CBS to fill Colbert's late night spot with Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed

Taking over Stephen Colbert’s late-night show slot on CBS will be Byron Allen’s comedy talk show, Comics Unleashed. Per Variety, the network chose to turn its 11:35 pm post-local news timeslot into a time buy, with the deal with Allen running through the 2026-27 TV season. 

The back-to-back episodes of Comics Unleashed will be moving down an hour to Colbert’s slot, while Allen will continue to lease the 12:37 am hour as part of the deal for his company’s game show, Funny You Should Ask. 

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will air its finale on May 21. Allen will take over the time slot the following night. The Late Show began in 1993 with David Letterman moving to the network. Colbert has hosted the show since Letterman’s retirement in 2015. 

Allen, the founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement, "I created and launched ‘Comics Unleashed’ 20 years ago so my fellow comedians could have a platform to do what we all love – make people laugh. I truly appreciate CBS’ confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of ‘Comics Unleashed’ and ‘Funny You Should Ask,’ because the world can never have enough laughter."

In July, CBS announced that Colbert’s show would come to an end after its current season. The network said that the move was "purely a financial decision. Reports indicated that the show was losing upwards of $50 million per year. 

In the wake of the announcement, Allen lobbied for the slot. Speaking at a New York Advertising Week event in October, he said, "If they’re looking for a show, my hand is already up. 50 years, I’ve been waiting for this moment. Definitely, I’m going for it… I’m investing millions and millions of dollars to prove myself at 12:35."

Comics Unleashed initially shot around 233 episodes between 2006 and 2016 as a syndicated series, and picked up production for the 2025-26 TV season on CBS. Funny You Should Ask began in 2017, and features Jon Kelley as the host.