Aside from his New Year’s Eve program with Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen is still the host of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live. The talk show, which has been airing since 2009, is definitely a different format for a late night talk show, as it doesn’t have the usual desk and chairs, but rather, a bar. Cohen recently opened up about that particular set piece being ripped off by James Corden, another fellow late night talk show host.
Ahead of his annual NYE shindig, which was rather a sober one compared past years, Andy Cohen was a guest on the iHeart podcast, Table for Two. The Real Housewives EP spoke to host and friend Bruce Bozzi about being a talk show host and how he switched up the narrative for the format of late-night TV. Cohen made the argument that WWHL was the first on a very specific piece and feels like James Corden ripped him off:
I think there has been a traditional idea of what a late-night talk show is, and I would argue that ‘Watch What Happens Live’ redefined what the late-night talk show is. … [WWHL] was the first bar on late night [then] James Corden got a bar. James Corden kind of wound up…
Both WWHL and The Late Late Show have done some things that aren’t necessarily traditional on late night talk shows, bringing a whole new meaning to the genre. Luckily, it doesn’t sound like there are any hard feelings for Andy Cohen. He was just pointing out what had happened, and this demonstrates the impact his show has made.
Since Watch What Happens Live has been on for so long, other shows were bound to take an idea or two from it. Andy Cohen is letting bygones be bygones, and for all he cares, he’s just happy that the show is still kicking:
There you go. It is what it is. I am so glad we’re still going. That [the show] is, like, great, copy my set… go with God.
It should be interesting to see whether or not James Corden responds to Andy Cohen’s statement and what he has to say. Obviously it’s not a coincidence that Corden just so happened to get a bar on his set after WWHL, so it’s likely he was simply inspired by the idea. But whether he comments on it is hard to predict, especially since he'll be leaving his own talk show very soon.
During the initial COVID lockdown way back in 2020, Andy Cohen was uncertain what the future of Watch What Happens Live would look like, revealing his COVID diagnosis and admitting he would try to push through to do episodes from home. Luckily, that bump in the road hasn’t stopped him, as the non-traditional talk show is still doing well.
Now that it is 2023, maybe Andy Cohen can do some different things for WWHL to spruce it up a little, make it fresh and see if anyone rips that idea off. You never know what could happen on live television, and his show is the perfect place for surprises. Maybe even James Corden can be a guest, and the two can hash out their feelings in person. Again, it doesn’t sound like there are any hard feelings, but it would be intriguing to see Cohen confront Corden, even if it’s all in good fun.
Check out CinemaBlend’s 2023 TV schedule to see what to look forward to this year.
