Craig Expands Reach
Craig Ferguson has entered a new partnership with Lionsgate Television that could lead to future shows, the Hollywood trade publication Variety reports. This is one of those “inside the business of Hollywood” kinds of stories, so bear with us: Essentially it means Craig will be working to create future TV programs with Lionsgate.

They’re considered a very successful company in Hollywood with several big hits currently on the air including Mad Men, Nurse Jackie, Anger Management, Orange Is The New Black and more. They also own the television distribution firm Debmar-Mercury, which distributes Craig’s game show Celebrity Name Game to stations across the country. Some of the future shows may feature Craig on camera, others may not. Variety says both scripted (sitcoms, dramas) and unscripted (talk/variety, reality) programs could result. And importantly, it opens the door to a possible show on cable (including premium cable networks like HBO and Showtime), because of Lionsgate’s relationships. Producer Michael Naidus from The Late Late Show and Craig’s road manager-turned production company exec Phil Cottone will be on the team. We’ll be watching to see what the new partnership develops.

Show Added in Philly
Demand for tickets to Craig’s stand up show Hot and Grumpy Tour: Walking the Earth were so strong in Philadelphia, they added a second show. The first show is on February 12th, and the second will be on March 4th. You can find details and a link to tickets on our Live Comedy Tour page.

No Conan for Now
Craig was scheduled to appear on Conan O’Brien‘s show this week, but he is no longer listed on the show’s website. We’ll keep an eye out to see if and when he is rescheduled and let you know. In the meantime, if you just can’t get enough of talk show hosts interview talk show hosts, Regis Philbin is guest hosting this week on The Late Late Show and talked with David Letterman on Tuesday’s show.

Dream Delayed
Another big story in Hollywood this week has been layoffs of DreamWorks Animation. Despite having many successful films under its belt, some of its recent efforts have sold fewer tickets than expected, putting financial pressure on the company. As a result, they are laying off many staffers and reducing the studio’s output to just two films a year, one original and one sequel. That means How To Train Your Dragon 3, featuring the voice of Craig Ferguson, which had originally been scheduled for release in 2017, will not reach big screens until 2018, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Joshin’ Around
Josh Robert Thompson has officially re-branded his podcast the Joshin’ Around Show, and posted a new episode this week, in which he talks about taping a stand up routine to be broadcast on The Late Late Show March 4th, and some career advice he received.

Taking Notes
While Judd Apatow was delivering his monologue on The Late Late Show last week, he got an unexpected guest who popped in to take some notes.

Video courtesy: CBS

Craig Adds More Dates
Craig Ferguson‘s Hot and Grumpy Tour: Walking the Earth is extending the walk this spring, with more shows on the calendar. Just this week, he has added New Orleans, Las Vegas and Indianapolis to the list in March. And in Milwaukee, demand for tickets has been so high, they’re moving the show to another venue in the same arts complex. The show on March 22nd will now be in the Riverside Theater, next to the Pabst Theater. You can see the most complete listing of dates, times, locations and ticket links on our Live Comedy Tour page. Thanks to some vigilant hobos who spot postings for new shows and alert us, you can often find details before most people have heard about them. We’ll be watching for more!

Craig on Conan
Set those DVRs. Craig will appear on Conan O’Brien‘s show Wednesday. January 28th. Thanks to the RSA’s @bgrhubarb for spotting the announcement.

Female Guest Host
When CBS announced the slate of guest hosts for The Late Late Show filling in until James Corden‘s arrival on March 23rd, many observers noticed there were no women scheduled to host the show, apart from the ladies of The Talk, who hosted as a group from their set last week. But today, the network announced comedienne Whitney Cummings will be the guest host January 28th and 29th.

Pouncing on Podcasts
Josh Robert Thompson has had a busy couple of weeks. He taped a stand up routine for The Late Late Show which will air on March 4th, and he has appeared as a guest on a pair of podcasts: The Melissa Show hosted by comedienne Melissa Villaseñor, and One Degree of Chunky B, hosted by former LLS warm up comedian Chunky B, where they compare notes about life after The Late Late Show. Josh has been working on own variety show and other projects, and will be opening for Craig (and warming him the crowds on his behalf… see what we did there) at most of the Hot and Grumpy Tour venues in February and March.

