James Corden’s final Late Late Show – live: Tom Cruise and presenter join cast of The Lion King on Broadway

James Corden’s tenure of The Late Late Show has come to an end.

The British presenter is hosting his final episode tonight (27 April) following an eight-year run on the CBS talk show.

First, viewers will be treated to a Carpool Karaoke special starring Adele at 9pm ET, the video for which was shared earlier this week.

The Late Late Show itself then airs at 12:37am ET. Ahead of the show, Corden has teased the return of some of his favourite guests including Harry Styles and Tom Cruise.

Cruise, Corden said, was “adamant” about filming one last stunt for the series after previously putting Corden through his paces in a jet plane to promote his 2022 blockbuster, Top Gun: Maverick.

The pair will perform “one final over-the-top sketch”, which will reportedly see the duo gatecrash a Broadway performance of The Lion King.

Scroll down for live updates as Corden’s big finale airs.

Key Points

• The Late Late Show: Everything to know about James Corden’s last episode

• Tom Cruise ‘adamant’ about performing stunt on James Corden’s final Late Late Show episode

• James Corden tells Adele how he feels about leaving The Late Late Show in last ever Carpool Karaoke

Timon and Pumbaa, everyone:

03:21 , Tom Murray

03:18 , Tom Murray

As rumoured, Corden and Cruise will be appearing in The Lion King on Broadway. Corden introduces himself as “Tony award winner veteran of National Theatre, West End and Broadway” and Cruise as “Tom”.

Cruise speaks to Corden on the phone after diving out of a plane

03:13 , Tom Murray

We have our first Cruise teaser. Corden first shared a 2022 clip from when the two performed stunts to promote Top Gun: Maverick. Turns out the Mission: Impossible star told Corden at the time: “We gotta do a musical sometime man.”

Cut to “two weeks ago” and we’re seeing Cruise speaking to the host on the phone... after jumping out of a plane, obviously.

Corden invites him to lunch in Hollywood and then... ad break. We’re about to find out what they discussed.

He’s singing...

03:05 , Tom Murray

The last Carpool Karaoke special has begun and what other way would the host do it than by singing a musical number.

Lyrics include: “Drivers, thanks for not running me down!”

And: “I’ve got to steal everything from CBS I can, next year I might be living in a van.”

Who's on the final guest lineup?

02:55 , Tom Murray

Corden is bringing back some of his favourite guests on the show for the big finale. This includes Harry Styles, Will Ferrel and Tom Cruise.

Cruise will perform “one final over-the-top sketch” featuring a performance of The Lion King.

Video: James Corden 'didn't know' Carpool Karaoke with Adele was last one

02:28 , Tom Murray

How to watch the last episode

01:59 , Tom Murray

The Late Late Show With James Corden airs at 12:37am EST on CBS in the US (late night Thursday and wee hours of the morning on Friday). It can be live-streamed on Paramount Plus.

Fans in the UK will, unfortunately, have to wait until Friday evening to watch the last two episodes on Sky Showcase at 10:15pm and 11:15pm.

Corden recently spoke about being ‘unprepared’ to talk about terrorist attacks on TV

01:26 , Tom Murray

Late night talk show hosts in the US are expected to talk about the biggest stories of the day – whatever they might be.

Despite being comedians, presenters like Corden, Kimmel and Colbert will often open with a monologue about school shootings, terror attacks or Donald Trump’s latest antics.

“When talking about those moments when there’s a mass shooting or a national disaster or any of those things, what I’ve tried to do, is just be as honest as I can and in some way offer comfort and perspective,” Corden told People ahead of his last show.

“It’s really hard. It’s hard sometimes to find the words to say. I really, really won’t miss doing that.”

Read more:

James Corden says he was ‘deeply unprepared’ for terror attacks discussion

Video: James Corden addresses Gavin and Stacey return rumours

Friday 28 April 2023 00:59 , Tom Murray

It hasn’t always been plain sailing

Friday 28 April 2023 00:51 , Tom Murray

While Corden’s career has undoubtedly soared to extraordinary heights during his time on the talk show, it’s also hit some embarrassing lows on occasion.

There was the Weinstein jokes, the accusations of ‘gayface’ and, of course, the New York restaurant saga.

You can find a timeline of the host’s biggest controversies over the years here.

A timeline of James Corden’s biggest controversies ahead of his final Late Late Show

What to expect from the series finale

Friday 28 April 2023 00:44 , Tom Murray

My lovely colleague has put together this handy-one sheet rounding up all the information you need ahead of Corden’s final episode, including how to watch, who will be appearing and who is rumoured to take the presenter’s place.

You can read it here.

What to expect from James Corden’s final episode of The Late Late Show

Why is Corden leaving the show?

Friday 28 April 2023 00:39 , Tom Murray

Corden announced he was leaving the show last year, saying he “always knew it was an adventure, and I never ever considered it to be the final destination”.

The decision, he said, came to him after a conversation with his 11-year-old son.

“I was filming [Mammals] on a Sunday and I came downstairs, it was about 6am and my son, who was 10 at the time, was sat on the stairs and he said, ‘Are you working today?’ and I said, ‘I am,’ and he said, ‘I thought, but it’s Sunday’,” Corden said at the time.

“And I said, ‘I know buddy, but this schedule’s just all over the place. We’ve just got to get it done because we only have a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show’ and his face just kind of dropped,” he continued.

“I got in the car and I called my wife Jules and I said, ‘I’ve realised, best case scenario we have six more summers where Max even remotely wants to be around us and I cannot waste another one.’”

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog!

Friday 28 April 2023 00:26 , Tom Murray

Hello! Thanks for joining us live as we prepare for James Corden’s final outing as host of The Late Late Show.

We’ll be watching along and pulling out all the key moments from the presenter’s big finale featuring a heavily-rumoured Tom Cruise stunt and an appearance from Harry Styles.

The presenter’s last Carpool Karaoke segment featuring Adele will air at 9pm ET ahead of the show itself at 12:37am ET.

It’s gonna be a late, late one!