Long Live the King
Craig Ferguson is already hard at work on the set of the sitcom The King of 7B. After quickly rescheduling many of his March stand up comedy tour appearances, Craig returned to Los Angeles, where a pilot episode of the show will be taped for review by ABC. The show is one of seven new sitcoms being considered by the network for a future place on the schedule. Celebeat.com reported on the addition of actress Marin Hinkle to the cast, and actor Amir Talai tweeted a photo with the three castmates on the set. Work on the pilot will continue this week and beyond. The RSA’s @Colleen_Byrne even got a mention in a couple of Scottish newspapers who printed her retweet of Amir’s photo.

Corden to Debut Monday
James Corden will debut as the new host of The Late Late Show on Monday, March 23. Leading up to the show, Corden was spotted near the CBS Television City studios putting up billboards. He has also been interviewed in the trade publication Variety, DigitalSpy.com and CBS’s Watch magazine.

Betty to be Honored
Betty White, who holds the world record for the longest active entertainment career of any woman on earth, will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Emmys, reports Entertainment Weekly. The final season of her TVLand sitcom Hot In Cleveland resumes this week, Wednesday, March 18.

Snake Mug Heaven
Ever wonder what happened to Craig’s famous snake mug when he wrapped up his time on The Late Late Show? Wonder no more. As television station KRQE explains, the mug has returned home to Albuquerque, where it will be on display at the Albuquerque Rattlesnake Museum.

NYC Show
Craig’s Hot and Grumpy stand up show got a nice mention on theinterrobang.com.

St. Patrick’s Day
In celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day this week, a photo of Craig in a hat from @lynnieoguinnie, an Irish cat from @HoboRobot, plus Craig’s sister Lynn Ferguson has released one of her patented This Day Today videos, with a little help from Alfred Molina and Bradley Walsh.

Video courtesy: This Day Today

Craig Takes NYC By Storm
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed the son of a Scottish postal worker from his appointed rounds in New York City over the weekend. Craig Ferguson wowed the crowds in Manhattan with three sold out shows at Town Hall, including two shows on Saturday night which were recorded to be come his next television comedy special. Craig and Josh Robert Thompson wrapped up the current string of shows in Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday evening. They’ll be back on the road in late May and early June, making up the dates that were rescheduled.

Windsor Rescheduled
The last of Craig’s March stand up shows to be rescheduled, an engagement at Caesar’s Windsor, has been moved to June 7. That clears Craig’s schedule from now through Memorial Day to tape the pilot episode of The King of 7B and probably dozens of new episodes of Celebrity Name Game. The game show has been recruiting new contestants, but hasn’t posted taping dates as yet. We anticipate they’ll be available soon. As always, you can see the complete listings of Craig’s live appearances on our Live Comedy Tour page.

Craig Photos
We’ve seen several great pictures from the tour in the past week, including one from @mrcaldeira (featured at the top of the post), @ChrisHallNYC, @valisbury, @marlondisla and @kmreddy. Plus the RSA’s @MissGraoully made the trip from France to see Craig perform and captured a close-up picture of the stage at Town Hall.

Craig in the News
While on tour, Craig has been making the news, including an interview with the website BrooklynVegan.com, which delves into Craig’s excitement for the sitcom pilot The King of 7B. Craig’s role in the show was also given a mention in The Hollywood Reporter and in a longer article on TVline.com, which outlines many of the pilots being shot over the next several weeks. Finally, fan laraalexx wrote a post about her appreciation for Craig.

Josh in the Spotlight
Along with opening for Craig at most of his stand up shows over the past few years, Josh Robert Thompson has performed solo at many clubs and theaters. And last week, he had the chance to step out from behind the curtain to do a five-minute set on The Late Late Show, guest hosted by Drew Carey. Congratulations to Josh on his national television stand up debut! In case you missed it, check out the routine and his chat on the couch with Drew. Josh was also interviewed by TheComicsComic.com.

Craig on The View
Craig appeared on the local New York Fox television station on Friday to promote his appearances at Town Hall, and later appeared on ABC’s The View. Craig appears at 14:40 in the clip.

