Overview
- CBS executives, speaking Wednesday at the network’s fall schedule event, said Comics Unleashed will occupy 11:35 p.m. under a one-season arrangement.
- Stephen Colbert’s final Late Show airs May 21, and the hour shifts to Byron Allen’s series after his exit.
- Under the time-buy, Allen pays for the airtime and sells most of the ads, which moves CBS from funding a show to collecting a fee for the slot.
- The agreement runs through the 2026–27 TV season, and Allen also keeps the 12:37 a.m. hour with his comedy game show Funny You Should Ask.
- Paramount TV Media chief George Cheeks said any future original in the slot must use a new financial model because most late-night reach now occurs on under-monetized YouTube, and CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach said talks are only exploratory and not for a talk show.