Carpool Karaoke: The Series

Lore & Background

The series was announced on July 26, 2016, when Apple Music and CBS Television Studios reached a deal for an exclusive first-window licensing agreement. Initially, it was reported that the series would have a host appearing in every episode, but on January 9, 2017, it was reported that instead each episode would have a different host. The first teaser trailer was released on February 13, 2017, and the premiere was delayed from April 2017 to August 8, 2017.

Season two debuted on October 12, 2018, on the Apple TV app, with episodes featuring guest stars including Jason Sudeikis with The Muppets, The Lonely Island with "Weird Al" Yankovic, Snoop Dogg with Matthew McConaughey, and others. An episode featuring James Marsden and Evan Rachel Wood was filmed in Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Film Festival in March 2018. On August 17, 2021, it was announced that the series had been renewed for a fifth and final season and would move to Apple TV+.

The first season received a mixed to negative reception from critics. Sonya Saralya of Variety commented that the series felt distancing, and Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian said it misunderstood what made the original segment charming. A Christmas special premiered on Apple TV+ and Apple Music on December 15, 2024.

Reader's Guide

Carpool Karaoke: The Series extended the popular Late Late Show segment into a standalone series, pairing celebrities to drive and sing together. It debuted on Apple Music in 2017 and later moved to Apple TV+, running for five seasons until 2022, with a Christmas special in 2024. The series was produced by CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73, with James Corden and Ben Winston as creators and executive producers. Its significance lies in adapting a viral TV segment into a streaming series, though critical reception for the first season was mixed to negative, with reviewers noting a loss of the original segment's spontaneity and intimacy. The series featured a wide range of celebrity pairings, from Star Trek: Discovery cast members to Snoop Dogg with Matthew McConaughey, and its move from Apple Music to Apple TV+ reflected the platform's evolving strategy. The series ultimately concluded with its fifth season, marking the end of a notable experiment in translating a talk-show bit into a full-fledged series.

Did You Know?

• The series debuted on Apple Music on August 9, 2017.
• The fifth and final season debuted on May 27, 2022, on Apple TV+.

Origins & Development

The series traces its roots to the beloved Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show with James Corden. On July 26, 2016, Apple Music and CBS Television Studios struck an exclusive first-window licensing deal, making Apple Music the global home for a standalone television adaptation. CBS Television Studios and Fulwell 73 were tapped as production companies, with James Corden and Ben Winston serving as creators and executive producers. Notably, before the Apple deal was finalized, CBS Studios International and Fulwell 73 had been actively shopping the concept to find an international home. An early plan called for a single host appearing in every episode, but by January 9, 2017, that approach was scrapped in favor of a rotating-host format where each installment featured a different person behind the wheel. This structural decision shaped the show's episodic identity from the very beginning.

Format & Premise

Each episode follows a simple but appealing formula: a celebrity hops into the passenger seat, and together the pair drives around while singing along to popular music. The format goes well beyond just belting out hits in a car. Guests visit places that hold personal meaning to them, sing songs pulled from their own playlists, and occasionally surprise unsuspecting fans who have no idea a major star is belting out tunes in the lane right next to them. This structure was a deliberate expansion of the recurring segment that first captivated audiences on The Late Late Show with James Corden. Rather than a single personality anchoring every installment, the series embraced a rotating-host model, meaning the dynamic shifted with each pairing. The result was a show built on the chemistry between two specific people in a specific car on a specific day, making every episode feel like a one-of-a-kind road trip rather than a repeatable template.

Platform Journey & Final Season

The series experienced a notable evolution in where and how audiences could watch it. It debuted on Apple Music on August 9, 2017, after a delay from an initially planned April 2017 premiere. By the time season two rolled out in October 2018, the show had shifted to the Apple TV app, with new episodes dropping on Fridays through December before resuming after the holidays. The most significant platform move came on August 17, 2021, when it was announced that the series had been renewed for a fifth and final season and would be transitioning to Apple TV+. That concluding season premiered on May 27, 2022. The franchise's life did not end there, however. On December 15, 2024, a Christmas special premiered on both Apple TV+ and Apple Music, offering a festive coda to a series that had spanned five seasons across multiple Apple platforms over roughly seven years.

Critical Reception

Despite the massive popularity of the original Late Late Show segment, the standalone series struggled to win over critics. The first season drew mixed to negative reviews upon its premiere. Sonya Saralya of Variety pointed out a fundamental tension: a format that was supposed to emphasize spontaneity and intimacy instead felt distancing, highlighting how different the celebrity guests were from everyday viewers rather than bridging that gap. Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian was even more pointed, arguing that Apple had supersized Corden's formula while fundamentally misunderstanding what made it work. In her view, the series became less about drawing out a revealing, humanizing conversation and more about bowing to the power of celebrity. The criticism suggested that removing the live, unscripted energy of a late-night show and placing it into a produced, multi-episode structure stripped away the very charm that made the original segment so beloved.