Video courtesy: The View

Craig Takes New York
Craig Ferguson‘s Hot and Grumpy Tour: Walking the Earth strides into New York City this week for three shows at Town Hall. They’ll be taping Craig’s newest comedy special, which will be released later this year. As we’ve reported, Friday and Saturday’s 7pm shows will go on as scheduled, while Thursday’s show has been moved to Saturday night at 10pm, to make it easier for recording. Meanwhile, a planned performance in Philadelphia has been moved to September 19. Craig will wrap up his latest east coast swing in Morristown, New Jersey on Sunday before the tour moves to warmer climes, including Nashville next week. You can see the full tour listings on our Live Comedy Tour page.

Because Craig Ferguson will need to be in Los Angeles to shoot the pilot episode for The King of 7B, a number of planned stand up comedy shows in March have been canceled or postponed. We have recapped all of them in a separate post. And as always, our Live Comedy Tour page has all of the most up-to-date information available to us. We’ll keep it updated with any new developments. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for her invaluable assistance in helping us track down all of the changes.

Press and Pictures
The media in New England kept an eye on Craig & Company as they made their way along the tour trail this past week, including coverage from WCAX, ConnecticutMag.com, which ranked Craig up there with eating chowder (a high honor indeed), and the Burlington Free Press. Some of our favorite photos of the past week came from @theedge90, @RubItDownOHNO and @DjLaurieB. We also got a couple of great looks inside the Hot and Grumpy tour bus, with a view of the lounge area in the front and the bunks in the back. The RSA’s @letsrecover14 sent pictures of her trip to the show in Temecula, CA with her friends Maryann and Lynn. She had a chance to meet Josh and friends after the show. And in Greensboro, fan Marty got a great photo of Craig on stage.

Pilot To Make Pilot
Hollywood is still buzzing about the news Craig will star in a sitcom pilot being considered by ABC called The King of 7B. Details have continued to slowly come out in the usual publications, including Variety, TV Guide, TV.com, TVLine, The Hollywood Reporter, and Entertainment Weekly. At least two other actors have been lined up for the show: Carla Jimenez, who has appeared on My Name is Earl and Desperate Housewives, and Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who has appeared on House of Lies.

Set Those DVRs
DVR Alert: Don’t miss seeing Josh Robert Thompson doing stand up on the Late Late Show on Wednesday night March 4th, and then watch for Craig on ABC’s The View on Friday, March 6th. Thanks to the eagle-eyed @bgrhubarb for spotting the View appearance.

Corden in Canada
Good news for late-night comedy fans in Canada: CTV Two has picked up the rights to The Late Late Show with James Corden, starting on Monday, March 23rd when he becomes the show’s new host, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The LLS will follow The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. And the folks at Mashable reported on a photo shoot for Corden, as the network ramps up promotion for the new show.

Name Game Clues
Contestant casting is under way for the next season of Celebrity Name Game. And sometimes on the show, the clues are just too easy:

Video courtesy: Celebrity Name Game

UPDATE:

Because Craig Ferguson will need to be in Los Angeles to shoot the pilot episode for The King of 7B (see full story below), a number of planned stand up comedy shows in March have been canceled or postponed.

Here is the full list of changes:

Nashville, TN
Was March 9
Rescheduled June 5
All tickets will be honored

New Orleans, LA
Was March 11
Canceled
Tickets will be refunded

Las Vegas, NV
Was March 13
Rescheduled May 23
All tickets will be honored

Houston, TX
Was March 14
Canceled
Tickets will be refunded

San Antonio, TX
Was March 15
Canceled
Tickets will be refunded

Indianapolis, IN
Was March 17
Rescheduled June 4
All tickets will be honored

Merrillville, IN
Was March 18
Rescheduled May 29
All tickets will be honored

Windsor, ON, March 19
Was March 18
Rescheduled June 7
All tickets will be honored

Joliet, IL
Was March 20
Rescheduled May 28
All tickets will be honored

Waukegan, IL
Was March 21
Rescheduled May 31
All tickets will be honored

Milwaukee, WI
Was March 22
Rescheduled May 30
All tickets will be honored

As always, our Live Comedy Tour page has all of the most up-to-date information available to us. We’ll keep it updated with any new developments. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for her invaluable assistance in helping us track down all of the changes.

