Later... with Jools Holland

Programme format

Each episode typically includes five to seven acts performing in a circular set with the studio audience seated around them. Jools Holland introduces the show and interviews some performers. A jam session involving all guests and Holland on piano opens each show, though this practice ended after Series 53; shows from Series 54 onward no longer include jam sessions. Holland sometimes accompanies performances on piano, with mixed reactions from artists.

Beginning with Series 32 on 1 April 2008, a new format debuted: a 30-minute fully live Tuesday broadcast called Later Live... with Jools Holland, followed by the hour-long pre-recorded Friday show. The Friday programme includes performances from the Tuesday session and additional recordings. HD broadcasts use Dolby Digital 5.1. For Series 51, the hour-long show moved to Saturday nights, then to Sunday nights for Series 52 and 53.

After BBC Television Centre closed for redevelopment in 2012, production moved in April 2013 to Studio 1 at The Maidstone Studios, near Holland's home in Cooling, Kent.

Special editions

Occasional special editions under the Later presents... title feature a single major artist for the full hour, such as Alice in Chains in 1992, Paul Weller and Metallica in 1996, R.E.M. and the Verve in 1998, Oasis in 2000, Radiohead in 2001 and 2007, and Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2007. The M People special from 1998 was released on video and DVD as One Night in Heaven, with selected songs appearing on a limited edition of The Best of M People and as a b-side.

New Year's Eve specials are called Jools Holland's Hootenanny, pre-recorded in early December; a one-off Spring Hootenanny aired in 2003. For the 25th anniversary in 2017, a Later 25 show was recorded at London's Royal Albert Hall on 21 September and broadcast two days later, featuring ten artists over two hours. Repeated excerpts aired as A Little Later on BBC HD. In 2022, BBC Four broadcast themed compilations.

A special 30th Birthday Bash programme, recorded at London's Eventim Apollo, aired on 12 November 2022, followed by The A-Z of Later... with Jools Holland: From Adele to ZZ Top, narrated by Paul Whitehouse.

Criticism

In 2008, Guardian critic Alexis Petridis argued the show lacked spontaneity and failed to showcase enough dance, pop, hip-hop, experimental, or R&B music, claiming the artists it broke were essentially MOR singer-songwriters. In 2010, Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott criticised the programme for excluding the band, saying Jools Holland would not have them on because they were not cool enough.