James Corden hosts his last Late Late Show, with an intervention from fellow late-night hosts

James Corden hosted his last Late Late Show on Thursday night, ending his eight-season run on CBS late night with guests Harry Styles and Will Ferrell, a little song and dance, a lot of nostalgia, and plea for civility in a divided America.

"We started this show with Obama, then Trump and a global pandemic," Corden said. "I've watched America change a lot. I've watched divisions grow and I've felt a sense of negativity boil over." America "has always been a place of optimism," and that's important for the rest of the world, too, he added. "Just because somebody disagrees with you it doesn't make them bad or evil. We are all more the same than we are different. There are so many people who are trying to stoke those differences and we have to try as best we can to look for the light, look for the joy. If you do, it's out there. That's all this show has ever been about."

Corden did bridge one divide on his final show, assembling all the other network late night hosts — Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and even David Letterman and Trevor Noah — for a collegial intervention on the protocols for leaving late-night television.

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Corden took a few minutes to replay highlights from his eight years hosting The Late Late Show — his stint in the garage during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic did not, evidently, rank high in the good times.

He ended his show at the piano with a final song, but earlier in the week (and earlier Thursday night, in a prime time retrospective) his good friend Adele picked him up for a final Carpool Karaoke — the only bit the other late night hosts were interested in poaching. Corden and Adele sang and cried and talked about the song she wrote after a long conversation they had at a hard time in life.

"Part of me thinks I should stay here forever but deep in my heart I just know," Corden sang to close out his late-night run. "No more shows to be showing, it's time I was going, It's time. Thanks for watching, that's our show." Watch the final episode, including President Biden thanking Corden for never inviting him to sing in a car, below.