Craig Ferguson makes it official: he’s leaving the Late Late Show.
Since David Letterman announced his retirement in 2015, there was much speculation about what that would mean for Craig Ferguson. Despite his lucrative protection clause guaranteeing him $10,000,000 if he didn’t get first rights to Late Show, CBS selected Stephen Colbert‘s cultural-political appeal to Ferguson’s signature irreverence. While critics widely praised this move, it did leave Ferguson the odd man out.
Craig Ferguson has hosted the Late Late Show longer than anyone else, premiering his version January 3, 2005. He is known for an unconventional monologue, his Robot Skeleton sidekick, and his unstructured, insightful interviews.
Ferguson made sure to declare that he is leaving Late Late Show of his own accord — he wasn’t pushed out and doesn’t feel slighted that he was overlooked for Letterman’s show. Instead, he says he had been considering his own retirement from Late Late Show for the last two years.
Craig Ferguson is leaving at the end of his contract in December 2014.
Here is Letterman’s reaction to Craig Ferguson’s retirement announcement: