Late night guest line-ups: December 14-18

Posted by: Paul Little  •  December 14, 2009 @ 6:19pm

I don't have very much time to write a lot before posting this week's late night talk shows listings. It's my birthday today (Yay! I'm not dead for another year!) and I'm heading out to dinner right away, but I wanted to get these posted BEFORE the first shows of the evening start airing for once.

This week is dominated by Avatar and Sherlock Holmes-related guests (the 2 biggest holiday movies come out this Wednesday and Christmas Day, respectively), but there are also some other big events and cool guests to check out on late night this week.

Also, yesterday's Kevin Pollak's Chat Show episode isn't available for streaming yet, so that's why there isn't anything embedded at the bottom of this post. We'll put it up with next week's listings, since there will be a few weeks without a new one over the holidays anyway (his show's taking a break until January 10th).

Now, quickly, here are the top 5 can't-miss guests for the week, followed by the week's full schedule...

• Craig's 1000th Show (Tuesday on Ferguson) – Normally, The Late Late Show takes the very calm, small, low-budget approach to television -- and I've seen it first-hand on two occasions. But I'm betting things will be a little bigger and crazier this Tuesday, as Craig celebrates his 1000th show, featuring a great list of guests and Craig favourites: Kristen Bell, Maria Bello, Jason Schwartzman, Jason Segel (and his Dracula puppet), and the Broken West. The whole event is "hosted" by Wavy, Craig's most popular puppet, and should be an absolute joy to watch. Congrats, Craig!
• Robert Downey Jr. (Wednesday on Letterman) – I haven't liked every movie Robert Downey Jr. has ever done, but especially since he's been completely clean and sober, he's been amazing in almost everything I've seen him in. Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Zodiac, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, and this year's The Soloist were all fantastic movies and roles, and I'm eagerly anticipating his take on Sherlock Holmes. His dark but thoughtful sense of humour has always shone through when being interviewed, too, so don't miss him on Wednesday.
• Jude Law (Thursday on Letterman, Friday on Fallon) – Downey's Sherlock Holmes co-star hits up 2 shows this week. After proving he's game for doing strange things on his last Late Night appearance, when he calmly read Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" lyrics on air (pre-Christopher Walken), I'm curious to see what Fallon puts him up to this time. And he should be a good guest on Letterman, too (hey, if the conversation gets stale, they could talk about having mistresses and stuff).
• James Cameron (Monday on Leno, Wednesday on Conan, Friday on Kimmel) – Is anybody else looking forward to Avatar? I was only mildly psyched -- wanting to see it, for sure, but not overly excited -- until all the early reviews have been coming in calling it everything from "breathtaking" to "groundbreaking", and a whole lot in between. It's even been getting 5-star reviews from some major publications, ones not known necessarily for supporting the big blockbuster-style films. I'm glad he's making the talk show rounds this week, because now I want to hear all about the process in developing a new kind of 3D camera, and the years it took to get this project going.
• Alicia Keys (Tuesday on Colbert) – I love when Colbert has musical guests on, because we're almost always guaranteed to see them perform AND be interviewed, where as most shows don't bother interviewing their musical guests. After airing a live-on-YouTube concert recently, and being a part of one of the best songs of 2009 (as if I'm the only one who's got "Empire State of Mind" stuck in my head all the time!), what will she talk about with Stephen? Probably something about her ongoing charitable work, which along with her amazing musical talent and hotness level, makes her even more endearing. Oh, Alicia Keys...

