Ahead of the launch of Apple's new original TV show "Carpool Karaoke: The Series," the executive producers behind the show, James Corden, Ben Winston, and Eric Pankowski, sat down with Variety to discuss topics like how the new series will differ from the original "Carpool Karaoke" segment on "The Late Late Show with James Corden," and how they decided on which celebrities to feature.
To make the show without James Corden as the focal character, the trio decided to use interesting celebrity pairings to keep people's attention.
It's all about who you would like to see with each other. And therefore when you get certain pairings, like Billy Eichner and Metallica, that's a really fascinating thing. When you see Miley Cyrus, we've seen her in lots of things before, but we've never seen her with her grandmother, her brothers, her sister, her mom and her dad. It's about finding pairings that would either be fascinating watching or they're just really great together, like John Legend and Alicia Keys.
When choosing the celebrity pairings for the show, the team aimed for organic relationships like Miley Cyrus and her family, as well as people who "would be fun together," like Billy Eichner and Metallica, Tracee Ellis Ross and Big Sean, and Shaq and John Cena.
The show was designed with an "organic nature" and will feature some elements that were unplanned, such as the Cyrus family jumping in a bouncy castle at a kid's birthday party.
Because there's no set host, the producers see each episode as "its own special." Each episode is unique because it "takes on the voice and perspective" of the celebrities who are starring in it. Seth MacFarlane and Ariana Grande, for example, will do a theatrical musical episode.
Apple's Jimmy Iovine originally approached James Corden about creating a version of the show for Apple, and the company has allowed the producers "complete creative freedom." There were no set time limits, with show length dictated by content. Corden says teaming up with Apple has been "a perfect match," while Winston says Eddy Cue had ideas for how to turn the segment into a complete series.
We were just excited by the excitement they showed for it as well. Eddy Cue really had a vision for what this show could be. They were so excited by helping us turn this into a series. For us to be with Apple, Apple has a pulse on everything that feels relevant and feels cool. The fact that they wanted to do the series with us and they backed it to the hilt like they have is a wonderful thing for us.
"Carpool Karaoke: The Series" will debut on Tuesday, August 8. Each episode is a half-hour long and features a different celebrity pairing. The show will be available to Apple Music subscribers. The full interview with additional behind the scenes info on the series can be read over at Variety.