Oscar Nomination
As we mentioned in an update earlier, the DreamWorks film How To Train Your Dragon 2 featuring the voice of Craig Ferguson has been nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Feature. The film has already captured the Golden Globe and other honors, so fans are hoping for a win on Oscar night. Time magazine has the full list of nominees.

Corden Plans LLS Debut
The Nerdist has compiled some of the best interview questions and answers from future Late Late Show host James Corden at the Television Critics Association meetings last week.

Miscellaneous Musings
The Toronto Police Department has produced an anti-drug ad, which the website YourEDM.com says was co-produced by Craig Ferguson. In the Green Bay Press-Gazette, comedian Steven Wright has nice things to say about Craig. Another skeleton is getting famous… this one for mocking how people take so many selfies on Instagram (thanks @w_vern). And finally, the RSA’s Sasha offers this poem for your enjoyment (click on the image to enlarge).

UPDATE: The DreamWorks film How To Train Your Dragon 2 featuring the voice of Craig Ferguson has been nominated for an Academy Award for Animated Feature. See the full list of nominees from Variety.

It’s a Web-Based World
After ten years of being contractually obligated by CBS to not have his own website, Craig launched a new site this week, along with accounts on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and a tour account on Twitter. Run by Craig’s people, the site and new accounts will highlight Craig’s stand up comedy tour. The site had some difficulties at the start because so many people were trying to look at it after Craig’s tweets. But it is fully up and running now. We know the feeling… we’ve had our site slowed down by heavy traffic at times, and there’s not much that can be done except to wait and try again later. It’s a good sign that it’s so popular! Josh Robert Thompson has his own site as well, with information about his work opening for Craig on the road. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to have our Live Comedy Tour page, information about Craig’s stand up specials and of course, news updates each week. It’s a worldwide web of Craigy goodness. Thanks to many hobos, including @colleen_byrne, @hoborobot, @bgrhubarb and more, for scouring the web for newsy items.

Latest Tour Info
Since last week’s update, Craig has added shows in New Haven, Connecticut; Nashville, Tennessee and a second show in Washington, DC. As always, the latest can be found on our Live Comedy Tour page, including a couple of dates not yet posted on Craig’s site.

Late Late Update
Future Late Late Show host James Corden was featured this week at the Television Critics Association annual conference, where each network previews what it has in store for the coming season. Variety reported on his appearance and interactions with reporters, as well as news that CBS plans to run reruns of prime-time programming at 11:30pm ET this summer, between David Letterman‘s departure from The Late Show on May 20th and Stephen Colbert‘s debut on September 8th. Corden will begin on the LLS March 23rd, and the network promised to ramp up promotion to “re-launch” him in the fall to coincide with Colbert’s starting date. Broadcasting & Cable also reported on the network’s plans.

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie
Good news for fans of The Late Late Show in Australia: The show will continue to be broadcast after James Corden takes over in March. As the website chortle.co.uk adds, there’s no word about whether the show will be picked up in the UK with its new host. The show is scheduled to continue in Canada on Omni.

Dragon Points
As we reported in an update on Sunday evening, the DreamWorks film How To Train Your Dragon 2, featuring the voice of Craig Ferguson, won a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature. Variety has a full list of winners. The Golden Globes are often seen as a indicator of possible Oscar contenders, so we’ll be watching for more news!

What Did We Learn?
The RSA’s @timekill747 was looking around on the internet and spotted a familiar face:

There’s something familiar about this cat… ; )

Hosting Tribute
The RSA’s @JLChaparro8, a fan of Craig and host of his own late night talk show, had this to say about how Craig has influenced him.

Video courtesy: BillyWagner13

UPDATE:The DreamWorks film How To Train Your Dragon 2, featuring the voice of Craig Ferguson, has won a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature. Variety has a full list of winners.

UPDATE:After years of being prevented by his CBS contract, Craig has now opened his own website, with information about his tour and merchandise. When he first announced the site on his Twitter feed on Monday night, the site suffered some down time. But it’s a good sign to see that it’s popular, and when it comes to having a site swamped with hits after an announcement, we know the feeling. It should be running more smoothly soon.

