CBS Shaking Up Late Night As Stephen Colbert’s Era Ends

CBS is making a major change to its late-night programming after firing Stephen Colbert. The network will replace The Late Show with two series produced by comic and businessman Byron Allen, bringing his long-running projects to a national audience. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen will take over the 11:30 p.m. slot beginning May 22, the day after Colbert’s final episode. At 12:30 a.m., CBS will run Allen’s comedy game show Funny You Should Ask each weekday night.

Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen first launched in 2006 and ran for a decade before ending in 2016. The show features stand-up comics who riff on topics chosen by producers. Allen has said that he avoids religion and politics so episodes can appeal to wider audiences and remain relevant as reruns. CBS revived Comics Unleashed in 2023 as a midseason fill-in after the network dropped The Late Late Show With James Corden.

“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,” Allen said in a statement. “I 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.”

Allen had hinted at plans to step into late-night last fall when he told reporters, “I have been waiting fifty years for this moment, and I am going for it.” His arrival marks one of the few times a major network lineup will feature programming produced entirely by an independent studio rather than a traditional Hollywood partner.

Colbert’s show has faced declining ratings and mounting production costs since 2020. CBS confirmed his departure last July and set May 21 as his final broadcast. Industry analysts predict the Allen partnership will cost the network far less while helping it move past the politically charged tone that had defined Colbert’s years on air.

The move signals a clear shift in CBS strategy. Rather than chasing partisan monologues, the network appears to be banking on easy laughs and more universal comedy, a change in tempo that could reshape late-night TV for years to come.

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