Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Late-night stand-up spots are no longer the guaranteed career catapults they once were.
But the prestige of these opportunities remains.
It was valuable American exposure for popular British acts visiting from the U.K., such asJames AcasterandRomesh Ranganathan.
It was the show where Maria Bamford delivered herincredible eulogy for her late mother.
More often than not, he succeeded at threading the needle.
Before coming toThe Late Late Show, you worked as a stand-up booker for both Letterman and Fallon.
James came from a place where he wasnt a stand-up comedian.
As time went on, I was able to branch out a little.
I focused on getting people some late-night debuts and highlighting some really interesting points of view.
A lot of times, Id get referrals from stand-ups whod been on the show.
Those are the ones that Id get most excited about.
Id love to hear about folks you see that are ready and have solid sets.
I would avoid more challenging material, for the most part, with a few exceptions.
But I always kept in mind that these types of opportunities are pretty few and far between.
I think we were her late-night debut here.
She had a really funny set andhas gone on to do great things.
Fabrizio Copano, more recently the Chilean comedian.
It has something to say that I think would be worth putting on television.
I was thrilled to have her late-night debut here, and shes just gonna continue to excel.
Was there a set where you thought,That was so unique.
That was a time when I went around here to check that that everybody was on the same page.
We realize we might not be the best fit and that it might be a futile effort.
I dont think there was any acrimony or hard feelings.
It wasnt as if we pulled the plug at the last minute.
Part of your job is going through these sets word by word to prepare them for broadcast on television.
you could say erection, but you cant say hard.
For us, we really wanted to make stand-up a big part of the show.
It was important for us to prioritize elevating outside voices.
So it seems silly to me that people arent taking advantage of that.
Im curious to see what is going to happen with this@midnightshow.
But also, who wants to be associated with Twitter right now?
As funny as Jim Gaffigan is, we didnt book him 15 times for stand-up like they mightve atLetterman.
I hope thats what were remembered for, if anything.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
