Is Joel McHale the Next 'Late Late Show' Host? Neil Patrick Harris Already Passed

Despite taking less than a week to name Stephen Colbert as David Letterman's replacement to host Late Show, CBS is slow-playing choosing the next host of The Late Late Show. Craig Ferguson announced at the end of April that he would leave the show in December, but CBS has yet to give us any hint at who will replacement him.

On Wednesday morning, Julie Chen tweeted a picture of herself with Joel McHale and her husband. Her husband just happens to be Les Moonves, chairman and chief executive officer of CBS Corporation. You know, the guy who would be in charge of hiring the next host of The Late Late Show.

Me and my hubby hanging with the hilarious @joelmchale pic.twitter.com/pIPjHRXWZI
— Julie Chen (@JulieChen) May 14, 2014

With Community now canceled (thanks for Britta-ing that, NBC), McHale's biggest commitment has gone away. Sure, he has The Soup, but that wouldn't stand in the way of McHale becoming Colbert's late-night partner at CBS.

The news that McHale could be the next host of The Late Late Show may have also been confirmed by Norm Macdonald. Macdonald hasn't been shy about campaigning for The Late Late Show himself, but on Wednesday tweeted that McHale was the guy.

Congratulations to @joelmchale, the new host of the late, late show. The #latelatenormnorm should be extinguished, unseemly now. Thanks, tho
— Norm Macdonald (@normmacdonald) May 14, 2014

If McHale is the guy, was he CBS's first choice? According to Neil Patrick Harris, CBS came to him first.

"[Moonves and CBS entertainment chairman Nina Tassler] called me in and sat me down and asked if [Late Show] was something I'd be interested in doing," Harris told Howard Stern (via Vulture). "In that instance, I felt like I knew what my skillsets were and I kind of knew what it is that I wanted to do after [How I Met Your Mother] … so I was surprised he pitched me that idea."

Both Harris and McHale's names have been rumored when it comes to replacing Ferguson (and even Letterman too), so it's not surprising this race is appearing to come down to the duo.