Earlier this month, we wondered if Craig Ferguson might lose The Late Late Show now that Stephen Colbert is getting David Letterman’s Late Show and last night, our ol’ buddy Craig gave us the news we were hoping we wouldn’t hear. He’s stepping down from his late night show next December.
Ferguson opened his show with the bad news behind the desk that he sat behind for almost 10 years. He addressed the crowd and the camera in the semi-serious but never above affable tone that drove the style of his show since he took over for Craig Kilborn in 2005. He assured everyone watching that despite previous reports, his leaving was his decision and not an order that came down from the executives at CBS or something other late night TV warlord. Ferguson said he felt that it was just time to move on to something else, whatever that might be (so far, the only thing we know about is some kind of game show gig). Let’s just let Craig explain it to you himself in this clip from last night’s show…
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMeltYXaQw0]
We could end this post with a lot of wild speculation about who might take over the time slot and what Ferguson should do now that he’s not fighting for late night dominance anymore but frankly, we’re a little sad that Craig’s show is going away. We all knew it had to come to an end sometime and 10 years is a pretty good run for any kind of television show but Ferguson’s show was something different. It felt freer and less conventional for a format that’s been carbon copied since Johnny Carson turned into into a television institution. He wasn’t above being silly or trying unconventional ways of getting a laugh but he could also be very personable and smart. We’ll be watching as many episodes as we can between now and then because TV is about to lose something very special. We’ll also be keeping our eyes and ears on the show because we’re also very concerned about what’s going to happen to Geoff Peterson…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTJdmmSTvw8&w=600&h=338]
Craig Ferguson is Leaving "The Late Late Show" [VIDEO]
