The show starts with a cold open introduction, followed by a commercial break, then the opening credits. Craig almost always begins the show (after the first commercial break) by saying "Welcome to Los Angeles, California. Welcome to The Late Late Show. I'm your host, TV's Craig Ferguson", then begs his audience to stop applauding. He then usually begins the monologue by saying, "It's a great day for America, everybody." On days when exceptionally bad news (such as a national tragedy) prevails, Ferguson will omit the line.

Craig's monologue is told in an informal, largely-improvised fashion[citation needed] and often spills over into his first segment following a commercial break. Ferguson reads and responds to viewer e-mail almost every night. Other segments include comedy sketches which feature Ferguson in costume or performing in collaboration with any of a number of semi-regular guests including performers such as Dave Foley, Betty White, Tim Gunn, Daniel McVicar, and Tim Meadows. Occasionally a guest will participate in a sketch, such as Ewan McGregor.[1]. Most shows include celebrity interviews and sometimes a musical guest and or stand-up comedy act. Musical performances are often taped before the rest of a show.

Ferguson has used many running gags that span multiple shows and have colorful animated graphics. These have included themed weeks such as "Crab Week" and "Shark Week" (though Craig admits that the show's budget makes the themes limited mostly to graphics), a sound effects machine installed at his desk, (which has been removed) and "Election Fever" during the run-up to the 2008 Presidential election. Another running gag is the "photo of Paul McCartney". When McCartney is mentioned in the monologue, Ferguson will call for a photo of McCartney, which is actually a photo of actress Angela Lansbury and vice versa. The show often uses variations of this gag featuring other pairs of look-alike celebrities.

The show ends with What Did We Learn on the Show Tonight, Craig? Where Craig summarizes the lessons of the evening.