CBS’ Taylor Tomlinson Late Night Series ‘After Midnight’ Premieres: ‘It’s Gonna Be Fun, Right?’

variety.com:

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large CBS gave its new late night series “After Midnight” a bit of a soft launch on Tuesday night, premiering the show with minimal fanfare in its 12:37 a.m.

timeslot behind “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Comedian Taylor Tomlinson hosts the series, which tapes on the Paramount lot in Hollywood.

The decision to keep the “After Midnight” premiere lowkey is by design: Allow the new show to find its voice over the next few weeks, prior to the Super Bowl and return of first-run scripted series in February, when more eyeballs will be back at the broadcast networks. “I’m Taylor Tomlinson and this is ‘After Midnight, where three comedians enter, one wins and two will regret participating,” she said in opening the first episode. “We’re taking the internet and desperately trying to make it fun.

It’s gonna be fun, right? Comedians, you’ll be competing for the grand prize of my father’s approval. It is rare but winnable!” Comedians Whitney Cummings, Aparna Nancherla and Kurt Braunohler were the first round of comedians playing the game, in which panelists crack wise about pop culture, headlines and “the dumbest things on the internet.” “After Midnight” looks like a game show, but the points are assigned at random by Tomlinson and based on the panelists’ responses.