The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Ending May 21, CBS Retiring Late-Night Franchise

[JamesG]

David Letterman Sounds Off on CBS Replacing "The Late Show" with Byron Allen Comedy Hour
by Zack Sharf
April 13, 2026


David Letterman has weighed in on CBS’ decision to replace “The Late Show” franchise after 33 years with Byron Allen’s comedy talk show “Comics Unleashed”.

The network confirmed the change earlier this month. Stephen Colbert‘s “The Late Show” airs its final episode on May 21. Allen will take over the 11:35pm ET time slot on May 22 with back-to-back episodes of “Comics Unleashed”.




“They don’t want to spend any money, so they’re going to make money,” Letterman said about the decision on a recent episode of his podcast.

“They charge Byron Allen some reasonable price. He sells all the advertising for his ‘Comics Unleashed,’ and it’ll be, I think, 90 minutes or two hours of comics talking about funny stuff.”

He added, “The show is a pretty good idea, it’s all panel. Nobody’s doing any standup, except they’re seated doing standup.”

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/dav...ey-1236720313/

[TMC]

CBS is “developing other ideas” for the 11:35 p.m. timeslot for after Byron Allen’s one-year deal expires.

CBS executives have confirmed that the network is "developing other ideas" for the 11:35 p.m. timeslot as they transition to a "time-buy" model for the 2026–2027 season. Following the conclusion of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on May 21, 2026, CBS will lease the hour to media mogul Byron Allen for back-to-back episodes of his syndicated series Comics Unleashed.

[TMC]

Stephen Colbert: “Something changed” between when CBS offered me a five-year contract in 2023 and The Late Show’s cancelation in 2025

In an exit interview with The New York Times, Colbert discussed why his cancelation seemed “fishy.” “I do not dispute their rationale,” he said. “I do make jokes about it. But I also completely understand why people would say (A) that doesn’t make sense to me and (B) that seems fishy to me, because the network did it to themselves by bending the knee to the Trump administration over a $20 billion, settled for $16 million, completely frivolous lawsuit. It’s possible that two things can be true. Broadcast can be in trouble. They cannot monetize because of things like YouTube, because of the competition of streaming. They’ve got the books, and I do not have any desire to debate them over what they say their business model is and how it does not work for them anymore. But less than two years before they called to say it’s over, they were very eager for me to be signed for a long time. So, something changed.” AS The Times’ John Koblin explains, “one of the reasons Mr. Colbert found the cancellation surprising, he said, was that CBS encouraged him in 2023 to sign a long contract, as long as five years. He ultimately signed a three-year deal.” Colbert also discussed his post-Late Show future (outside of co-writing a new Lord of the Rings movie). Colbert said he’s too busy thinking about The Late Show to consider his future, but he spends “more time with podcasts than any form of entertainment.” “It takes all my time, so I don’t know,” he said of his Late Show work. “People have called to say, ‘Do you want to do X, Y or Z?’ And I would say, like: ‘Hey, that’s great. I don’t think I could give you a good answer until I can really think about it.” It literally took me years to think enough about writing one script. And I put a lot of thought into it. And I feel good about what we’re doing, and I want to feel that good about everything I do. So when this is over and I have a little time to breathe, probably after turning in the first draft, too, of this thing, I’ll know then.” ALSO: Stephen Colbert rejects “partisan” label on political jokes: “I don’t have any problem with Trump being a Republican.”

[TMC]

David Letterman calls CBS “lying weasels,” says The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s cancelation “seemed like a botched holdup”

In a New York Times interview with his biographer, Letterman: The Last Giant of Late Night author Jason Zinoman, Letterman said he was at first in “disbelief” upon hearing of The Late Show’s cancelation. “They don’t share the books with me,” said Letterman. “All of television seems to have been nicked by digital communication and streaming platforms and on and on. TV may be not the money machine it once was. On the other hand, what about the humanity for Stephen and the humanity of people who love him and the humanity for people who still enjoyed that 11:30 respite? He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, ‘Oh no, there’s not going to be any trouble with that guy. We’re going to take care of the show. We’re just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry?’ I’m just going to go on record as saying: They’re lying. Let me just add one other thing, Jason. They’re lying weasels.” (CBS told Zinoman that the cancelation was “unequivocally a financial decision.”) Letterman was also asked about Byron Allen — whom he used to write with when Allen was a 14-year-old in 1975 — paying to take over Colbert’s timeslot. “He’s been wildly more successful than any hundred of us,” Letterman said. “I periodically talk to him, and neither he nor I understand how he became a billionaire. God bless him. To hell with CBS. To hell with Skydance. To hell with the Winslow twins or whoever the hell these guys are. But Byron, he’ll still be providing comedy in that time period. I think that’s a valuable bit of resolution here.” Has he talked to Allen since news of him taking over CBS’ 11:35 pm timeslot? “No, I’m hoping if I say enough silly things about him, he’ll call me,” said Letterman. ALSO: David Letterman says he’s open to a reunion with Jay Leno on his Netflix show.

