CBS is set to replace the fired Stephen Colbert and hisLate Show with two of producer and comic Byron Allen’s shows, a report says.
CBS will air Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen at 11:30 p.m. starting on May 22 the day after The Late Show comes to its end. An hour later, Allen’s comedy game show Funny You Should Ask will air each weekday night, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen was originally launched in 2006 and ran until 2016 in which various standup comics are given topics with which they have to create a standup routine. Allen has said that he urges his participants to avoid religious and political content to keep the show with a lighter touch for a mass audience and to facilitate that reruns are more successful since they won’t be tied to stories, politics, or news that were occurring when the episode initially aired.
Comics Unleashed was relaunched in 2023 as a midseason replacement after James Corden’s show was ended.
“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 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.”
Last October, Allen noted that he was raring to go to replace Colbert, saying, “Fifty years I have been waiting for this moment, definitely I am going for it.”
Colbert found out that his low-rated show that has always been millions over budget was canceled in July of last year. His last day on the air is set for May 21.
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