Byron Allen Takes 11.35pm Slot in Byron Allen Late Show Replacement
Byron Allen’s byron allen late show replacement is set for Friday, when Comics Unleashed takes Stephen Colbert’s old 11.35pm CBS slot. Allen says he is not trying to replace Colbert, even as the show moves into the hour left open by The Late Show’s cancellation.
Allen and Colbert
Allen, 65, put his position plainly: “I’m not trying to replace Colbert.” He added, “I don’t think anybody can replace Colbert,” and called him “phenomenal” and “fantastic.” That is the cleanest frame for this move: CBS is swapping out one late-night brand for another, but the new occupant is being sold as its own thing, not a clone.
The practical shift is straightforward for viewers who had The Late Show in that hour. Starting Friday, Comics Unleashed will be there instead, after CBS canceled Colbert’s show for financial reasons and moved fast to fill the gap.
Lease Deal at 11.35pm
The structure is unusual. Allen will pay CBS for Colbert’s old time slot through a 16-month lease agreement, and he will sell the advertising for Comics Unleashed himself. CBS executives said the arrangement will provide immediate profitability for the network, which explains why the channel can replace a canceled franchise with a show that already comes with a revenue model attached.
Comics Unleashed has been running for 20 years, and it had already started airing in the slot right after Colbert’s show in September. Allen has kept its format tight from the start, telling comedians: “No political humor, nothing racist, nothing sexist, nothing antisemitic, nothing homophobic, just be funny.”
52% and 14%
Allen said some talk shows doing political humor have repeats down 52%, while repeats on Comics Unleashed are down 14%. Those numbers give CBS a concrete reason to test a lower-friction comedy format in a late-night hour that is usually expected to carry a heavier ad and audience burden than an off-network repeat.
That makes the move less about replacing a personality than about filling a time slot with a show that has a clearer cost structure, a long running history, and an advertiser model CBS no longer has to carry alone. For viewers, the change is simple: the hour belongs to Comics Unleashed now, and Allen is betting that a less political panel show can hold it.