[TMC]

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is departing as both an institution and anti-institutional.

The departure of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in May 2026 marks the end of a pivotal era in late-night television, where the program operated simultaneously as a cornerstone institution of CBS and a subversive, anti-institutional force. While serving as the highest-rated late-night show for nine consecutive seasons, Colbert used his platform for aggressive political commentary that often challenged the corporate and political establishment.

[TMC]

Jimmy Kimmel Live! will air a rerun against The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s May 21 finale.

[TMC]

Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show joins Jimmy Kimmel Live! in airing a rerun vs. Stephen Colbert’s final The Late Show

In what NBC is calling “a sign of late-night solidarity,” The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon will go dark on Thursday, May 21, as Colbert signs off from CBS after 11 years. Fallon, who is usually off Fridays, will return the next night for a new episode.

Stephen Colbert’s Strike Force Five reunion on The Late Show was wonderful and yet bittersweet

“Seeing these four men from Colbert’s past show up to support him this way made the whole thing really feel like the end for the first time,” says Andrew Sanford of Colbert reuniting on The Late Show last night with Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and John Oliver. “It was like a character in a sitcom running into old guest stars in the last two or three episodes of the show. It felt like a sendoff, which sucks. But, if he’s got to go, at least he’s going out with a bang, and by letting us know who among them has the highest rating on Wikifeet. Still, just because Colbert’s show is ending doesn’t mean Strike Force Five is. One of the most exciting parts of the interview (aside from Jon Stewart being named designated survivor, should anything happen) was the announcement that a special video episode of their podcast would be recorded immediately after they were done. It will go up on Wednesday, and I could not be more excited to see what they talk about. There were certainly a few shots fired on Colbert, but I have a feeling that they will be a bit more free-wheeling when it comes to what they put on their own YouTube channel.”
ALSO:

• Stephen Colbert’s Strike Force Five reunion was funny, warm — and pointed: “As these five talented men traded jibes and stories like old college friends, drawing laughs from the audience and from one another, it only underscored how separate—sadly separate—Trump and his entourage are from some of the best times people can have watching television,” says Bill Carter. “Watching that engaging bonhomie must also have felt painful for those at CBS who understand how central a late-night show has long been to the identity and stature of a broadcast network. The new ownership clearly doesn’t care about that, because it doesn’t seem to value what a show like Colbert’s brings to the larger enterprise. Late-night shows are entertaining. They always have been; they still are. Unless you literally can’t take a joke. The guys who shared the stage last night did not look like terrorists, or dangerous in any way. They looked like five white guys of vaguely the same age and almost exactly the same height, wearing similar blue suits—except Fallon, who wore black. Guys who have fun together.”
  
• The Late Show house band brought back three original members: Ibanda Ruhumbika, Eddie Barbash and Maddie Rice
  
• CNN announces “flashdoc” special The Last Laugh: Stephen Colbert

[James28]

Originally Posted by TMC

CBS is “developing other ideas” for the 11:35 p.m. timeslot for after Byron Allen’s one-year deal expires.

I don't know how come those "other options" don't include CBS just giving that 11:35 pm (Eastern) time period back to its local affiliates and O&Os because a potential revival of the The Late Show franchise would be infeasible. I don't even know any feasible replacements on that time period myself, because the ratings for any replacement likely aren't going to be as good. Go straight to that option [giving 11:35 pm back to your affiliates], even with less and less first-run syndication offerings being available in the future.

[TMC]

Byron Allen calls himself “a gift from the money gods … and the comedy gods”: “I’m putting a lot of money in (CBS’) cash register”

“When Colbert got unexpectedly canceled, I said, ‘Okay, do you like money?’ They said, ‘Yes,’” Allen told NBC News of his pitch to CBS, according to EW. “I’ll buy the time period and you can save over $110 million.” Allen takes over Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show timeslot, with his long-running Comics Unleashed, starting Friday.

