The network will air Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen in the 11:35 p.m. beginning May 22, followed by another Allen-produced series, the comedy game show Funny You Should Ask, at 12:35 a.m. The Late Show will sign off on May 21.
Comics Unleashed has been airing in the later spot this season and also aired there during the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes.
Notably — especially for CBS’ bottom line — Allen is buying time from the network to air the two shows, with his company, Allen Media Group, selling the available ad spots in the two hours. The change will likely see CBS turn a profit in late night.
“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, founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement. “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 has publicly expressed his interest in the 11:35 spot. “Let me be clear … if they are looking for a show, my hand is already up,” Allen said in October 2025, two and a half months after CBS announced it was ending The Late Show. “Fifty years I have been waiting for this moment, definitely I am going for it.”
by cmaia1503
32 Comments
Norm MacDonald rolling in his grave smh
“Ohh, you couldn’t be more leashed.” – Norm MacDonald.
This is such a failure. And I’m not talking about Byron Allen.
We let a fat headed FAT HEAD scream until a TV show got canceled because he owns the FCC.
This is the shit you put on TV when rain delays the ball game.
Cool. Can’t wait to not watch this show more often.
Have Colbert on the 1st episode and roast CBS
Let me guess, the comics are going to “unleash” jokes about being woke and owning the libs?
No thanks. I’ll give whatever Colbert does a try tho.
No way this is real
The white bread of comedy
Anyone who cares about freedom of speech should boycott the timeslot
Fuck David Ellison.
20 year money laundering operation 🤣
Nobody actually watches Comics Unleashed
It just came on in the middle of the night when people still paid for cable
Should be hilarious to see which sponsors decide to throw their money away
Finally, comics will be unleashed! There has been just way too much leashing in the comedy space. Every time I see a comic, I think, “Damn, they are so leashed. I wish someone would unleash them.”
My hand is already up to not watch it.
They should put the “This is a paid promotion” slate up at the beginning like they do on informercials.
They cancelled After Midnight for this?
Fun fact – Byron Allen owns the weather channel.
Funner fact – they should air “Funny you should ask” in the spot
I’m done with CBS for life.
waiting for this to bomb in a month and they call up Colbert again
This rules
I’ll be looking forward to its replacement
Byron Allen + Comics Unleashed is a fun Wikipedia dive.
Comics Unleashed is super cheap to make and basically something that counts as entertainment, just a rotating batch of stand-ups with no particular agenda, Allen himself seems pretty earnest and just wants to entertain people and make a paying gig for comics. Allen buys the time and finds advertisers himself, so from CBS’s perspective they’re leasing out air time which means a guaranteed small revenue stream for basically no work on their side.
Allen won a lawsuit against McDonalds that compels them to buy ads from him, so for his part he’s guaranteed to profit as well.
The end result is CBS Late Night turning into “here’s some standup, brought to you by McDonalds against their will”.
Strange times.
I’m not expecting a shocking rating decrease regardless of the internets sudden passion for the Late Show since it’s cancellation.
Oof…this is going to be hard to watch.
I feel Colbert’s late night show was a massive disappointment compared to The Colbert Report. But it was at least mediocre. But Comics Unleashed is one of the worst embarrassments of a show of all time
If Allen is buying the time how could CBS not turn a profit? No expenses it seems and all the costs on Allen’s company. Is he a union producer?
“Now Jon, it says here your getting older?”
Boring
Boooooooooring. Ain’t no one going to watch this crap.
Wait what? I thought CBS was cancelling the show and wasn’t replacing it with any other talk shows. r/OutOfTheLoop
was expecting them to just give give that time slot back to the affiliates
That is going to be the biggest network flop in network history.