After Midnight (TV series)

After Midnight, stylized as @fter midnight or abbreviated @m, is an American late-night comedy panel game show hosted by Taylor Tomlinson and executive produced by Stephen Colbert via his company Spartina Productions, Henry R. Muñoz III via his comedy studio Funny or Die, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert executive producer Tom Purcell. The program premiered on CBS at 12:37 am ET on January 17, 2024, in the time slot previously held by The Late Late Show, and is a reboot of @midnight, which ran from 2013 to 2017 on sister cable network Comedy Central. Upon its debut, it received generally positive reviews.

Production
@midnight with Chris Hardwick, often shortened to @midnight, is an American late night panel game show hosted by Chris Hardwick that ran from October 21, 2013, to August 4, 2017, on Comedy Central. In February 2023, it was reported that Comedy Central's current sister broadcast network, CBS, was considering a revival of @midnight to serve as a replacement for The Late Late Show after the end of James Corden's tenure. Pre-production of the series was halted due to the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes.

On November 1, 2023, CBS announced the revival under the title After Midnight for a premiere in early 2024, with Jack Martin retained as showrunner alongside Eric Pierce. The creative team is also composed of comedian Jo Firestone as head writer, with Spartina Productions' Carrie Byalick and Evelyn McGee Colbert, James Dixon, Tom Purcell, Funny or Die's Joe Farrell, Mike Farah, Whitney Hodack, Henry R. Muñoz III, and @midnight co-creator Jason U. Nadler serving as executive producers.

On that night's episode of The Late Show, Colbert subsequently revealed stand-up comedian Taylor Tomlinson as the show's new host. She was chosen after auditioning alongside comedians Ricky Velez and X Mayo.

The show airs Mondays-Thursdays; a special football-themed episode aired on Super Bowl Sunday after CBS's coverage of Super Bowl LVIII, complete with a "halftime show" musical performance by Marc Rebillet.

On June 11, 2024, CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach announced that the network had renewed After Midnight for a second season through 2025.

Format
As with the original series, each episode features a panel of three celebrity guests as contestants, usually stand up comedians or comedy podcast hosts and sometimes comedic actors; the 2024 Valentine's Day episode featured three "power couples". The contestants participate in topical segments related to popular culture and social media to earn points from the host for responses and punch lines. In addition to several new games, the series retains some of the core segments from @midnight, including the opening segment "Group Chat" (formerly "Rapid Refresh"); a segment discussing recent news headlines and viral videos, "Hashtag Wars", in which the contestants come up with answers for a fictional hashtag (as a parody of a currently trending topic); and "For The Win", a final challenge played between the top two scorers. A new recurring sketch, "The Talk Show Portion", was later added for viewers who want the show to change format to match other network late night shows. Beginning May 20, 2024, the show opened with Tomlinson delivering a monologue similar to those of other network late night shows.

Prizes and punishments
Unlike @midnight, where contestants played to "win the Internet," the winner receives a gag prize, which may be tangible or imaginary (early episodes featured old ketchup packets from Tomlinson's refrigerator, a damaged office chair, Tomlinson's father's approval, and an extra year of life). Some later prizes were more valuable, such as a pair of boxer shorts signed by Tom Brady, $65 in cash, and a pair of night vision goggles; other episodes have awarded desirable food items such as a cooked rotisserie chicken or a basket of doughnuts and beer.

The player in last place is subjected to a humorous punishment such as being forced to give an apology speech or being sent to "horny jail". As a prank on April Fools' Day 2024, the highest scoring contestant was actually the loser.

The haunted dolls
One prize, an allegedly haunted doll, was originally a gift to Tomlinson from her brother; Tomlinson says the doll is supposed to be Frank Morgan's version of the title character from The Wizard of Oz but looks more like author Mark Twain. The doll has become a running gag, appearing multiple times due to winners returning it. While the original doll was given to Marcella Arguello as a consolation prize, a fan later sent in an identical doll, claiming it was the first one's twin brother. Arguello brought the doll with her on a subsequent appearance, where fellow contestant Sarah Tiana said it looked more like former president John Adams.