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That Fresh, New Studio Smell
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is making history, with the debut of the show from its new home, Studio 56 at CBS Television City on Monday night.  Even though the show is only moving across the hall, there is excitement in the air, as the show settles in to a new, larger stage with a bigger audience and dare we say it, better lighting.  The show’s new look will be getting plenty of attention but as Craig has been saying ever since the new studio was announced, the feel of the show will remain unchanged.  He tweeted on Monday:

Don’t worry everyone. Even though my show is in a new studio starting tonight, the essential crappiness will remain unchanged. #keepcalm

He then sent out a series of tweets about the new studio with pictures:

twitpic.com/aodspx  What every late night show needs. A stable for the dancing horse. #newstudio

twitpic.com/aodt9m  Geoff chillin by a roaring (photograph of a) fire. #newstudio

twitpic.com/aodtq2  Notskeleton Jeff (stage management ) does pretend surfing on the shiny new floor #newstudio #tonight

I’m using my 1000th tweet to announce Lesbian Row will be doubled in size in the new studio. #morelesbiansnotbiggerones #wellmaybe #tonight

1st show in new studio. @IMKristenBell sure is pretty when you see her with the lights on. Show still crap though thank goodness.

And LLS Producer Michael Naidus summed it up with this tweet:

First show in the new studio tonight … I like Craig’s take: “We still suck, but it’s louder and brighter in here.”

Craig in NYC
In case you missed our breaking news tweets last week, Craig is going to appear live and in person at the Paley Center for Media in New York City on Thursday, October 4th at 6:30pm, where he will be interviewed by Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times. Tickets are on sale now. You can find the link on our Live Comedy Tour page. There, you’ll also find links to tickets for all of Craig’s live stand up comedy performances this fall, including two recently-added shows at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC on November 16th. Our thanks to the RSA’s @Timurous and others for letting us know about the Paley Center event!

New Special, Ticket Contest
LiveNation, the company handling Craig’s shows at in Washington, DC, confirms the shows will be taped for a future live comedy special, which would be Craig’s third. In the past, he was taped two performances on the same night, and the best parts are woven together to create the special. We have heard no other details about the special, such as what it will be called, which media outlets will be first to broadcast it or when DVDs will become available but as always, once we hear more details, we’ll be sure to let you know. And if you live in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virgina or West Virginia, you can enter a radio station contest to win tickets to see Craig at the Warner Theatre. Again, you MUST be a resident of DC or the states mentioned to be eligible, as per the radio station’s contest rules.

The Audience Machine
Now that Craig & Company have a larger studio, they have a larger “audience machine.” In the early days of the show, some people speculated that there was no studio audience for the show and instead a “laugh track” of pre-recorded laughter was used. To prove them wrong, Craig invited the entire audience on stage one night and regretted it almost immediately:

Video courtesy: melissa133012

Tonight’s Guests
Monday on the Late Late Show, Craig “Kristens” the all-new Studio 56 at CBS Television City with a perennial favorite guest, actress Kristen Bell and some advice from Regis Philbin.  On Tuesday, watch for TV/radio host Larry King and comedienne Michelle Buteau breaks in the new comedy stage.

Studio 56 Debuts Monday Night

After an extended August break, all-new episodes of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson return on Monday, August 27th, from Studio 56 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. Both the set and audience section will be significantly larger and include a new entrance for Craig and his guests, new furniture, a stable for Secretariat and a few surprises! Craig tweeted:

Back in LA.Nice to be in the old smoggy dirt bucket again. Btw Old Smoggy Dirtbucket was the 1st folk/gangsta rap mashup act. #trueornottrue

The RSA’s @melaniejade_, who is a regular audience member at the Late Late Show, had a chance to attend one of the test tapings of the show last week and told us what she saw of the new stage. Note: There are some mild spoilers in her story, so if you’d rather wait to see Monday’s show, just skip this part. Otherwise, click on the arrow below and read on. We thank her for sending us her story!

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”First impressions of Studio 56″]First Impressions of Studio 56

Around 3 p.m. they started letting us in and go through security and sit down which normally doesn’t happen until 3:30, so I was stoked. Not that many people came and there were a few people from out of town that did that were upset because they didn’t realize Craig wasn’t going to be there. Mostly, though, it was regulars and some friends of Ben Dukes, who he even brought on to interview.

The chairs were new and “squeaky” and it really amused Ryan [from the show’s audience services company]. They weren’t that squeaky though; I tried to make them squeak.

The new studio seats about 140 people and the old one held about 96 so that’s not a big upgrade if you think about it but it’s substantial enough where it was SUPER exciting. And it’s not as cold as the old one which made me happy.

