Craig Ferguson will depart from “The Late Late Show” on Dec. 19 and British comedian James Corden will take the reigns on March 9. In the interim, CBS will have a slew of guest hosts filling the 12:30 a.m. time slot.

Drew Carey will sandwich Judd Apatow, Wayne Brady, Jim Gaffigan, Will Arnett, John Mayer and several of the network’s stars. “The Talk” — CBS’s version of “The View” — will also air late night editions of the mid-afternoon show. This 11-week period is the perfect opportunity for late night talk shows to try something new.

CBS is taking a step in the right direction by introducing some diversity, but it now should go a step further and give a woman the chance to host “The Late Late Show” during this interim period, instead of trying to adapt the daytime women’s talk show fit into the late night scene.

Late night network talk shows have always been dominated by straight,  white, middle-aged men. And that is no different today. The recent and impending changes to late night have not brought much range to the table. Jimmy Fallon replaced Jay Leno, Seth Meyers replaced Fallon, Stephen Colbert will take over for David Letterman and Corden will fill Ferguson’s shoes. It is in everyone’s best interest to introduce some new faces.

Networks are all about bankability, and introducing a host that doesn’t fit the prescribed build does not guarantee success. But this three-month gap gives CBS a chance to test the waters. The network will have ample opportunity to see what type of host appeals to audiences, all the while not needing to worry about finding the perfect fit as guest hosts will only be on air for a few days and at the most a week.

The guest host spot is a low risk venture for both the guest and the network. And CBS is taking chances by giving unlikely candidates a go at the gig; such as “Mike and Molly’s” Billy Gardell, “The Millers’” Sean Hayes and “The Big Bang Theory’s” Kunal Nayyar.

And it can be expected that the audience of “The Late Late Show” will be receptive to these unconventional hosts. Seeing as Ferguson’s sidekick is an animatronic talking robot named Geoff, it looks like anything goes.

But CBS attempting to reboot “The Talk” to appeal to the late night audience does not compute. The classic format of late night TV consists of an opening monologue, banter with a sidekick and a desk and couch set up — all designed for a single host. Trying to fit Julie Chen, Sharon Osbourne, Sara Gilbert, Sheryl Underwood and Aisha Tyler into the host seat will be quite the undertaking. And when there are a slew of talented female comedians on the CBS payroll, such as Melissa McCarthy, Kaley Cuoco and Kat Dennings, it is an unnecessary challenge. Any one of the aforementioned ladies would have nailed the host’s role.

This is an exciting occasion for late night TV. And it is also the time for American viewing public to prove it is ready for these untraditional hosts and demand more untraditional hosts. If “The Late Late Show” pulls in impressive numbers for these guest stars, the networks may get the hint that late night talk shows don’t need to be dominated by the same faces.

Because, really, they don’t.

Erin G. Kelly is a senior broadcast and digital journalism major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at egkelly@syr.edu.

Published on November 30, 2014 at 11:30 am