Taylor Tomlinson’s After Midnight Is Coming to an End

Bad news for fans of comedy, Taylor Tomlinson, and Stephen Colbert’s production résumé: CBS’s After Midnight is coming to an end. The late-night show hosted by Tomlinson, which currently occupies the time slot formerly held by the The Late Late Show, is ending its run after two seasons, with Tomlinson stepping away to focus more on stand-up. The show, which had recently been renewed for a third season, will now air its series finale in June. “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,” Tomlinson said in a CBS release. “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.”

After Midnight premiered in January 2024 to mixed reviews and widespread questions about how it would update the format of its Comedy Central predecessor @midnight. Since then, the show, which features a panel of three comedians participating in games broadly inspired by internet phenomena, has continuously tinkered with its format to make it hew closer to a traditional late-night show. Since its debut, it’s introduced an opening monologue as well as a segment where the panelists sit on a couch and answer conventional interview questions. It has gained a dedicated fan base appreciative of how deceptively weird it can be, but has struggled to book famous guests, cross over into the mainstream, or generate viral moments. “I want to thank CBS for their constant support and invaluable partnership on After Midnight, and the whole staff for their amazing dedication,” Stephen Colbert said in CBS’s release. “While we were excited and grateful for our third season to start in the fall, we respect Taylor’s decision to return to stand-up full time.”

CBS reportedly has no plans to fill After Midnight’s time slot with another late-night show. It’s safe to assume whatever programming does end up filling the vacancy will not feature anything as joyfully dumb as three blindfolded comedians trying to tell the difference between milk and water by touch alone.

This post has been updated.

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