As The Late Show with Stephen Colbert comes to an end, CBS has cemented its late-night schedule.
The network is doubling down on the time buy model with Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen moving up to 11:35 p.m.
The move is not a surprise as CBS made clear it was getting out of the late-night space once the storied Late Show franchise ends in May.
Comics Unleashed has been airing in the 12:35 a.m. slot following the end of After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson. It will now move to 11:35 p.m. for the 2026-2027 season as part of an expanded time buy agreement. It will premiere its first episode in that slot Friday, May 22, the day after Colbert will say goodbye after 11 years, and run two back-to-back half-hour episodes each night.
The roundtable-style comedy talk show, which is hosted by Allen, has featured comedians including Sebastian Maniscalco, Tiffany Haddish, Gabriel Iglesias, Cedric the Entertainer and Nate Bargatze. It has been in first-run syndication since its premiere in September 2006 for 18 consecutive seasons and can also be seen on CBS-owned stations in 14 markets. The show is produced by Allen Media Group. Allen, Carolyn Folks, Jennifer Lucas, Jodi Miller, Peter Steen and Dylan King are executive producers.
The move will see another Allen show slot in at 12:35 a.m.
Funny You Should Ask, which is hosted by Jon Kelley, will similarly air back-to-back half-hour episodes Monday through Friday starting May 22. The comedy game show has been airing in first-run strip syndication since its premiere in September 2017 and airs on CBS owned-and-operated television stations nationwide. It is produced by Allen Media Group and executive produced by Allen, Folks, Lucas, Miller, Steen, Bob Boden, Scott Satin and Eric Charbonnel.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert was canceled in July, with CBS execs calling it “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late-night” and “not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Paramount’s Chair of TV Media George Cheeks later reiterated this stance, saying that “it just wasn’t sustainable to continue” in late-night.
“The challenge in late-night is that the advertising marketplace is in significant secular decline,” Cheeks said. “We are huge fans of Colbert, we love the show, unfortunately the economics made it a challenge for us to keep going.”
“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,” said Allen, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group. “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.”
