Comedian Taylor Tomlinson made her debut this week on CBS’ After Midnight, which the network has aggressively touted as the first major late-night show hosted by a woman. But the ratings indicate weak public enthusiasm so far, with viewership falling well short of her predecessor, James Corden.
After Midnight was watched by an average of 686,000 viewers in the 12:37am hour on Tuesday, per Nielsen data, according to multiple reports.
The number fell far short of James Corden’s final episode, which drew 1.43 million viewers last year. His show had a final season average of 806,000 viewers.
Taylor Tomlinson’s hour-long show differs from Corden’s by taking a gameshow format. Celebrity guests participate in the games while Tomlinson serves as MC. Tuesday’s episode featured guest appearances by Whitney Cummings as well as two other comedians named Aparna Nancherla and Kurt Braunohler.
Corden regularly managed to score A-list celebrity guests on his show.
As Breitbart News reported, CBS’ top executive recently acknowledged that Taylor Tomlinson was a diversity hire.
“One of the opportunities we see with the 12:30 spot is a chance to widen the aperture when it comes to format, when it comes to talent, making sure we have diversity both behind and in front of the camera,” CBS CEO George Cheeks said.
Tomlinson has little name recognition among general viewers, having made her name primarily with Zoomers and millennials.
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