Craig Ferguson to Star in ABC Sitcom Pilot
Craig Ferguson tweeted some news on Friday afternoon, announcing he will star the pilot for an ABC sitcom titled The King of 7B, as reported by Entertainment Weekly. The show will feature Craig as a recluse named Prentiss Porter, who will venture outside for the first time in 20 years, only to find his potential soulmate moving into the building across the street.

As with all pilot episodes, there is no guarantee the show will be picked up for broadcast, but with Craig’s popularity and proven ability to attract an audience, the network will give it serious consideration. The show is one of seven comedy pilots ordered by ABC to review for possible inclusion in the schedule. Variety reported earlier this month the showrunner will be The Daily Show’s former executive producer Ben Karlin and the pilot will be directed by David Frankel who directed the films The Devil Wears Prada and Marley and Me. We’ve seen no details so far on locations or dates for filming the pilot episode or on other cast members, but we’ll pass them along as soon as we hear them.

Update:Craig’s March 4th show in Philadelphia has been postponed until September 19th. All tickets sold for the rescheduled show will be honored on the new date. The venue made the announcement on their website. Thanks to the ever-watchful @bgrhubarb for the heads up. We have updated all of the details and links on our Live Comedy Tour page.

Providence Show Canceled… For Now
Craig Ferguson‘s Hot and Grumpy Tour returns to the east coast this week, after a week out west. This week, they’re in Verona, New York; Burlington, Vermont; Northampton, Massachusetts; New Haven, Connecticut and Boston.

Because of the Valentine’s Day snowstorm that postponed Craig’s two Boston shows from February 14 until March 1, a previously scheduled March 1st show in Providence has been canceled, at least for now. We talked with the box office at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium, which said refunds are being issued to all ticketholders for the Providence show. However, they left open the possibility that Craig could come back at some point later this year, in an interview with the Providence Journal. If and when the show finds a new date, we’ll be sure to pass along the information here, and anyone who goes will need to buy new tickets. If you are holding tickets to the now-canceled Providence show on March 1, please contact at the Vets box office to claim your refund if you haven’t received it already.

New York Show Changes for TV Special
They’ve also made a change for the upcoming shows at Town Hall in New York. Originally, there were shows scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 5, 6 and 7, all at 7pm. Now, the box office at Town Hall tells us the Thursday show has been moved to 10pm on Saturday night. All tickets purchased for the Thursday show will be honored at the 10pm show on Saturday night. The 7pm shows on Friday and Saturday remain as scheduled. If you have questions, please contact Ticketmaster. The reason for the change is to make things easier to tape Craig’s newest television special. As they’ve done in the past, they’ll tape a couple of shows back to back, and mix the best parts together for the final version. The special should be available sometime later this year. We’ll keep you posted. Thanks to loyal hobos @bgrhubarb, @colleen_byrne and others for spotting the update.

As always, we’ll keep our Live Comedy Tour page updated with the latest details and links.

In the LLS Audience
On the website news.com.au, Andrew Bucklow writes about the experience of being in the studio audience at The Late Late Show. He attended a taping of the show last week, hosted by Thomas Lennon. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for the link!

Fan Photos
Among the many fans taking photos of Craig on tour this past week, was none other than Mythbuster Tory Belleci, who attended the show in San Francisco. Other great shots came from @jfinlayson, who captured Craig and Secretariat dancing and from @bennettchin who got a great look at Craig on stage in Vancouver. Are you seeing Craig on stage during this tour? If you want to write about your experiences or send us a photo, please use our Contact Us page, or tweet us a link to your page or blog. We’re always happy to share your stories with the rest of the robot skeleton army!

Lassally’s Last Day
As The Late Late Show transitions from a series of guest hosts to new permanent host James Corden, longtime Executive Producer Peter Lassally is retiring. He worked for many years on Johnny Carson‘s Tonight Show, and started the original Late Late Show with Tom Snyder, overseeing its later iterations with Craig Kilborn and Craig Ferguson. The show paid tribute to the legendary producer on Friday night’s show, and Craig’s right hand, Rebecca Tucker, tweeted some pictures. We extend our heartfelt best wishes to Mr. Lassally. Thanks to your eye for talent and steady hand behind the scenes, America’s late nights have been a better place.