The studio itself is just beautiful. Wood-looking floors and walls, a picture of Los Angeles not Reno, a barn/stable for Secretariat, a fake fire behind Geoff (who doesn’t have a wire anymore), and a center entrance for Craig to come out of like Leno. There will be no more moving the desk around because the stage is actually big enough to let everything sit! Honestly, my descriptions can’t do it justice. And there are lights! Sorta. I think it was too dark around Secretariat; it looked fine in person but on the monitor it looked really dark and bad, making Josh [the voice of Geoff Peterson, Josh Robert Thompson] say “He looks like a serial killer.”

Ben Dukes [who played the role of host for the test shows] looked nervous but he nailed everything and gave it 110%. Josh was very supportive and encouraged him to shine. I think Ben is normally a very funny guy but you could see he was kinda nervous but he really nailed it in my opinion.

Since there was a lot of down time in between each segment, one of the writers did trivia questions to give away mugs and t-shirts and acted as the warm up guy (I missed Chunky B., though to be honest). There were only 33 of us in the audience, plus all the crew. It was super intimate and exciting. Since most people were regulars or friends of people on stage it was a very forgiving, welcoming and friendly audience. I met the guy who made the Sid with the glowing eyes… he said it was a thank you gift to one of the production members for something or other.

After I went to say “Hi” to Josh. It’s harder to talk to him at the new studio because the audience is higher up and it’s just awkward to shout over the exit music.

Anyway, since it was a test show and not a real show it wasn’t really filmed for air but I kinda wish they would air it or put it online because it was just so bizarre and full of small things I think super fans would enjoy, even if they did use an old monologue.

It was my 37th taping, though that wasn’t exactly a taping I still want to count it or at least half count it, and I think it was easily a top five even if it wasn’t a real show.[/stextbox]

Sid’s Eyes
Do you remember Sid with the glowing eyes? We do:

Video courtesy: DrPinch2190

Craig’s Mentor Interviewed
Craig is one of many, many people in television who owe at least some part of the success to Peter Lassally. He is the Executive Producer of the Late Late Show and before he took that job, he had already led what could be considered several remarkable lifetimes. National Public Radio’s Scott Simon interviewed Lassally for Weekend Edition Saturday. Thanks to @michaelnaidus, @mark_ca and many others for passing this along!

This Week’s Guests

Michelle Buteau

Hooray and huzzah!  All-new episodes of the Late Late Show have returned, from the all-new Studio 56 at CBS Television City.  The week kicks off with a tour of the new studio and one of Craig’s favorite guests, actress Kristen Bell.  Tuesday, Craig talks with TV/radio host Larry King and we’ll see a performance on the new stage by comedienne Michelle Buteau.  Wednesday, actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan and actress Fiona Gubelmann will be on the show, and Craig chats with actress Lisa Kudrow on Thursday.  Then on Friday, Craig welcomes back actor Seth Green and Broadway actress Sutton Foster whose upcoming appearance was mentioned by BroadwayWorld.com, which also talked about the show’s new home in Studio 56.

Guest Update

Monica Potter

With several weeks of new episodes on tap, the guest listings have been updated to include Kathy Griffin, Tedeschi Trucks Band, actor Jeremy Irons, actress Monica Potter, Nick Griffin, Marc Maron, Angela Kinsey, The Heavy, Jeff Goldblum, Heather Graham and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. You can see the most up-to-date listings any time on our Guests page.

[stextbox id=”custom”]Programming Reminder: Because CBS has the rights to the NFL’s American Football Conference games throughout the fall season, there will be times that games delay the Late Late Show “in your region.” Most of the games fall on Sundays but for those that happen during the week, we don’t always hear about delays in specific markets. Whenever we are notified, we’ll be sure to pass along news of any delays.[/stextbox]

See Craig Interviewed Live
Craig Ferguson will make a special appearance at the Paley Center for Media in New York on Thursday, October 4th at 6:30pm, where he will be interviewed by Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times. Tickets are on sale now for members of the Paley Center and go on sale Wednesday, August 22nd at noon for non-members.

You can find the link on our Live Comedy Tour page. There, you’ll also find links to tickets for all of Craig’s live stand up comedy performances this fall, including two recently-added shows at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC on November 16th. Our thanks to the RSA’s @Timurous and others for letting us know!

Practice Shows
For those in the greater Los Angeles area, tickets are still available to see the two practice shows in the new studio at CBS Television City on August 22nd and 23rd. Also, a few tickets have been released for the first official show in Studio 56 on Monday, August 27th. Get them while they last!

Craig in DC to Tape New Special
Craig Ferguson is coming back to the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC for two live stand up comedy performances on Friday, November 16 at 7pm and 10pm. Find links to both shows on our Live Comedy Tour page and use the presale code HORNS to get your tickets before the general public. LiveNation, which is handling ticket sales for the shows, confirms that both shows will be taped and the best parts woven together to become Craig’s next comedy special!

