Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen to get Stephen Colbert's late-night slot at CBS

Stephen Colbert's late-night show's 11:35 p.m. time slot on CBS has been sold to comedian Byron Allen, the network said on Monday, local time.

Beginning May 22, the day after the finale of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the late-night hour will be filled by “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen,” Paramount Skydance-owned CBS said.

Comics Unleashed will air two back-to-back half-hour episodes nightly beginning.

Comics Unleashed has been airing at 12:35 a.m. since last September, when it moved into the slot after CBS cancelled game show “After Midnight.”

“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,” Allen said in a statement.

Allen made no secret of his interest in Colbert’s time slot. Speaking at New York Ad Week in October, he said, “If they’re looking for a show, my hand is already up.”

The 12:35 a.m. slot will then be filled by “Funny You Should Ask,” a syndicated game show created by Allen and hosted by Jon Kelley.

Who is Byron Allen?

Byron Allen is a comedian and the founder and chief executive of Allen Media Group.

He began his career at age 14, writing for Jimmie Walker alongside then-young writers Jay Leno and David Letterman. By the age of 18, he became the youngest comedian to ever perform on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Allen first gained national fame as a co-host on NBC's Real People, but his true legacy began behind the scenes. In 1993, he co-founded Entertainment Studios, the foundation of what is now Allen Media Group.

What started as a focused production and distribution house quickly scaled into one of the largest independent producers of syndicated television content in the US. His companies produce approximately 70 television shows and operate 12 distinct cable networks.

Allen's business ventures generate an estimated $100 million in annual revenue through a sophisticated model of content production and advertising sales. In 2018, Allen acquired The Weather Channel for $300 million.

With an estimated net worth of $1 billion, Allen is one of the wealthiest comedians and media executives in the world.

He is known for his massive real estate portfolio, including a record-breaking $100 million Malibu estate and residences in New York and Aspen.

Allen gets slot in time buy agreement

CBS has a time buy agreement with Allen Media Group for the 2026-27 season, i.e., the comedian has to pay to air his programs on the network.

A time buy, a common practice in late-night and early-morning hours, is when a network sells a specific block of airtime to an outside producer or company, rather than filling that slot with its own programming.

The agreement is for the 2026-2027 TV season and will take CBS from financially challenged to profitable in late night.

Why is the late-night show ending?

CBS announced it would end Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show,” a frequent platform of satire aimed at US President Donald Trump, citing financial pressures of late-night television. The network called the decision to end the show's 10-year run “agonising.”

Its final episode will air on Thursday, May 21.

Many observers, however, speculated that the cancellation was political. At the time, Weeks before the cancellation, CBS had settled a Trump defamation lawsuit.

"The Late Show" debuted in 1993 with David Letterman as the host after he was passed over for NBC's "The Tonight Show."

Colbert was a regular on "The Daily Show" before he hosted "The Colbert Report" on Comedy Central. He took over "The Late Show" in 2015.