Bonus Post:

One Door Closes, Another Opens
With television syndication executives holding meetings this month to court advertisers and make decisions about the fall schedule, announcements were expected about a couple of Craig Ferguson‘s irons in the fire, and both came on the same day.

First the bad news: A rumored possibility of a half-hour syndicated talk show hosted by Craig in the early evening hours appears to be over for now. The Hollywood trade publication Variety reports media company Tribune Broadcasting and distributor Debmar-Mercury were unable to convince enough television stations around the country to run the show. Tribune’s last attempt at a syndicated talk show hosted by Arsenio Hall lasted a single season before being canceled.

And now the good news: Craig’s game show Celebrity Name Game, which has been performing well with female audiences across the country, has been renewed for a second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Taping of the game show is currently on hiatus, but recording is expected to resume this spring at Sunset-Bronson studios in Los Angeles, following Craig’s extended live comedy tour around the U.S. and Canada in February and March.

UPDATE:Jimmy Fallon won the 2015 People’s Choice Award for Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host. Craig Ferguson had been nominated for the award for the first time this year, following his ten-year run hosting The Late Late Show.

Craig Adds Shows in Boston, Windsor
Craig is gearing up for the late winter/early spring leg of his Hot and Grumpy Tour: Walking The Earth, which will take place in February and March, with more than two dozen shows on the schedule. Craig has added a second show at the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, on Valentine’s Day at 7:00pm, and an 8:00pm show on March 19th in Windsor, Ontario. We have all the details and links on our Live Comedy Tour page.

CF To Emcee Pilot Event
Craig will once again be the “celebrity emcee” at the annual Living Legends of Aviation banquet on January 16th in Beverly Hills. Among the honorees is actress/pilot Angelina Jolie, who will accept her away from John Travolta. Harrison Ford will also present an award to Mark Baker, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Astronaut Buzz Aldrin‘s 85th birthday will be celebrated at the After Awards Party on the roof of the Beverly Hilton. Craig has emceed the event in the past.

Josh and John Reunite
Josh Robert Thompson reunited with his partner John Mariano for a special Pokin’ Around Podcast, to talk about current and future projects.

Upcoming LLS Hosts and Guests
CBS will be rolling out Late Late Show guests week by week on the network’s website. We’ve posted as many of the guest hosts that we’ve heard about on our Guests page. Drew Carey is hosting the opening week. Even the network web folks apparently haven’t heard that James Corden‘s arrival as the new permanent host is March 23rd, rather than March 9th. So far, they only list guest hosts through March 6th. We’ll include updates when we hear about them.

Post-Show Reaction
Plenty of reaction continued to come in following Craig’s final Late Late Show in December, including posts from Bill Brioux at TV Worth Watching, The Wrap which compared the closing musical numbers on the LLS and the Colbert Report. BlogCritics.com weighed in on the final show and what it means for television, and Pajiba.com lamented Craig’s departure. Fan John Walker wrote about the end of Craig’s run on the LLS. Fan fbihop on tumblr reflected on Craig’s departure as well as Stephen Colbert‘s. Fan Kirthan Aujlay wrote about a Craig crush and missing the show. Fan befferkins wrote a post about some favorite moments from the show. Fan Gwenhwyfar also wanted to express some thoughts about Craig’s final show. Fan Patrick Glynn thanked Craig, Josh and everyone at the show. Toronto radio station 680 News pondered television in the future and included Geoff Peterson. And fan @FUT_Snake sent us a video clip of a very excited fan who got tickets to one of Craig’s stand up shows for Christmas. Thanks to the ever-vigilant @bgrhubarb for linking to every Craig-related post imaginable and keeping us in the loop.

On Location
Fan @LearBeer visited Washington, DC and took a photo that looked rather familiar to fans of Craig’s most recent stand up comedy special.

Bending the Format
In this video from @TheeNerdwriter, Craig’s unique spin on the late-night television format is explained. Thanks to @Hashtaggis for bringing it to our attention.

Video courtesy: Nerdwriter1