Ticket Contest
If you live in Washington, DC, Maryland, Virgina or West Virginia, you can enter a radio station contest to win tickets to see Craig at the Warner Theatre. Again, you MUST be a resident of DC or the states mentioned to be eligible, as per the radio station’s contest rules.

Guest Update

Nick Griffin

On Friday, August 24th, we’ll get to see the August 8th episode (the final episode taped in Studio 58) one more time, featuring comedian/podcaster the @Nerdist Chris Hardwick and actress Carla Gugino. New episodes from Studio 56 at CBS Television City begin on Monday, August 27th. Also added to the list of upcoming guests is comedian Nick Griffin. You can see the complete listings on our Guests page.

Final Show From Studio 58
Wednesday night’s episode of the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson is the show’s final episode from Studio 58 at CBS Television City. The show is moving across the hall to a larger stage in Studio 56, where new episodes will debut on August 27th. In Wednesday’s monologue, Craig said:
[stextbox id=”custom”]“Seven years of me complaining about what a dump this place is. Finally somebody at CBS heard me. And today they sent me a little note. It said ‘Looking forward to the next chapter in our relationship.’ It kind of bothered me though because they wrote my name over Katie Couric’s.”

“I have a lot of fond memories here. There was the time the power went out. And then, the time the roof leaked. And then, the other time the power went out, again. But now we’re moving down the hall, where it has the exact same electrical system and the exact same roof. We’ll be livin’ the dream!”

“One thing that’s exciting, we’re gonna have a bigger audience. It won’t really make a difference; it’ll just be more people not laughing. But the new studio’s gonna be super high tech. We’ll have these new fancy gadgets they have at all the TV shows now, they’re called ‘lights’.”[/stextbox]

Two test shows will be taped August 22nd and 23rd to make sure the sets, lighting, camera angles and other elements of the show are ready to go. Craig will not be hosting those test shows but we have been told studio bouncer/singer Ben Dukes and others will be filling in to give the technical crews a chance to practice before the new shows begin.  Actor Jonathan Kite, writer/producer Damian Beurer, actor Chris Elwood and comedian Brian Scolaro have volunteered to be the guests for the test shows, when they will check out how the monologue area, host desk, guest chairs, stand up comedian performance area, band background and even a cooking segment will look in the new space.

Tickets for the first show on August 27th featuring actress Kristen Bell are sold out but tickets are still available for Tuesday’s show with Larry King.  More guests will be added soon.

One More Studio 58 Memory

The RSA’s @SheriVig shares her favorite memory of Studio 58:

[stextbox id=”custom”]Fun story some of you may know, but thought I would share my best memory of studio 58.

In January of 2010 I decided I wanted a new tattoo. Since I am such a big fan of Craig, I decide to get something that represented the Craig and LLS. I had Craig’s saying “Tomorrows just your future yesterday” tattoo on my neck. A few weeks later I went to a taping and as anyone who has ever been to a taping knows, Chunky hangs out afterward and thanks you for coming. Well as I was leaving I stopped to show Chunky my new tattoo, he had recognized me from having come to many previous tapings. He was beside himself to see that I actually tattooed Craig’s saying. I told him that I would love to get Craig to sign it and then I would have his signature tattooed. He said that the next time I came to the show he would get Craig’s attention and we could show him. Sure enough two weeks later, after the monologue, Craig started to talk with the audience and sure enough Chunky told him that we had something to show him.

He had me go down to the edge of the audience where I was able to show Craig this tattoo. It was awesome. He read it out loud, looked at Michael (producer) and said, “She really has that tattooed.” I told him that I needed to give him credit because it was his saying and if he would sign it I would get his signature tattooed. He was like “No way!” I told him oh yes I would, which he proceeded to say, “What the f*** it’s your neck.” Michael handed him a Sharpe and someone brought out a stool for Craig because the audience, as you know, it much higher and I held up my hair as he signed my neck just under the first tattoo. I was pretty much in shock. After he finished I turned around and thought this was a great chance to get to shake his hand. Oh no, he hugged me. “Holy crap, I’m being hugged by Craig Ferguson,” was all I could think. It was very hard to sit in my seat the rest of the show. Sixteen hours later I was getting his signature tattooed. I saw Craig about a month later after a stand up show; I showed him his tattooed signature. He was very impressed, but couldn’t believe I had actually done it. Now whenever I see him he remembers me as the tattooed woman.[/stextbox]

A Brave Review
The Independent reviews Brave, ahead of its UK release on August 17th.

Mmmbop
Enjoy a little bit of Hanson’s “Mmmbop” as performed by Craig & Company.

Video courtesy: caseymnj

Tonight’s Guests
Wednesday on the Late Late Show, it’s the final episode from Studio 58!  Craig welcomes comedian and podcaster the @Nerdist Chris Hardwick and actress Carla Gugino.  Encore presentations begin on Thursday and run through August 24th.  On Thursday, we’ll see the May 29th show with actor DJ Qualls and chef Wolfgang Puck.   And on Friday, watch for the June 19th episode with actor Steve Carell and author Don Winslow.

