​Each of the late-night talk shows—NBC’s The Tonight Show, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, TBS’ Conan and CBS’ Late Show and Late Late Show—have a presence on YouTube. In fact, watching clips on YouTube is how many people enjoy these programs.

But James Corden takes it a step further with an entire episode shot at YouTube Space in LA on Aug. 21 for a very special Late Late Show on CBS.

To kick off the proceedings, Corden posted the musical teaser (above), an “ode to YouTube,” celebrating YouTube stars and also Corden’s Broadway background. Jenna Marbles, Tyler Oakley, even Rebecca Black join Corden, which doubles as his show open on Aug. 21.

CBS’ Late Late Show episode marks the first time a late-night show is featuring solely Web talent. Marbles and Oakley will be joined by Boyce Avenue and the Slow Mo Guys, YouTube performers who rack in millions of subscribers each month.

“The truth is, if this was 10 or 15 years ago they would probably be the hosts of Total Request Live on MTV. They are stars in their world,” Corden told The Hollywood Reporter.

And Corden understands the YouTube world better than most in his place. Though Fallon earns thousands of views from viral clips, Corden started off his show with a singularly digital perspective, even mocking the online world in an early teaser that also went to show how much he valued the social media universe.

Corden’s YouTube episode is also celebrating the website’s 10th anniversary, a place that helped bring his show into the cultural zeitgeist so quickly. His early video with Tom Hanks reenacting his own film roles shot him up to the top of YouTube’s charts, and he’s stayed there ever since with clever episodes like the one where he celebrated his 50th episode like he had been doing his show for decades.

The Late Late Show with James Corden’s YouTube page currently has almost 900,000 subscribers with 198 million views, and most of his viral video clips garnering more than 1 million views each.

Read more at The Hollywood Reporter.

Brief Take: In an industry still struggling to understand the importance of stars and influencers on YouTube, James Corden is blowing right through the learning curve.

[Image courtesy of CBS]

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