Taylor Tomlinson hosted the final episode of After Midnight on Thursday (June 12), where she spoke of how grateful she was for the opportunity and how disappointed she was that CBS isn’t replacing her with a new host.

The comedian explained to viewers how she decided to step away from the show to focus on her stand-up career, and in doing so, CBS chose to end After Midnight rather than continue with a new host. “It was my dream that I would get to finish out this season and hand it off to a new host,” she said. “I really wanted CBS to replace me.”

After Midnight premiered on January 17, 2024, as a replacement for The Late Late Show, which ended after James Corden stepped down as host. Based on the Comedy Central show @midnight, the show saw a panel of comedians playing games and discussing hot topics to earn points.

The show was initially renewed for a third season until Tomlinson announced she was leaving. Instead, CBS will replace the show with Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which is set to start in September in the 12:30 am slot.

“I’m so grateful that I got a chance to do this. I never thought that I would be able to host a late night show. This was never something that was on my vision board at all because I just didn’t think it was possible for me, like I’m a touring stand up,” Tomlinson said in her monologue.

She continued, “And I feel very grateful to have that career that I do, and this opportunity came along at a time in my life where I could take advantage of it, and while, unfortunately, I couldn’t keep doing the show, it just wasn’t sustainable for me. I just… I can’t believe that I got to do it as long as I did.”

Speaking on her hopes of the show continuing, Tomlinson stated, “I just think there are so many amazing comedians who would have done a great job with this show. And the reason I feel that way is because, honestly, I can’t.”

She went on to praise the team behind the show and all the guests who have taken part, saying, “A lot of people have told me, like, ‘Oh, you’re so good at this job. Like, who else could have done it?’ I’m not kidding… a lot of people could have done it because this team is so supportive and is so good at preparing people to be on television.”

“I mean, we have three guests minimum every single night who are on the whole hour,” she added. “We make them stand like the whole time… it’s a big ask to have people do this show. Let me just be sentimental for a second, but like, the amount of work that goes into doing a show like this, it’s insane.”

Tomlinson also thanked hair, makeup, and wardrobe for making her look good every night, saying they “deserve an award.”

“I had no idea how to be on TV every day. I had no idea how to do any of this. I had no idea how much work it was to make a late night show every single day, and like, to be totally frank, we didn’t have the budget of a traditional late night show,” she shared. “We really, really didn’t. And everyone who works here was doing the job of, like, several people, not just their own. Everybody was working overtime, and everybody cared so much.”

After thanking more of the cast and crew, Tomlinson wrapped up by saying, “I just need everybody watching to know how much this experience has meant to me. And the reason I took this job was to work with these people who are so good at what they do, and anyone you see on stage tonight, behind the scenes, just know, like, this is the A team.”

She concluded, “So I just want to say on camera thank you so much to the staff and crew of After Midnight for having me as your host for 200 episodes.”