Craig Ferguson to Leave CBS at End of Year

Posted by Unknown on Monday, April 28, 2014

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Media |Craig Ferguson to Leave CBS at End of Year

http://nyti.ms/1lrj9pt

Late night television has one more opening: Craig Ferguson announced on his CBS show Monday night that he will leave â€œThe Late, Late Showâ€ at the end of the year.

Mr. Ferguson, whose contract was scheduled to end at that time, took the issue into his own hands and informed CBS executives that he would make the announcement Monday night. Mr. Ferguson has been the host of the CBS 12:35 a.m. show since January 2005.

Mr. Ferguson said in a statement, â€œCBS and I are not getting divorced, we are â€˜consciously uncoupling,â€™ but we will still spend holidays together and share custody of the fake horse and robot skeleton, both of whom we love very much,â€ referring to two favorite props on the show.

The move comes a little more than three weeks after David Letterman announced that he would be leaving his own 11:35 p.m. late-night show on CBS and concluding his late-night career at the end of his contract next year. CBS moved quickly to name his replacement, Stephen Colbert of Comedy Centralâ€™s â€œColbert Report.â€

At that time, questions arose about Mr. Fergusonâ€™s future at CBS, because he did not get a shot at succeeding Mr. Letterman. In subsequent days, the CBS chief executive, Leslie Moonves, said, â€œ12:30 is up in the airâ€ in an interview with Bloomberg News, and suggested the network was looking at multiple candidates for â€œThe Late Late Showâ€ and that â€œa woman would be greatâ€ for the role.

That quote signaled that network likely had other plans for the show beyond Mr. Ferguson. Several reports have also indicated that CBS previously had preliminary talks about the 12:35 host role with candidates that included John Oliver and Neil Patrick Harris.

Mr. Ferguson, Scottish by birth, became an American citizen in 2008. He won considerable critical praise during his CBS tenure for his quick wit and intelligence, and his often perceptive interviews.