James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" has gone from a breath of fresh air to tired and formulaic

The A.V. Club

The recurring Late Late Show segment still gets many millions of views on YouTube while occasionally pulling off memorable moments like the recent Paul McCartney installment. But the McCartney segment, which was expanded for a primetime special tonight on CBS, points to one of "Carpool Karaoke's" main flaws: all the memorable stuff happened outside the car. "The problem here is not McCartney, or even Corden (although he remains a divisive figure in some circles): rather, evidence suggests the 'Carpool Karaoke' format has lost its distinctiveness amid intense repetition, and renewed competition from the rest of late night," says Myles McNutt. "What once felt like a spontaneous and intimate encounter with a celebrity has become, over the course of 40 installments, a plug-and-play series of bits that feels like it’s exhausted its cultural moment a mere three years after its introduction." McNutt says. "Carpool Karaoke's" inability to surprise anymore could be seen in last week's Ariana Grande segment that recycled a moment from Grande's earlier appearance with Seth MacFarlane on Apple's Carpool Karaoke: The Series. "Whereas Corden’s harmonies and other vocal achievements were once unexpected, they’re now built into the formula," says McNutt. "It no longer feels like an individual artist is going to impact what happens in the car on 'Carpool Karaoke.' It’s now about how the show’s producers filter that artist through the predetermined formula, and how the artist’s management wants them to appear within those limitations."

ALSO:

• Corden says the Paul McCartney "Carpool Karaoke" "kind of breaks the rules of the internet" with its 23-minute runtime
• Corden turns 40 on Wednesday, and he's already celebrating in Mexico with Harry Styles