CBS Announces New Late-Night Lineup Following Stephen Colbert's Departure
By Published Apr 6, 2026, 2:13 PM EDT Adam Bentz is a senior news writer at ScreenRant, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and lists. He studied creative writing and English with a concentration in screenwriting at Southern New Hampshire University and interned as a writer/journalist for The Borgen Project, an influential organization that fights global poverty.
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took over as from David Letterman in 2015, and a decade later, CBS shockingly canceled the late-night show despite its consistently high ratings and announced that its time slot would be given back to local affiliates, which the network called "purely a financial decision."
Since it was shockingly canceled by CBS in July 2026, the network has maintained that the long-running late-night talk show, on air since 1993, would conclude in the month of May 2026. It was later confirmed by Colbert that The Late Show would conclude on Thursday, May 21.
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Stephen Colbert is a staple of late-night television, with celebrated fictional and real personas, and he earned a high net worth with his TV roles.
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Stephen Colbert's Replacement Confirmed
After pulling the plug on , CBS has officially confirmed who is stepping in to replace him.
has announced that Comics Unleashed, hosted by Byron Allen, will move to the 11:35 PM time slot beginning on Friday, May 22, a day after the final episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs on Thursday, May 21. Comics Unleashed will air Monday through Friday with back-to-back half-hour episodes (11:35 PM-12:37 AM, ET/PT) on CBS.
Allen's time on CBS is scheduled to run through the 2026–2027 television season.
The game show Funny You Should Ask, created by Byron Allen and hosted by Jon Kelley, will also join CBS' late-night lineup with back-to-back half-hour episodes Monday through Friday beginning Friday, May 22 (12:37-1:37 AM, ET/PT). Both shows will also be available to stream live on Paramount+. Allen shared the following statement:
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. 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.
Since October 2015, Allen has been advocating for his show to take over Colbert's time slot when The Late Show ends, saying, "If they're looking for a show, my hand is already up. Fifty years, I've been waiting for this moment. Definitely, I'm going for it. I'm investing millions and millions of dollars to prove myself."
What Is Comics Unleashed?
Comics Unleashed is a comedy talk show; each episode opens with host Byron Allen giving a brief, often current-events-based monologue before introducing the night's DJ and a panel of four comedians. He then presents each comic with a simple pre-set topic, prompting them to perform a stand-up-style routine.
Comics Unleashed originally aired in syndication from 2006 to 2016 and briefly returned to CBS from September 2026 to January 2026 to fill the slot vacated by The Late Late Show with James Corden until After Midnight launched. After that show was canceled, it returned to the same CBS late-night slot in September 2026.
Why Was The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Canceled?
in July 2026, describing the move as "purely a financial decision," despite Stephen Colbert's era of the late-night talk show leading in ratings for nine straight seasons, the longest streak in the show's history. Since 2019, it has also consistently outperformed The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in several key demographics.
The cancellation of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has sparked controversy, given the show's strong popularity on late-night television, its timing alongside the , and suspicions of political motivation tied to Colbert's frequent criticism of the Trump administration.
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