IN WITH THE NEW The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s replacement revealed as CBS late-night series to end in just weeks
THE Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s replacement has been revealed just weeks before the series’ official end on CBS.
The nightly talk show, hosted by Stephen Colbert for over a decade, is concluding on May 21.
On Monday, it was revealed which program will fill the 11:35pm timeslot, beginning on May 22.
Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen will take over the hour, followed by the comedy game show Funny You Should Ask at 12:35am.
This new arrangement may feel familiar to nighttime TV watchers, as Comics Unleashed has already been airing later in the lineup.
It also regularly aired on the network during the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes.
“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,” Byron Allen, founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement.
“I truly appreciate CBS’s 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.”
The show features a group of comics performing short sets on various topics given by Byron.
The host made it clear he was interested in the timeslot just weeks after CBS declared the end of The Late Show.
“Let me be clear … if they are looking for a show, my hand is already up,” Byron said in October.
“Fifty years I have been waiting for this moment, definitely I am going for it,” he added.
Byron also snatched up the 12:35pm timeslot with his game show, Funny You Should Ask, hosted by Jon Kelley.
The syndicated series, which launched in 2017, features two competitors facing off to answer trivia questions with hilarious input by a group of comics.
In July, CBS announced the retirement of the entire The Late Show franchise, sparking concerns about the future of late-night television.
“This is all just going away,” Stephen told his live studio audience about the cancellation.
Leaders at Paramount Global and CBS assured that the decision was “purely financial” and not a reflection of the show’s performance.
However, Stephen, who already had beef with CBS, called out the network days before for its $16 million settlement with the White House over a 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
In September, he also took a not-so-subtle dig at his firing while presenting at the Emmys, where the show won two big awards.
The comedian is known for being outspoken in the media, especially regarding politics and his criticism of the Trump Administration.
Stephen previously worked as a correspondent on Comedy Central’s widely left-leaning satirical news program, The Daily Show.
He left in 2005 to host The Colbert Report, which ran for nine years until its finale in December 2014.
In 2015, the TV star took over The Late Show from its original host, David Letterman, and has remained there for 11 years.
