When Byron Allen secured the coveted 11:35 p.m. time slot on CBS, he did not just inherit a broadcasting hour he received a personal note from the man who held it before him. Stephen Colbert, who spent 11 years and more than 2,600 episodes behind The Late Show desk, reached out to Allen with a message that was equal parts warm and playful, referencing a comedy legend who connected them both across generations.
In the letter, Colbert congratulated Allen on landing the time slot and jokingly suggested that Allen might want to send a thank-you note to the late Johnny Carson a wink at the deep history Allen shares with the iconic Tonight Show host. Carson passed away in 2005 after hosting the program from 1962 to 1992, but his legacy continues to echo through American late night television. The joke landed because of what it acknowledged: Allen’s own ties to Carson run remarkably deep.
The youngest comic to sit with Carson
Long before Allen became a media mogul, he made history as the youngest comedian ever to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, doing so at just 18 years old. That moment helped launch a career that would eventually stretch far beyond the stage. Allen went on to build Allen Media Group into a billion dollar enterprise spanning television, film and digital content a trajectory few in the industry could have predicted from those early Tonight Show appearances.
Colbert, for his part, spoke warmly about Allen in the days leading up to the transition. He described Allen as someone he got to know over the past year and called him genuinely fascinating, specifically referencing Allen’s storied history with Carson as something worthy of admiration. The two men occupy very different corners of the entertainment world, but Colbert’s letter suggested a mutual respect that transcended their stylistic differences.
Comics Unleashed returns after nearly a decade
Allen’s Comics Unleashed is not an entirely new concept it is a revival. The show originally ran in syndication from 2006 to 2016, producing around 233 episodes before going on hiatus. CBS greenlit a new run for the 2025 2026 season, and the show is set to debut on Friday, May 22 just one day after Colbert’s final episode airs on May 21.
The format centers on a rotating panel of comedians who perform material and trade jokes with Allen as host. A companion program, Funny You Should Ask, will follow at 12:35 a.m. Allen has described the show as a platform he built with fellow comedians in mind, a space designed specifically for the kind of comedy performance that has always been at the heart of his career.
A deal that rewrites network economics
What makes this transition especially notable is the financial structure behind it. CBS cancelled The Late Show in July 2025, with Paramount TV Media chair George Cheeks citing the economic pressures facing late night television. Rather than develop a costly in house replacement, the network struck a deal with Allen’s production company that effectively shifts all production expenses to Allen himself. CBS retains control of advertising sales while Allen handles everything behind the camera.
The arrangement makes Allen the rare independent producer who is simultaneously funding and running a major broadcast network’s prime late night real estate at least for the duration of this one season deal. Network executives have suggested they may continue exploring alternative late night formats, but Allen’s willingness to absorb costs gives him considerable standing in any future negotiations.
What happens next
Colbert, characteristically direct, has said the direction of CBS’s late night after his departure is simply not his concern. But the broader television industry is watching closely. Late night programming was once among the most reliable revenue streams in broadcast television. The decision to hand the slot to an outside producer signals just how dramatically the economics of the format have shifted.
Whether audiences follow Allen into this new chapter or tune out entirely will become clear quickly after May 22.