New LLS Logo
Speaking of James Corden, he tweeted the show’s new logo, which was written about in the trade publication Variety. The show also announced Corden’s first guest on March 23rd will be Tom Hanks.

LLS Alum Promoted
Former Late Late Show segment producer Lisa Ammerman has been name Vice President of talent booking at CBS, reports Variety. She’ll oversee guest bookings for a wide range of CBS news and entertainment shows, including The Late Late Show with James Corden, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, CBS This Morning and more. Some sharp-eyed skellies may remember that Lisa appeared on The Late Late Show one night in 2008 when scheduled guest Seann William Scott got stuck in traffic and didn’t show up. In typical Craig fashion, he interviewed Lisa instead, to fill the time. Ammerman produced Craig’s Peabody Award-winning interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Congratulations on your promotion, Lisa!

Josh Podcasts, Promotes Film
Josh Robert Thompson has been opening for Craig on the tour, and has posted a new behind-the-scenes edition of his Joshin’ Around Show podcast. Meanwhile, the feature film Nowhere Girl, starring Josh, will be part of the Garden State Film Festival on March 22nd. This will be the film’s first east coast screening. You can get tickets here.

Horsing Around
In this behind-the-scenes video from the tour, Ryan McGowan, the back half of Secretariat, offers his take on how he might handle being in front, when the current front half, Joseph Bolter arrives.

Video courtesy: CraigFerguson

Tour Heads West
After a sometimes wintry series of shows in the eastern part of the country, Craig Ferguson & Company have moved west for the next string of stand up, with stops in Vancouver, Santa Rosa, San Francisco, Reno and Temecula, CA before heading back east. You can see the full lineup of shows on our Live Comedy Tour page. As we mentioned in our last post, the Valentine’s Day shows in Boston have been rescheduled on March 1st. We’ve been told the show times will remain the same and all tickets will be honored on the new date. We still have no official work on when the Providence show originally scheduled for March 1st will be rescheduled, but attempts are being made to find a new date. We’ll pass along the word as soon as we hear an update.

Great Pictures
Along with the official tour photo of Josh Robert Thompson on stage at left, some of the best photos from the past week came from fans @ohhaimegan, @KaitlynLeibman and @BobbySko, plus the folks at the Sands Bethlehem Events Center posted a bunch of great photos on their Facebook page. Thanks to several hobos who pointed these photos out to us.

Show Reviews
As Craig, Josh and Secretariat moved from town to town on the tour, nearby media outlets and fans have been previewing and reviewing the show. The RSA’s @chandlersdame was at the show in Greensboro, and offers these impressions. The Sun-Chronicle newspaper in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, reviewed the Foxwoods show. The Boston Globe had this preview before the show was postponed, and the Press-Democrat in Santa Rosa looks ahead to Craig’s visit.

Dana’s New TV Role
The RSA’s @bgrhubarb, who keeps up with all things Craig and Craig-related, spotted a story about actress Dana DeLorenzo, who played “Beth the studio executive” on the Late Late Show. CinemaBlend.com reports she has been cast in a television version of The Evil Dead.


Corden Prepares
The New York Times recently profiled future Late Late Show host James Corden, who talked with David Itzkoff about the challenges of building a the show’s new identity.

Star Wars Re-imagined
Craig and company are having fun on the road, improvising as they go.

Video courtesy: CraigFerguson

Weather Disrupts Tour
Due to severe winter weather in the northeast, Craig Ferguson‘s planned Valentine’s Day Hot and Grumpy Tour stop in Boston has been postponed until March 1. All tickets for both shows will be honored on the new date at the same start times. Meanwhile, a tour show had already been scheduled for March 1 in Providence, Rhode Island. That show is now postponed. It no longer appears on the venue’s website. We are being told it will probably be rescheduled. Ticket holders should sit tight and wait for updates. We will pass along an information as soon as we get details. You can see the most up-to-date information on our Live Comedy Tour page any time.

Josh Takes Us Behind the Scenes
Josh Robert Thompson has been opening for Craig on the tour, and as a special treat, he takes us behind the scenes in the latest edition of his Joshin’ Around Show podcast. Enjoy!