Three years after signing on with CBS’ “The Late Late Show,” James Corden is having fun hosting Fox’s World Cup after-show, “After Hours With James Corden.” In the latest episode of the “Daily Variety” podcast, the all-rounder talks about the joy of giving himself over to his lifelong love of football and why the call from Fox Sports was the only hosting job he was offered in recent years that he couldn’t turn down.

“After Hours” debuted on the first day of the tournament, June 11, and will air nightly at 11 p.m. until the final game on July 19. Corden’s set is right next to the studio of Fox Sports’ World Cup presenting team, which includes Rebecca Lowe, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović.

The “After Hours” set is decorated like a clubhouse, with all kinds of soccer memorabilia: photographs of star players past and present, balls, cleats, flags, pennants and, of course, the numerous scarves that fans wear to show their allegiance to their favorite clubs. Another striking element is the life-size wax figure of the great footballer Pelé, on loan from Madame Tussauds in London.

For Corden, the opportunity to bring the “Late Late Show” team back together for a finite assignment revolving around a topic he knows well was impossible to turn down, once he gave it some thought. He’s working with “Late Late Show” executive producer Ben Winston and former head writer Ian Karmel, who mingles at a large table with Corden and British soccer great Rio Ferdinand.

“I didn’t realize how much I missed producing an hour of live television every day,” Winston said. Variety.

Corden notes that he and Winston produced a similar after-show for the UK’s ITV during the 2010 World Cup. The offer from Rob Wade, CEO of Fox Entertainment, came to him more than a year ago. He has been offered all kinds of hosting gigs since he retired from “Late Late Show” that were not of interest to him. But the opportunity to play every night in a World Cup tournament in the United States was special.

“I wasn’t completely convinced or hooked, if I’m honest. I certainly wasn’t in a rush to host anything. I really felt like hosting shows was something I’d probably said goodbye to when I left ‘The Late Late Show,'” Corden said. Variety. “And then the more I thought about it and the more I thought, ‘Man, the best thing about this is that it’s so definitive in its time. It’s not like you’re going to sit back and say, oh, they’re going to pick us up for a second season. How’s that going? It’s about something very specific that I love. And the more I thought about it, I thought, You’re an idiot to even consider turning this down.’

The timing was dictated by the tournament, of course, but it turned out that the stars aligned for Corden to recruit “Late Late Show” alumni who would allow him to work at a high level.

“What made him really happy is how many old faces came back doing this for five weeks,” he said. “It’s been glorious.”

With the benefit of distance, Corden reflected on his decision to end “Late Late Show” in April 2023 after eight years behind the desk. He is proud of the program and its legacy. Of course, he’s been watching from afar in the U.K. all the controversy and drama surrounding his former CBS schedule partner, Stephen Colbert, whose show ended amid enormous pressure brought to bear on CBS by the Trump administration. And now ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel is in the crosshairs of Trump and the FCC.

Corden said he could sense a big change in the landscape even in 2023. “Late Late Show” wrapped just a week before production was halted with the start of the writers’ strike on May 2, 2023.

“I remember when ‘The Late Late Show’ was ending, we had about a week left, and we had very kindly been invited to speak at Paleyfest about the show. And I was backstage with David Staff, who runs CBS Studios, a wonderful man who I love and adore, and I consider him a friend still and always will. And we were backstage and there was a video clip on the screen. And, and he said, ‘It’s really sad, isn’t it? That?’ And I said, ‘Actually, I don’t think it’s sad.’ I said, ‘If I had signed the contract you offered me,’ which took a lot of willpower to walk away from, you would have come to me and said, ‘We need to cut $10 million from this budget,'” Corden recalled.

“And as soon as you need to cut $10 million from a budget, the only way to do it is to make your team smaller. And as soon as you make your team smaller, you change the entire environment of the team that’s making that show. And I said, ‘I don’t think it’s sad at all.’ “I feel incredibly proud of what we did and what we accomplished when we did it.”

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