[TMC]

CBS Mornings was reportedly ordered to ignore Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show farewell

Turns out there was a reason CBS Mornings ignored Colbert’s final show — even though co-anchor Gayle King posted pictures and video from The Late Show wrap party on Instagram. “The onslaught of media coverage on Friday notably did not include CBS Mornings, which totally ignored the big finale of Late Show,” reports Puck’s Matt Belloni. “No highlights, no anchor discussion, not a single mention of a pretty major event on its own network. And that wasn’t an oversight. I’m told the ghosting was a specific directive from CBS News president Tom Cibrowski, who hated Colbert’s recent bit mocking their failure to secure a China visa for anchor Tony Dokoupil. Colbert ‘kicked colleagues when they were down,’ one source at CBS News told me today. ‘It was unprofessional and unprovoked.’ In the leadership’s eyes, the news unit had been supportive of Colbert and Late Show amid its cancellation by CBS and the swan song season, covering its F.C.C. dustup over James Talarico and inviting him on CBS Mornings. It wasn’t a complete gag order, though: Anchor Gayle King posted a gushing farewell to Colbert on Instagram and hit the finale afterparty on Thursday night.” While ABC’s Good Morning America also ignored The Late Show farewell, NBC’s Today has done many segments on Colbert exiting late-night, including one on his emotional goodbye, one on his Only in Monroe public access appearance and one on The Late Show finale ratings.

CBS suspends takedown notices of Stephen Colbert’s post-Late Show Only in Monroe appearance after online backlash

Colbert’s return to Only in Monroe on Friday night — 11 years after his first appearance ahead of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s 2015 launch — resulted in many bootleg copies on YouTube. But it turns out, Colbert’s Only in Monroe appearance was financed and produced by CBS Studios and was meant to boost Colbert’s new YouTube channel (while also being cross-posted on Only in Monroe and The Late Show’s YouTube channels). Which is why CBS sent takedown notices that prompted online backlash over Memorial Day Weekend. As a result of the outcry, CBS decided to stand down. “As is our regular practice, we send copyright notices to unauthorized websites that post copyrighted content from CBS and our network/studio talent such as Stephen Colbert,” CBS said in a statement. “However, for this episode, we have decided to waive further enforcement of this standard industry practice until additional review.”

[TMC]

Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show finale viewership jumps to 9.1 million with delayed viewing

Nielsen live-plus-three-day ratings has upped last Thursday’s finale viewership from the same-day audience of 6.74 million to 9.123 million total viewers, according to LateNighter. ALSO: Stephen Colbert turns his Only in Monroe appearances into a fundraiser.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

CBS sells Byron Allen the 11:35 p.m. timeslot Stephen Colbert is exiting

CBS has announced a deal to sell its 11:35 p.m. ET late-night timeslot, formerly occupied by Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, to entertainment mogul Byron Allen.

Starting May 22, 2026, the hour-long slot immediately following the local news will feature back-to-back episodes of Allen’s comedy series, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.

CBS: We’re making $15 million from Byron Allen after losing $40 million yearly with Stephen Colbert — “a $55 million swing”

CBS officially confirmed that replacing The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with a "time buy" deal from Byron Allen has generated a $55 million financial swing for the network. In a statement addressing the financial reality of its late-night lineup, CBS disclosed that The Late Show was losing roughly $40 million annually. By shifting to a model where Allen Media Group leases the 11:30 PM hour, the network has turned that deficit into $15 million in pure profit.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TMC

CBS sells Byron Allen the 11:35 p.m. timeslot Stephen Colbert is exiting

CBS has announced a deal to sell its 11:35 p.m. ET late-night timeslot, formerly occupied by Stephen Colbert's The Late Show, to entertainment mogul Byron Allen.

Starting May 22, 2026, the hour-long slot immediately following the local news will feature back-to-back episodes of Allen’s comedy series, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen.

Colbert was unceremoniously kicked off TV in pretty suspicious circumstances. I wanted to look into how this happened and why, and who is this mysterious figure replacing the once great late night institution.
We explore who Billionaire Byron Allen is and review his show Comics Unleashed and figure out how it replaced The Late Show.