Anne Hathaway and James Cordon in a "Drop the Mic" segment Courtesy of The Late Late Show with James Corden
The series will pit celebrities against each other in a rap battle every week.
Watch out, Lip Sync Battle — The Late Late Show producers are coming for you.
TBS on Thursday announced a straight-to-series pickup for comedic music competition series Drop the Mic, inspired by James Corden and Ben Winston's popular sketch on their CBS late-night show. Turner-owned TBS has picked up 16 episodes of the series, with a host to be announced later.
"Drop the Mic is such an exciting show, and we can't wait to begin making it," Winston said. "Every time we have done this segment on The Late Late Show, it has become a massive viral moment. Now with TBS as our perfect partner, we hope to create some really memorable television."
The Late Late Show segment has been one of the highlights of Corden's late-night series following Carpool Karaoke, which has already spawned a TV series and a similarly themed entry at Spike TV — Caraoke Showdown, hosted by Craig Robinson.
In return, CBS Television Studios announced it was developing Carpool Karaoke as a stand-alone TV series. That show recently sold to Apple TV as the latter begins to push into original music-themed programming. Meanwhile, ABC is readying a series based on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night bit Who Knows.
For TBS, the series marks the cabler's' first new unscripted show since adding Michael Bloom as senior vp unscripted and special event programming.
"James Corden and Ben Winston have struck a nerve with their celebrity-driven, music-infused, incredibly fun content," Bloom said. "This series embodies the kind of unique and surprising programming we are looking for as we reinvent our approach to this genre within the new TBS brand."
