‘Late Late Show’ Is Losing Its Producer

Mary Connelly is stepping down as executive producer of CBS’ 12:30 a.m. “The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn,” marking the second time in as many years that the late-night talk show has lost its head staffer.

Last year at this time Billy Kimball--who began as Kilborn’s executive producer when Kilborn took over for Tom Snyder in the slot following the “Late Show with David Letterman”--departed, saying officially that he wanted to pursue other projects.

Connelly, in a statement released by Worldwide Pants Inc., the production company behind the talk show, said she wants to get back to writing.

“At this point in my career, I decided I would like to write more and return to the type of work I did on sitcoms,” Connelly said. Before joining “The Late Late Show,” Connelly worked on the NBC sitcom “Mad About You” and had also worked on both of David Letterman’s NBC and CBS late-night shows. Worldwide Pants is Letterman’s production company.

Connelly will remain as executive producer of “The Late Late Show” through June. A source says Worldwide Pants is close to naming her replacement.

In a statement, Kilborn called Connelly “funny and talented” and said he was “appreciative of all she had done for the show.” In ratings through last week, “The Late Late Show” is averaging 1.6 million viewers this season, an increase over last year, particularly among younger viewers. The show, however, continues to trail its chief time-slot rival, NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” which averages 2.4 million viewers.

Kilborn replaced Snyder as “The Late Late Show” host in March 1999, coming over from Comedy Central, where he anchored the cable network’s satirical weeknight series “The Daily Show.”