James Corden Reminisces First ‘Late Late Show’ On Its 5th Anniversary; Tom Hanks Was First Guest

James Corden, much more subdued than what you might see from him coming onstage for a typical The Late Late Show, filmed his own intro to tonight’s coronavirus-forced repeat. CBS is airing his first-ever episode as host, March 23, 2015, tonight is the fifth anniversary.

“We had so many big plans for tonight, for the show we were going to give to you, and for obvious reasons we can’t give you that show right now,” James said. 

The Late Late Show shut down production March 13 amid the growing health crisis stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The show previously switched to filming without studio audiences to protect the public, but like other productions with live audiences eventually decided to halt things.

As for today, Corden said he and his team were working on a way to resume the show in the current environment. He also recalled a bit about his first show, marking Late Late Show‘s fourth iteration after he took over from Craig Ferguson.

“If I think back to it I’m filled with nerves, and excitement, and a feeling of when that curtain opened, and i walked out for the first time, I didn’t know if I was gonna fall flat on my face or if this was all gonna be OK,” Corden said in soft tones. “And i never thought that day that I would be here today talking to you five years on.”

Coincidentally, Corden's first guest was Tom Hanks. 

Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were one of the famous personalities to have been diagnosed with the Coronavirus.

He and Wilson were in Australia, where he was working on Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie. Both Hanks and Wilson are recovering in after being released from the hospital.

“Our thoughts go out to him and Rita in Australia right now,” Corden said in the video. “Our thoughts go out to all of you, wherever you are.”