A spin-off of The Late Show, it has been running in short series since 8 October 1992[1] and is now part of BBC Two's Saturday Night Music block,[6] usually broadcast at around 10pm.

[7][8][9] The day of transmission has varied over the years, but it is usually recorded on a Tuesday for Saturday broadcast[10] and features a mixture of both established and new musical artists, from solo performers to bands and larger ensembles.

It is also shown in Australia on the UKTV channel and ABC2, in Canada on HIFI and AUX TV, in Germany on ZDFkultur, in Spain on Canal+ Xtra, in Croatia on HRT 2, in Latin America on Film&Arts and in Belgium, France, Portugal, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates on iConcerts HD, and in Ireland on TG4.

Later... draws from a diverse palette of both popular and world music, and each show features around five bands with a variety of styles performing for each other and a studio audience of around 300 people.

A unique feature is the short jam session that begins each show, involving all of his invited guests, along with Holland on piano.

This beginning jam session also best shows the unusual layout of the set – all the bands are arrayed in a circle with the audience filling in the gaps between them.

[14] Later... and Jools' Annual Hootenanny were opened up to tender in 2018, with the contract to produce the show being retained by BBC Studios.

[17] In 2020, the format was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Holland introducing guests via videolink from his Helicon Mountain[2] home studio and the programme becoming 45 minutes in length, as Newsnight was now starting at 10:45pm.

Also, a selection of the songs from the programme have been released on the limited edition of The Best of M People album and as a b-side to the single "Dreaming".

[28] It was followed by the special "The A-Z of Later... with Jools Holland: From Adele to ZZ Top, narrated by comedian Paul Whitehouse.