fingers
Craig smashes his fingers between his chair and the desk before reading tweets and emails.

Video courtesy: caseymnj

Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, Craig chats with actress Cheryl Hines and the host of public radio’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Peter Sagal. On Thursday, actor/comedian Denis Leary is in the studio, plus Richie Sambora is the Late Late Show house band all this week.

Sambora Rocks LLS
Richie Sambora kicked off his week leading the Late Late Show house band on Monday by performing the show’s theme song and sharing lead vocals with Craig Ferguson. Entertainment Tonight mentioned the pair’s rendition of the tune. As part of his week on the show, Sambora is running a Twitter contest, where answering questions about the show can win you prizes. He talks more about it on his website. To be clear, this is a contest being run by Sambora and his people, not by Craig, the LLS or us. To play, you need to follow Sambora’s tweets and follow his instructions. The contest wraps up on Saturday, when Sambora will use his Facebook page to ask about the music played on the show throughout the week. The winner gets and autographed guitar signed by Richie and Craig. Richie tweeted on Monday evening:

Amazing first night with my man @CraigyFerg…tune in you’ll laugh your ass off… pic.twitter.com/42PvDlF2

House Band Endorsement
Entertainment Weekly television critic Ken Tucker, a longtime fan of the Late Late Show, tweeted Tuesday that Richie Sambora’s appearance and Craig’s enjoyment in performing the show’s theme song is proof that the show should make a house band a permanent fixture:

@CraigyFerg really committed to the theme song last night: http://bit.ly/TFFmlZ  CBS, good argument for giving him a permanent house band.

Miranda Mentioned

Miranda Kerr‘s Monday appearance on the Late Late Show where she talked about modeling underwear for her husband is getting plenty of notice from PopSugar.com, Examiner.com, Entertainmentwise.com, JustJared.com, and OKMagazine.com.



The Standing Woman
Craig cracks himself up when a member of the audience keeps standing up.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Tonight’s Guests
Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig chats  with singer/actress Reba McEntire and comedian Keegan-Michael Key. On Wednesday, Craig welcomes back actress Cheryl Hines and a last-minute addition, radio host Peter Sagal, plus Richie Sambora is the Late Late Show house band all this week.

Guest Update
The host of public radio’s Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, Peter Sagal, will be a guest on Wednesday’s Late Late Show. He tweeted on Tuesday:

I’ll be on @CraigyFerg ‘s show tomorrow night. Since I’ve been watching Downtown Abbey, I plan to rock a frock. #rockafrock

You can see the most complete listings on our Guests page any time.

Richie Sambora Contest
All this week on the Late Late Show, rocker Richie Sambora will be Craig Ferguson‘s house band, and to celebrate, Sambora is holding a trivia contest for his Twitter followers and Facebook friends. He’ll be posting photos, video and questions to win prizes. On Twitter, each morning at 2pm ET, he’ll post a trivia question from the previous night’s show. The first person to answer correctly will win a signed CD and lithograph. And be sure to keep track of the songs that Richie will be playing on the show this week. He’ll have a contest on Facebook on Saturday and if you can correctly name eight or more songs that Richie played on the show, you’ll be entered to win a guitar signed by both Craig and Richie. Craig tweeted on Monday:

Shiny balls hanging from the tree & @TheRealSambora jamming in the studio with his band. It’s beginning to look a lot like Xmas #LeTitsNow

McEntire on Malibu and Music

Upcoming Late Late Show guest Reba McEntire recently gave an in-depth interview to AARP magazine about her new television show Malibu Country and her long career.





Key Unlocks Success
Upcoming guest Keegan-Michael Key‘s Comedy Central sketch show Key and Peele has been renewed for a third season. As Key tells the Huffington Post, the show owes some of its success to a strong online presence.

Bored Audience Guy
Craig is distracted by a bored member of the studio audience.

Video courtesy: Fergufool

Tonight’s Guests

Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig’s guests are actor/producer Seth MacFarlane and model Miranda Kerr. On Tuesday, Craig welcomes singer/actress Reba McEntire and comedian Keegan-Michael Key. Plus, Richie Sambora is the Late Late Show house band all this week.

Guest Update

The Late Late Show guest listings have been updated through December 13th, with the additions of Terry Fator, Dylan Moran and Beth Behrs. You can see the most up-to-date listings on our Guests page any time.

