The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
A late-night show with a robot skeleton sidekick.
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson was an American late-night talk show hosted by Scottish actor and comedian Craig Ferguson, airing on CBS from January 3, 2005, to December 19, 2014. It was the third iteration of the Late Late Show franchise and followed the Late Show with David Letterman in the network's late-night lineup. The program earned a 2009 Peabody Award for its serious interviews, including one with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Late-night talk show
- Variety show
- Sketch comedy
- Creator
- David Letterman
- Peter Lassally
- Craig Ferguson
- Director
- Tim Mancinelli; Brian McAloon (2005–2012)
- Presenter
- Craig Ferguson; Geoff Peterson (sidekick, voiced by Josh Robert Thompson)
- Announcer
- Shadoe Stevens
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Seasons
- 10
Facts from the source article.
Show format
The show often began with a cold opening featuring a short improvised monologue or commentary by Ferguson, sometimes involving puppets such as Sid the Rabbit. Later openings included Ferguson interacting with his robot skeleton sidekick Geoff Peterson, the pantomime horse Secretariat, interrogating audience members, or presenting a musical number or pre-taped sketch. After the cold open came the opening credits and a commercial break. Following his introduction by announcer Shadoe Stevens, Ferguson threw candy to the audience and hit the side of the camera while saying a standard greeting. He then delivered a free-form, largely ad-libbed monologue. After another break, Ferguson sat behind his desk and asked Geoff what time it was, followed by mail theme songs. He read and responded to viewer emails and tweets from his proclaimed robot skeleton army. One or two celebrity interviews were typical; starting in 2008, Ferguson began each interview by ripping up note cards written for the guest. Occasionally a stand-up comedian, cooking segment, or pre-taped musical guest appeared.
Production milestones
Ferguson's first show as host aired on January 3, 2005. For about two months, he read 5–10 jokes from cue cards in his predecessor's monologue format, but soon stopped writing jokes after noticing the ad-libbed material got the most reaction. By May 2006, Studio 58 at CBS Television City was updated with a digital broadcast Solid State Logic mixing console for 5.1 Channel Surround. A new set debuted on July 24, 2006, featuring a miniature CBS airship. Another set debuted in the week of March 17, 2008, with a desk interview area on a raised platform and a detailed Los Angeles backdrop. During the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, the show went into reruns; it resumed production on January 2, 2008, after Worldwide Pants and the WGA reached an agreement. In 2008, Worldwide Pants signed a product placement deal with Ford for the Ford Flex, resulting in eight episodes with custom skits featuring Ferguson as the leader of a Scottish rap band called The Highlanderz.
Show elements
The cold open was a two-minute segment before the first commercials, theme song, and actual show. Originally a miniature monologue about guests, it expanded to include short skits, musical sessions with puppets, and occasional audience interaction. The cold open was actually recorded after the monologue but aired before it, a practice Ferguson initially thinly disguised and later openly mocked. On November 22, 2010, Ferguson presented evidence that a French talk show called Ce Soir Avec Arthur had copied his show's opening sequence and some puppet and song-and-dance concepts. On November 29, 2010, Arthur appeared in the cold opening, joking with Ferguson, and later helped answer viewer emails. Ferguson co-wrote and recorded a theme song when hired as full-time host; it was re-recorded for the switch to HD on August 31, 2009, produced by Andy "Stoker" Growcott. The lyrics remained the same throughout the ten-year run except when the show traveled. On April 5, 2010, Ferguson introduced robot skeleton sidekick Geoff Peterson, voiced by Josh Robert Thompson and built by former MythBuster Grant Imahara. Thompson voiced Geoff live in studio for almost every episode from late June 2011 onward. Three people received screen credit for Geoff: Imahara, writer Tom Straw (later Bob Oschack), and Thompson.
Ratings
In 2006, clips of the show began appearing on YouTube, and Ferguson's ratings grew seven percent (or by 100,000 viewers). During the week ending March 31, 2006, the show averaged 1.9 million total viewers; a year later that number increased to 2.0 million. For the week ending April 4, 2008, the show averaged 1.88 million total viewers, and for the first time since Ferguson began hosting, it drew a larger audience than Late Night with Conan O'Brien over a five-night week of original head-to-head broadcasts (later discovered to be four nights). Reuters noted Ferguson's total audience slipped 12% from a year ago, compared to a 24% drop for O'Brien, attributed to the 2007–2008 Writers Guild strike. In March 2009, the show faced new competition from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; during Fallon's first week, he averaged 2.4 million viewers, half a million more than Ferguson. Fallon maintained his lead in the second week, but by March 16, Ferguson had attracted a larger audience. In July 2009, Ferguson led Late Night in total viewers by a 25% margin. On September 22, 2009, following Letterman's interview of President Obama, Ferguson's audience reached 3.24 million, the show's biggest ever, beating Fallon by two million and Conan O'Brien by almost a million. By the end of 2009, Ferguson topped Fallon with a 1.8 rating/6 share versus 1.6 rating/6 share. By May 2010, the two shows were roughly tied, with Ferguson leading in total viewers (1.7 million to 1.6 million) and Fallon having a narrow edge in ratings. During November sweeps in 2011, the show was third in late-late night broadcasting with 1.7 million viewers, ahead of Last Call with Carson Daly but behind Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2 million) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (1.8 million).
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson?
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson was created by David Letterman, Peter Lassally and Craig Ferguson.
How many episodes of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson are there?
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson has 2,058 episodes across 10 seasons.
More in 2000s American Late-night Television Series
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