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (NBC)

• Mon 12/14: Tom Arnold, Cheryl Hines, Adam Lambert
• Tue 12/15: Norah Jones
• Wed 12/16: Wanda Sykes, James Cameron, Myq Kaplan
• Thu 12/17: John Krasinski, Robin Thicke
• Fri 12/18: Animal expert Nigel Marven, Foreigner

The Late Show with David Letterman (CBS)

• Mon 12/14: Hugh Grant, Zoe Saldana, Alicia Keys
• Tue 12/15: Sarah Jessica Parker, Leona Lewis
• Wed 12/16: Robert Downey Jr., Martin Short, Kris Allen
• Thu 12/17: Jude Law, Matisyahu
• Fri 12/18: Cate Blanchett, Tom Dreesen

The Jay Leno Show (NBC)

• Mon 12/14: Anna Kendrick, James Cameron
• Tue 12/15: Christina Applegate, Nick Lachey
• Wed 12/16: Sigourney Weaver, John Mayer
• Thu 12/17: Sam Worthington, Mary J. Blige
• Fri 12/18: Glenn Beck, Kate Gosselin

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (NBC)

• Mon 12/14: Kate Hudson, Giovanni Ribisi, Chevelle
• Tue 12/15: Jason Reitman, Anne Burrell
• Wed 12/16: Sarah Jessica Parker, Deepak Chopra, Raekwon
• Thu 12/17: Boyz II Men
• Fri 12/18: Jude Law, Abby Elliott, Ronnie Spector

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (CBS)

• Mon 12/14: Joshua Jackson, Lake Bell, Reba McEntire
• Tue 12/15: Craig's 1000th Show with Kristen Bell, Maria Bello, Jason Schwartzman, Jason Segel (and his Dracula puppet), and the Broken West, hosted by Wavy the puppet
• Wed 12/16: Bob Barker, Greta Van Susteren
• Thu 12/17: Sigourney Weaver, Hank Stuever
• Fri 12/18: Judi Dench, Michelle Rodriguez

Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)

• Mon 12/14: Charlize Theron, Donny Osmond, Regis Philbin, Wolfmother (Repeat)
• Tue 12/15: Zach Braff, Nigel Lythgoe, Michael McDonald
• Wed 12/16: Ty Pennington, 8-year-old Chicken Whisperer Joshua McCarthy, Norah Jones
• Thu 12/17: Rachel McAdams, Allison Iraheta
• Fri 12/18: John Krasinski, James Cameron, Mary J. Blige

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (Comedy Central, CTV)

• Mon 12/14: Sigourney Weaver
• Tue 12/15: Ray LaHood
• Wed 12/16: Hugh Grant
• Thu 12/17: Mike Huckabee (Repeat)

The Colbert Report (Comedy Central, CTV)

• Mon 12/14: Snoop Dogg
• Tue 12/15: Alicia Keys
• Wed 12/16: TBA
• Thu 12/17: Lara Logan (Repeat)

Last Call with Carson Daly (NBC)

• Mon 12/14: Ron Artest, Eva Amurri, Natasha Leggero (Repeat)
• Tue 12/15: Dita Von Teese, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto, Ben Gleib
• Wed 12/16: Joel David Moore, David Guetta, Gossip
• Thu 12/17: Jason Reitman, Kenna, Franz Ferdinand
• Fri 12/18: Snoop Dogg

Lopez Tonight (TBS)

• Mon 12/14: Mark Harmon, 50 Cent
• Tue 12/15: Constance Marie, Belita Moreno, Valente Rodriguez, Luis Armand Garcia, Masiela Lusha, Aimee Garcia
• Wed 12/16: David Beckham, Mariah Carey
• Thu 12/17: Ray Romano, Lake Bell, Mariah Carey

The Hour with George Stroumboloupoulos (CBC)

• Mon 12/14: Paul Kennedy, Anvil
• Tue 12/15: Keith Desserich, Louis Ferreira
• Wed 12/16: Leila Chirayath Jana, Matthew Good
• Thu 12/17: John Furlong, Terry Gilliam

Kevin Pollak's Chat Show (Online)

• No new episodes until Sunday, January 10th

Tags: The Tonight Show, Late Night, David Letterman, Craig Ferguson, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Jimmy Kimmel, The Hour, George Lopez, talk shows

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Paul Little is the founder and Managing Editor of ShowbizMonkeys.com. When not interviewing his favourite musicians and comedians, he can also be found putting on and promoting music and comedy events with The Purple Room in Winnipeg, or co-producing the live comedy game shows Pants on Fire and The Great Patio Showdown. (@comedygeek)

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