CBS Shares New Late-Night Lineup After Ending ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’
As The Late Show with Stephen Colbert prepares to conclude, CBS is solidifying its late-night lineup.
The network has opted to expand its time-buy model with Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which will transition to the 11:35 p.m. slot.
This decision aligns with CBS’s earlier announcements indicating it would step back from the late-night arena once the renowned Late Show franchise wraps up in May.
Comics Unleashed has been airing in the 12:35 a.m. time slot following the recent conclusion of After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson. Under the new arrangement, it will debut in its new 11:35 p.m. slot on Friday, May 22, just one day after Colbert’s final episode after an 11-year run. The show will feature two back-to-back half-hour episodes each night.
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Host Byron Allen’s roundtable-style comedy talk show has featured numerous well-known comedians, including Sebastian Maniscalco, Tiffany Haddish, Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric the Entertainer, and Nate Bargatze. The program has been in first-run syndication since its premiere in September 2006, running for 20 consecutive seasons, and is also broadcast on CBS-owned stations in 14 markets. It is produced by Allen Media Group, with executive producers including Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Jodi Miller, Peter Steen, and Dylan King.
The transition will also see another Allen-produced show settle into the 12:35 a.m. time slot.
Funny You Should Ask, hosted by Jon Kelley, will also air back-to-back half-hour episodes Monday through Friday beginning May 22. This comedy game show has been part of first-run strip syndication since its debut in September 2017 and is also broadcast on CBS-owned television stations nationwide. Allen Media Group produces the show, with Allen, Folks, Lucas, Miller, Steen, Bob Boden, Scott Satin, and Eric Charbonnel serving as executive producers.
The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was announced in July, with CBS executives describing the decision as “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late-night” and emphasized that it had “not [been] related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
George Cheeks, Paramount’s Chair of TV Media, reiterated this viewpoint, noting that the current late-night landscape was untenable. “The challenge in late-night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline,” Cheeks stated. “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show; unfortunately, the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”
Byron Allen, founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group, expressed his gratitude towards CBS for its confidence in his shows. “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.”
