Mayor Eric Garcetti thanks CBS for keeping ‘The Late Late Show’ in L.A.

“The Late Late Show” is, as expected, leaving its heart (and production) in Los Angeles--and for that, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti is thankful.

Early on Thursday, CBS revealed the dates of the baton hand-off for its often overlooked “Late Late Show.” Craig Ferguson will step down from his hosting perch on Dec. 19 after a 10-year run, with his replacement, British comedian James Corden, stepping onto the stage on March 9.

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For the Record
Oct. 24, 10:36 a.m.: An earlier version of this article included a quote about NBC moving “The Tonight Show” to New York that was incorrectly attributed to Mayor Eric Garcetti. The quote was from a Times reader.
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But for Garcetti, the bigger cause for celebration is that there’s a victory for L.A. in all of this, given that the talker will stay put in Southern California.

“I want to thank CBS for keeping ‘The Late Late Show’ in Los Angeles,” Garcetti said in a statement. “We are proud to be home to so many CBS productions that provide thousands of jobs for Angelenos. This is why I’ve fought hard to make sure L.A. remains the entertainment capital of the world. Under my administration, L.A. is open for business and my office stands ready to cut red tape and provide white glove service to keep and attract productions here.”

While not as big a coup as retaining “The Tonight Show” would have been, it keeps Los Angeles from losing too much of its edge in the late-night turf wars. ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and NBC’s “Last Call With Carson Daly” also film in Los Angeles.

But earlier this year, the city lost out on a major job-and-money maker when NBC opted to move “The Tonight Show” to New York after four decades in Southern California.

The talk show, under New York-based successor Jimmy Fallon, moved cross-country, allowing it to take advantage of the tax breaks offered by New York state. The move cost more than 150 jobs locally and spotlighted L.A.’s issue with runaway production.

Keeping and attracting productions to Los Angeles has been an objective Garcetti has been vocal about.

When it was announced earlier this year that David Letterman would retire from the “Late Show” next year, Garcetti urged CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves to consider Los Angeles as a new home for the late-night talk show whose longtime home has been at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan.

But, alas, the request was not answered. The “Late Show,” under new host Stephen Colbert, will remain in Manhattan.

With thousands of jobs dependent on film and television production in Southern California, Garcetti seems steadfast in his mission. He urged the enactment of a new film tax credit bill in California that was signed into law in September. The bill raises the state’s tax credit to $330 million a year.

Twitter: @villarrealy