*Media mogul Byron Allen says he’s ready to step into CBS’ 11:30 p.m. slot once Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show” signs off next May.
“Let me be clear … if they are looking for a show, my hand is already up,” Allen declared during Advertising Week New York, noting his lifelong ambition to host “The Tonight Show.” Per THR, he added, “Fifty years I have been waiting for this moment, definitely I am going for it.”
Allen’s “Comics Unleashed” currently airs on CBS at 12:30 a.m. The show, which highlights both established and emerging comedians, filled the network’s late-night gap after “The Late Late Show with James Corden” ended. CBS tested Allen’s series for 19 weeks before launching “After Midnight,” and when that show concluded, “Comics Unleashed” returned to the schedule with two back-to-back half-hour episodes.
Allen emphasized the efficiency of his approach, recalling, “I said, mathematically, you will never beat this show. Why would you spend $35 million on a television show at that hour? I will happily produce the show, and you can save that $35 [million], $40 million and spend it elsewhere.”
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He also described his show’s clean and inclusive tone: “Day one, I said this show is to be evergreen, no topical humor, no political humor, I don’t want anything that is racist, homophobic, antisemitic, I don’t want any of that.”
Meanwhile, Colbert recently shared how he learned that “The Late Show” would end. He told “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that his manager requested a 15-minute meeting after a July 16 taping. “15 minutes in person? What the hell is this about?” Colbert recalled, adding that his wife predicted the news: “‘What happened? You get canceled?’ I said, ‘Yes, I did.’”
CBS confirmed that “The Late Show” will conclude in May 2026, citing financial reasons. According to Puck News, the program “has been losing more than $40 million a year” on a budget “of more than $100 million per season.”
CBS has not announced plans for the 11:30 p.m. time slot, leaving open the possibility that Allen’s proposal could come under consideration.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Byron Allen Seeks to Sell Local TV Stations to Slash Allen Media Group Debt
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