I don't know James Corden. I have never met James Corden but I was so happy when it was announced that he is taking over CBS' Late Late Show in the US. And, I am not just saying this because I am tweeting him a copy of this blog post. I will be honest. I see a man sized, cheeky, bearded Englishman and wish it were me!
The closest I have got to living this dream is by being invited by Channel 4 TV in the UK to write some gags for a short lived chat show. None of my jokes faithfully faxed over weekly were used. No surprise I'm now a digital consultant.
I have always been a fan boy of America's tradition of late night talk shows. Programmes which when they're very, very good, like Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show has proved to be, can seduce viewers to stay up and tune in. Programmes which can ooze creativity and attract an A List cast for after hours entertainment junkies.
Fallon has re-energised America's late night TV with happy smiley shows (we all desperately need a positivity and a smile in these crappy times) with enough stand out moments to pull in a new audience, and I'm sure a much younger audience, watching on You Tube. The Tonight Show has become
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Jimmy Fallon's You Tube videos clock up millions of views
Celebrity is one of social media's richest currencies and there is a lot of potential for James Corden and co to cash in! Social is awash with gossip and red carpet pictures. But what the talk show format can provide is surprising, quality celeb content that can get big laughs. Those "OMG, did you see" moments. When these get viewed and shared, they get big numbers. Barrack Obama's ordinary guy video for Buzzfeed had clocked up almost 50m views in less than a week on Facebook alone.
We talk a lot about a digital first strategy for news broadcasting but I wonder how it could help create enough of a buzz for late nights to persuade a new, younger audience to switch on that thing called a TV? In other words you can debut new content on-line, tempting potential live viewers to tune in or miss out. In this way fans would only get the full Late Late Show experience by consuming content across all the show's platforms. On-line pushes to TV pushes to social which pushes back to on-line and so it continues.
If I was advising Corden I would also be thinking about how social can be used to help viewers shape the new show to give them a sense of ownership. How can it be used to foster a strong community of fans, both during the broadcast, connecting with night owls, and around the clock, worldwide.
There is so much potential. How celebrity guests own huge social presences could be capitalised on. How worldwide viewership on-line could be recognised and celebrated. How programme hashtags could become omnipresent. These are just a few thoughts.
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James stakes his claim to You Tube
So, good luck to James Cordon and his team embarking on their new adventure. I hope they follow in Jimmy Fallon's footsteps, propelling the late night talk show tradition even further into the digital age.
One thing is for sure. They'll have more success than my debut and only stand up slot in the US. It is safe to say the University of Las Vegas Coffee Shop was thoroughly underwhelmed back in 2001. Yea, let's not talk about that. CBS hired the right guy.
(Thumbnail pic by GabboT CC BY SA 2.0 via Flickr)