What To Know
- CBS recently announced that Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed will be taking over Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show time slot on May 22.
- David Letterman, who previously hosted The Late Show, hinted that the move was a money grab for the network.
- Allen’s time-buy agreement with CBS is signed for the 2026 to 2027 season so far.
David Letterman hosted The Late Show for more than 20 years from 1993 to 2015, and he has some thoughts about CBS’s plans for the network’s 11:35/10:35c time slot once Stephen Colbert‘s run ends on May 21.
CBS recently announced that Byron Allen‘s Comics Unleashed would be moving up one hour to air in The Late Show‘s time slot. “They don’t want to spend any money, so they’re going to make money,” Letterman explained on his podcast.
CBS will be selling the 11:35/10:35c time slot to Allen, who will also occupy the former Comics Unleashed time slot at 12:37a/11:37c with his comedy game show Funny You Should Ask.
“They charge Byron Allen some reasonable price,” Letterman continued. “He sells all the advertising for his Comics Unleashed and it’ll be, I think, 90 minutes or two hours of comics talking about funny stuff.“ The former late-night host noted that Allen’s show “is a pretty good idea,” pointing out, “It’s all panel. Nobody’s doing standup, except they’re doing seated standup.”
Colbert took over the reigns from Letterman on The Late Show in 2015, but last year, CBS announced that it would be retiring the late-night talk show in May 2026, which would mark the end of Colbert’s reign behind the desk. Earlier this month, the network confirmed that Allen’s show would be filling in that hour-long time slot beginning on May 22. Allen’s deal with CBS is for the 2026 to 2027 season.
“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,” Allen said. “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.”
Letterman previously called CBS’ decision to cancel The Late Show “cowardice,” adding, “They did not do the correct thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert — the face of that network — in the way he deserves to have been handled.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Weeknights, 11:35/10:35c, CBS