'After Midnight' Season 3 Reversed As Taylor Tomlinson Returns To Full-Time Standup; CBS Ceases 12:30 AM Programming

Without a doubt the worst CBS late night news of all time

12:30 is officially becoming Shalaylay’s ghost for CBS as late night TV continues to fall apart. After Midnight, the At Midnight-inspired game show hosted by comedian Taylor Tomlinson airing at 12:37 AM after The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has been canceled after two seasons, with its final episode airing in June. In addition, CBS will be withdrawing from the post-Colbert slot entirely.

This is the latest blow to late night television after The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon stopped making Friday episodes and Late Night with Seth Meyers cut Fred Armisen and the whole Studio 8H Band, which has reduced musical guest bookings. Let alone everything that happened before that as late night on cable has The Daily Show and Last Week Tonight as its last legs. However, the cancellation wasn’t because of bad ratings or anything. In fact, the show had quietly been renewed for a third season last week, however Tomlinson, a stand-up comedian with ever-growing popularity, has decided to return to stand-up full time. More on that in a bit, but it seems instead of going through the process of searching for a new host, the plug has been pulled. While the series had two seasons, it was a January 2024 premiere (delayed by the dual strikes after an April 2023 end to the long-standing The Late Late Show last hosted by James Corden) that also paused due to the wildfires earlier this year.

CBS Brings Comedian Taylor Tomlinson To Host 'After Midnight'; Names Her Crew

The series’s base form was that a panel of three celebrity guests, including a large number of comedians, who compete in a series of topical segments from pop culture and social media. As the show went on it was tweaked into more of a talk show, with a monologue, and a couch away from gameplay. The introduced “Talk Show Portion” went from ironic to genuine. The original’s signature Hashtag Wars were deemphasized as the months went on and the For the Win finisher had so many different games thrown into it it lost itself.

“Hosting After Midnight has genuinely been the experience of a lifetime, and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of this incredible journey,” she said. Though it was an extremely tough decision, I knew I had to return to my first passion and return to stand-up touring full-time. I appreciate CBS, Stephen Colbert, the producers, and the entire After Midnight staff and crew for all the love, support, and unforgettable memories.” Tomlinson has made three stand-up specials all for Netflix thus far: 2020’s Quarter-Life Crisis, 2022’s Look At You and 2024’s Have It All. She is currently performing on her Save Me tour with dates in San Antonio later this month and over 60 more shows over the next ten, including across Europe, with four at the end of July and beginning of August locally at the Beacon Theatre.

Colbert, as both lead-out and executive producer, used the closing throw to After Midnight to address the cancellation Wednesday. “This is the part of the show when I usually say, ‘Stick around for Taylor Tomlinson on After Midnight. I really enjoy doing that. Not just because I’m an executive producer on that show, but because she’s incredibly funny and I really like that show. Unfortunately, After Midnight is going to end in June.” The audience responded with awws.

He then reiterated his press statement, noting it was Tomlinson’s decision to step away, which he fully supported. “CBS just gave us a pickup for a third season, but Taylor has decided to return to standup full-time,” said Colbert. “And as someone who’s done this job for twenty years, I completely respect her enormously as a comedian, and for making a very hard decision on how to best use her time and her talent.” He then thanked the network, namely CEO George Cheeks, Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach, and CBS Studios President David Stapf. “I’ve been doing this a long time, and you rarely have partners that good. You’d have to work on one of these shows like we do to understand all the time and the effort the amazing staff of After Midnight put into not only launching a new show, but also creating a new form of one of these shows for a late-night time slot,” Colbert reflected.“It’s hard to try something new and it’s rare for a network to say, ‘We’d like more of that.’”

Tomlinson posted a second statement to Instagram, saying “Being the host of After Midnight for the past two seasons was the experience of a lifetime and I am so lucky I got the chance to be a part of this show. As a touring comic, I never thought I would be able to host a daily show like this and it’s because of the incredible After Midnight team that it was possible for me to do so as long as I did. That said, juggling touring and hosting the show has become unsustainable, and I’ve made the difficult decision to step away so I can focus on stand up. After Midnight has pushed me to new limits, taught me countless lessons and skills, and allowed me to work with some of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I’m very sad but excited to finish out season 2 strong.”

Netflix Putts 'Happy Gilmore 2' On July Release Date With New Teaser

Sources: Deadline, LateNighter, The Independent