Guest Update
The guest list for the rest of the August break has been posted.

Sloane Crosley

For the week of August 13th-17th:  On Monday, it’s the June 21st show with actor Jeff Daniels and author John Irving.  On Tuesday, we’ll see the June 22nd episode with actor Mark Wahlberg and author Sloane Crosley. Wednesday’s show is from June 26th with actor William Shatner and actor Breckin Meyer.  Actor Tyler Perry and comedian by Matt Kirshen are Craig’s guests on Thursday, from June 29th.  And on Friday, it’s the July 16th episode with TV host Julie Chen and actor Chris Messina.

Ariel Tweto

For the week of August 20th-24th:  Monday, watch for the July 31st show with actress Rosie Perez.  On Tuesday, we’ll see the August 2nd episode with actress Rashida Jones and actress Julie Delpy.  On Wednesday, it will be the June 27th show with actress Lisa Kudrow and producer Harvey Weinstein.  Actor Emile Hirsch and reality TV Personality Ariel Tweto are Craig’s guests on Thursday from the July 26th episode.  And Friday’s show is to be announced.   New episodes from Studio 56 begin on Monday, August 27th.  As always, you can see the most up-to-date listsings on our Guests page.

August Break
[stextbox id=”custom” bgcolor=DBF7D8]As the re-run fairy takes over for the next dozen shows, we will be taking a break.  We will return on August 27th when the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson debuts from its new home in Studio 56 at CBS Television City.  As always, we will keep the guest listings up to date and if any Craig or LLS-related breaking news happens between now and then, we will be sure to post it here, on Facebook and on Twitter.  To all of our loyal readers, contributors and friends, thank you for your wonderful support.  We couldn’t do it without you![/stextbox]

Meet and Greet
For those of you traveling to see Craig Ferguson perform live at the Venetian in Las Vegas September 13th-15th, we have been told by the resort that VIP ticket holders will be invited to a meet and greet after each show.  This is a rare opportunity these days, as Craig tends to depart the venue quickly after most of his shows.  To take part in the meet and greet you must be a VIP ticket holder.   Details are available by clicking the link on our Live Comedy Tour page or by calling the Venetian box office.

A Studio 58 Memory
The RSA’s @riddispesso remembers the day the Late Late Show got an unpleasant surprise in the mail:

[stextbox id=”custom”]Drove from Kentucky to see Craig. It happened to be the awful night the white powder was found in a letter. We waited outside for more than 2 hours. We all knew something was wrong–cops and firefighters everywhere. When we finally got in the show was great. The whole Late Late Show team did a wonderful job under very bad circumstances. And, naturally Craig was GREAT![/stextbox]

Imagineers Success
The Daily Record talks with Glasgow-based band The Imagineers about their whirlwind year.

MCD on the Mend

The Hollywood Reporter and many other media outlets are reporting that actor and frequent LLS guest Michael Clarke Duncan remains hospitalized more than three weeks after suffering a heart attack, but has been moved out of intensive care and continues to improve.



Secretariat in New York
Back in January of 2011, Secretariat took a little trip to New York City:

Video courtesy: caseymnj

Tonight’s Guests
Tuesday on the Late Late Show, Craig talks with TV host Rachel Ray and we’ll hear the music of The Imagineers.  On Wednesday, it’s the final show from Studio 58 with comedian/podcaster Chris Hardwick and actress Carla Gugino.

Book Talk
Among Craig Ferguson‘s many talents is his work as an author. His two books continue to sell well, including his autobiography American On Purpose, which still ranks 7th among biographies of television performers on Amazon.com. Craig has reportedly been working on a sequel to his novel Between the Bridge and the River, tentatively titled The Sphynx of the Mississippi. We have not heard anything for quite a while about when that book might be completed or published. In the meantime, Craig has been busy shepherding a film adaptation of Stuart Neville‘s The Ghosts of Belfast. We’re awaiting any news on that project as well and will pass it along as soon as we have an update.


Brave Coming Soon to the UK
The English newspaper The Hertfordshire Mercury offers up a review of the Disney/Pixar film Brave, which opens in most of the UK and Europe on August 17th.

Craig and Rachel
While promoting his book, American On Purpose in October of 2009, Craig appeared on Rachel Ray‘s daytime show.  The appearance came shortly before his 1000th show and is shown here in two parts:

Video courtesy: caseymnj

Tonight’s Guests
Monday on the Late Late Show, author Stephen King, author Dave Barry, and the final performance of the band The Rock Bottom Remainders.  On Tuesday, watch for TV Host Rachel Ray and music by The Imagineers.