James Corden explains why he thinks it's time to bid goodbye to 'The Late Late Show' and move on

James Corden recently discussed his decision to leave "The Late Late Show" after eight years as its presenter during an interview with Howard Stern on Sirius XM. This decision was made public by Corden in late 2022. He expressed his love and passion for the program but also mentioned that he didn't want it to "overstay its welcome."

He has given more insight into his underlying motivations for choosing to terminate his tenure as host this year and they revolve entirely around family. He is worried about his parents' aging and how little time he has left with them, Corden shared on The Howard Stern Show.

Although he implied that he would undoubtedly miss the financial benefits of hosting the show, which he has previously acknowledged in interviews, ultimately, his fear of missing out on precious time with his loved ones prevailed. “There are people at home who are getting older. And we really felt that during COVID, there were a couple of health things that came along that made us just feel like there were too many signs telling us to go home,” he said.

“The truth is, [I want] time with my parents. To be able to call my dad on a Thursday and go, ‘Do you want to go for lunch?’ That is a feeling that I’ll never ever ever get back. And one day the time’s going to come and it’s not up to us when that is, but the phone’s going to ring and that option is not going to be there anymore. To have missed out on those moments in exchange for money doesn’t feel like a good decision,” Corden added as he addressed the importance of making time for other things than just making money.

The "Cats" actor has previously stated that he wants to spend as much time with his kids as possible before they grow up to be adults. On The Drew Barrymore Show earlier this year, he shared a story about how his then-10-year-old son felt let down when he realized that his father would have to work on a Sunday. After that conversation, he contacted his wife to inform her that his time on "The Late Late Show" was about to end.

“He said, ‘But it’s Sunday’, and I said, ‘I know, buddy, but this schedule is so all over the place, we’ve just got to get it done because I only have a tiny amount of time before we have to go back and do the show’. And his face just kind of dropped,” Corden recalled while opening up to Barrymore on her show.

After taking over for Craig Ferguson in 2015, Corden shot the show's final episode in April. He has not revealed the next step in his career but he will be able to spend more time with his family and loved ones now.