Kay, About the Speculation That James Corden Could Take Over ‘The Ellen Degeneres Show’

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James Corden just dropped the pretty shocking news that he’s leaving The Late Late Show, and his announcement just happened to come right around the same time as this post from The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Which, naturally—and as everyone’s fave podcaster Not Skinny But Not Fat noted!—has led to some speculation that James could be taking over Ellen’s spot. And actually, said speculation isn’t new. It first cropped up back in an August 2020 thanks to a report from The Sun, where a source claimed, “James and his team have been trailblazers in modern TV, taking the once considered graveyard chat show slot into a cutting-edge format with huge online, social media, and global recognition. Replacing Ellen was always going to be a tough challenge, but he is a natural fit and easy transition. James would freshen up daytime and with a free hand would be allowed to build a new afternoon era.”

But! James himself shut it down a month later during a game of Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts with Alicia Keys, saying, “Genuinely, I have no idea where that even came from. I think it was somebody started a rumor somewhere and someone jumped on the thing. There is absolutely no truth in that story at all, zero. As far as considering it, I think it would be a really crazy thing to take over from someone who I think has done the job so outrageously well for, like, 18 years. It’s not true, and I think when the day comes to end this show will be the day to probably stop hosting a show every day.”

On top of that, The Jennifer Hudson Show is coming to Fox stations in the Fall, and as Variety put it, while the show "is not technically Warner Bros. TV’s replacement for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is coming to an end this year, Hudson’s show is positioned to be the studio’s new flagship daytime talk show once DeGeneres has said her final goodbye after a 19-season run." In other words...if anyone's unofficially replacing Ellen, it's Jennifer!

And FYI, it sounds like James' reason for leaving The Late Late Show is this: “There’s still some other things that I feel I want to do. I’d like to try and write. There’s some [stories] I’d like to tell. I’d like to see if I’m capable of it. The fact that it’s terrifying is the reason to do it.”

More details on his departure here:

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