CBS announces replacement for Colbert’s late-night time slot

CBS will replace the late-night slot of Stephen Colbert, above, with "Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen,” starting May 22, the day after Colbert’s final program. Scott Kowalchyk/CBS/Getty Images via CNN Newsource

CBS has filled its soon-to-be-vacant 11:35 p.m. time slot.

The network said Monday that beginning May 22, the day after the finale of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the hour will be filled by “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.”

Because “Comics Unleashed” is a half-hour program, CBS will air two back-to-back episodes each night. 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.

“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, a comedian and founder and chief executive of Allen Media Group, said in a statement.

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

The programming move comes less than a year after CBS announced it would end Colbert’s “Late Show,” which airs its final episode on Thursday, May 21.

The network cited the financial pressures of late-night television, calling the decision “agonizing.”

Many observers, however, speculated that the cancellation was political, given Colbert’s status as an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump. At the time, CBS parent Paramount was seeking approval from the Trump administration for its proposed sale to Skydance.

Weeks before the cancellation, CBS also settled a Trump defamation lawsuit that many legal observers had deemed frivolous.

Allen, for his part, has 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.”