Stephen Colbert and James Corden film their late-night shows in studio for first time in months

It wasn't a grand return for Stephen Colbert and James Corden, but a return nonetheless.

Both late-night hosts went back to their studios to record The Late Show and The Late Late Show, respectively, for Monday night's episodes. As Colbert mentioned during his opening monologue, shot in his studio office instead of the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City, "This is the first time I haven't done the show in my house in five months."

Actually, it wasn't even technically his studio office. It was a replica of his studio office four stories down from his actual office in the building. Colbert's staff managed to bring in a lot of the host's trinkets, including his Captain America shield, his Lord of the Rings books, and framed photos of his dog Benny.

Corden, meanwhile, returned to Studio 56 in Los Angeles and he poked fun at all the "safety precautions" that are now in place. His opening sketch saw him running into a lot of clear plastic "germ shields" erected to prevent transmission of COVID-19. "It's still better than the garage, it's still better than the garage," Corden, who previously filmed his show remotely from his garage, said after running into his fourth sheet.

Conan O'Brien was the first major late-night TV personality to return to shoot his show outside of his home in July, though it was in a revamped comedy club and not his typical studio. The Tonight Show's Jimmy Fallon followed soon after by making a comeback to his NBC home. Though, cases of COVID-19 in New York City, where Fallon's show is based, have drastically declined compared to other parts of the United States.

During a virtual press tour panel this week, Seth Meyers mentioned he hopes to resume filming Late Night at Manhattan's Rockefeller Center by the fall.

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