How Did James Corden Do?

This is the week where the Late, Late Show on CBS stars its new host, James Corden.  After many years of Craig Ferguson, he had big shoes to fill and he did pretty well Monday night.  

In his opening monologue on Monday night, he was very thankful to the fans, CBS, and Craig Ferguson.  And parents were in the front row cheering him on, having traveled from Great Britain to stay with him for a week.  It all made for a very humble and fun start to a new era.  And it was nice to see that there was still a place for a non-American on late night TV (of course, Mr. Ferguson later obtaining US citizenship). 

The opening skit parodying on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a story by another Brit, involved personalities such as Jay Leno, Billy Crystal, Chris Rock, Shia Labeouf, Meryl Streep, and others.  This was a nice way to start the next iteration of the Late, Late Show and grounded Mr. Corden in that strange place called Hollywood.  He later went on to chat with his first guests, Mila Kunis and Tom Hanks. 

National Pubic Radio gave the show a passing grade, stating:
  
Monday's debut showed Corden has a well-tuned format that showcases his charm and talent. He's just got to figure out what he wants to do with it. It's not the kind of show that will transform late-night TV, at least not yet. But for the third white guy named James hosting a talk show on network television, it wasn't bad.

All in all, it was a solid show and I think it will be a good addition to the evening celebrity chatter.