Sambora Sings
As originally envisioned by Craig Ferguson, rocker Richie Sambora would be performing on the show all week, naked and playing the harp. As it turns out, Craig won’t get everything he wanted but he will get Sambora as the show’s house band for the week of December 3rd through the 7th. Sambora and some friends will play in and out of commercial breaks on the show, as well as perform full songs from his upcoming album. The Late Late Show is the only late-night talk show without a house band, and while it’s likely to stay that way, this should be a fun week.

MacFarlane Makes Moves
Upcoming Late Late Show guest Seth MacFarlane is a busy guy.  The New York Daily News reports that he will be a guest voice on an upcoming episode of The Simpsons, Entertainment Weekly reports he is setting up a contest that could bring a student to the Oscars (which he will host), and oh yes, he’s solidifying plans to make a Family Guy movie.

Kerr Kicks

Upcoming guest Miranda Kerr is a Victoria’s Secret model and wife of actor Orlando Bloom. We’re wondering if Craig will be able to contain himself, knowing those two facts. As People Magazine explains, Miranda worked hard to be runway ready for Tuesday’s VS fashion show on CBS.


Hollywood Abbreviations
Craig talks about the secret of abbreviating the names of Hollywood stars, to prove that you’re a celebrity insider.

Video courtesy: u27v

This Week’s Guests
Enjoy a week of all-new episodes of the Late Late Show, featuring Richie Sambora as the show’s house band all week. The official guest list, which we anticipate will be expanded, includes  actor/producer Seth MacFarlane and model Miranda Kerr on Monday. On Tuesday, Craig chats with actress Reba McEntire. Wednesday’s listing includes only Sambora but more guests are tentatively scheduled for taping. On Thursday, watch for actor/comedian Denis Leary. And on Friday, Craig welcomes actress Julie Delpy. As more names are added to the list, we’ll update them here and on our Guests page.

Craig Talks Downton Abbey
In this week’s edition of Entertainment Weekly magazine, Craig Ferguson writes a brief story about his appreciation for the drama Downton Abbey. Although he has criticized the second and third seasons of the show, he was charitable in the article:

[stextbox id=”custom”]I started watching it after Christmas last year on DVD when I was in the old country. I came late to the party. It’s fascinating because there is a little bit of how the other half used to live — and it’s reassuring how that feudal society no longer exists. I would have been a servant in Downton Abbey, and my people, if allowed in, would have been cleaning the chimneys. The fact that the first episode began with the sinking of the Titanic was so clever because it was a moment in time when there was still a class system, which was thought to be so disgust8ing. It was a huge scandal at the time, how many first-class passengers survived versus the others on the ship. I suppose, to be honest, I want to think of myself as the glamorous Turkish lover who died in bed with Lady Mary in the first season, but I’m probably more like Mr. Bates, the valet who killed or didn’t kill his wife. Whenever I see an out-of-shape guy who is a bit wiggly around the edges but who is found sexy by women, I’m encouraged.[/stextbox]

It was recently announced that Downton Abbey has been renewed for a fourth season. The third season has already aired in the UK and is due to appear on PBS stations in the United States beginning in January. Our thanks to @sjump54 for the heads up and @bgrhubarb for the photo!

Finding Foxx
On Friday, while taping guest interviews for future shows, Craig tweeted that he enjoyed meeting actor Jamie Foxx:

I met @Iamjamiefoxx today. What a nice gent!

He added that he met TV host/producer Kevin Pereira as well:

I also was introduced to the splendid @kpereira today too. I think I’ll fire my old pals & ask him & @iamjamiefoxx to be my new ones.

Bridger Tweets
Late Late Show production assistant Bridger Winegar tweets funny things about life, including this gem:

Starting to worry that my whole life has been a truth

December Birthdays

Saturday, December 1st is the birthday of actress Mary Martin, actor/director Woody Allen, comedian Richard Pryor and singer/actress Bette Midler. Sunday, December 2nd is the birthday of opera singer Maria Callas, actress Lucy Liu, tennis player Monica Seles and singer Britney Spears. Here is The Divine Miss M singing along with Johnny Carson:

Video courtesy: Johnny Carson

Guest Update

Added to the list of future Late Late Show guests is Kristen Stewart. You can find the most up-to-date listings on our Guests page.