After Stephen Colbert’s talk show finishes its run on CBS, the network is expected to make a significant profit from its summer 2026 replacement programming.
I was surprised to hear CBS has completely exited the late-night scene! Now, Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed is taking over the old Late Show slot at 11:35 p.m. Apparently, CBS is leasing the time to him, which is a big step for his show after 20 years on the air. The word is that this move will actually bring CBS a $15 million profit, which is pretty interesting.
According to a statement in Variety, the company is excited to work with Allen on a new approach to late-night programming. This change is designed to make the time slot profitable, as it was previously costing the network around $40 million each year. By using a ‘time buy’ model for Comics Unleashed, they expect to turn that $40 million loss into a $55 million profit.
CBS claims the decision to end The Late Show was based solely on financial considerations. However, many believe political factors also played a role. Host Stephen Colbert has frequently criticized Donald Trump, who publicly welcomed the show’s cancellation, and CBS’s parent company, Paramount, was awaiting government approval for a merger with Skydance when the cancellation was announced in the summer of 2025.
As a comedy fan, I’ve been watching what’s happening with that late-night slot, and it seems like Comics Unleashed is really changing things up. It’s a smart deal: Allen doesn’t just get to air the show on CBS, he covers all the production costs himself and then sells the advertising. That means CBS gets a guaranteed payment regardless of how many people tune in, and Allen gets to expand the show’s reach. It’s a win-win, really.
CBS made the announcement just a week after The Late Show finished its 33-year run, which originally started with David Letterman after he left NBC. Stephen Colbert became the host in 2015 when Letterman retired, moving the show into a more traditional talk show format after Colbert previously hosted the satirical The Colbert Report on Comedy Central from 2005 to 2014. Letterman appeared on The Late Show on May 14, 2026, to talk about the show’s history with Colbert and playfully throw items from the roof of the Ed Sullivan Theater.
The last episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert included surprise appearances by celebrities such as Bryan Cranston, Paul Rudd, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Jon Stewart. Stephen Colbert’s final interview was with Paul McCartney, and the two later performed a couple of songs alongside Elvis Costello, Jon Batiste, and Louis Cato—both of whom had led the show’s band at different points during Colbert’s time as host. McCartney’s appearance was a nod to the Beatles’ historic performance on TV at the Ed Sullivan Theater in 1964.
Stephen Colbert recently achieved a victory against CBS after his appearance on the public access show Only in Monroe. CBS stopped sending requests to remove full episodes of the show that Colbert hosted on May 22nd. Meanwhile, for Allen, the shift in time slot for Comics Unleashed comes after he and his company, Allen Family Digital, announced they are buying a majority share in Buzzfeed Inc. for $120 million.
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2026-05-29 15:28