Key Points
Byron Allen revealed the pitch he made to CBS to get Comics Unleashed in the The Late Show‘s time slot after it ends.
The businessman asked the network, “Do you like money?”
Allen then offered to buy the time slot, calling himself a gift from the money and comedy gods: “I’m putting a lot of money in their cash register.”
It’s no laughing matter. Byron Allen has pulled back the curtain on the very blunt pitch he made to CBS to get Comics Unleashed in The Late Show‘s soon-to-be-vacant time slot.
The comedy talk show will officially take over the network’s 11:35 p.m. slot Friday night, just one day after the Stephen Colbert–hosted late-night franchise airs its final episode. Comics Unleashed will be followed by another Allen-produced series, Funny You Should Ask, which will air at 12:35 a.m.
“When Colbert got unexpectedly canceled, I said, ‘Okay, do you like money?’ They said, ‘Yes,'” Allen told NBC News of his pitch to CBS. “I’ll buy the time period and you can save over $110 million.”
Byron Allen
Credit: Paramount+
Last July, CBS announced that The Late Show would conclude its 33-year run at the end of the broadcast season. The network called the move “purely a financial decision” that wasn’t “related in any way to the show’s performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount.”
Now, Allen has revealed that he plans to lease the time slot from the network and sell its ad revenue himself. “I’m putting a lot of money in their cash register,” he said. “I am a gift from the money gods. And the comedy gods.”
His series, however, will stay far away from the type of political humor that defined The Late Show. “I don’t care who you vote for. I just don’t care,” Allen said. “That’s your business. Go do what you gotta do, you know? I’m just here to make you laugh.”
Instead, Comics Unleashed will maintain its original format and feature, as Allen explained, “nothing political, nothing sexist, nothing racist, nothing antisemitic, nothing homophobic.” He added that he wants his show to “just be funny.”
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The businessman also revealed that he recently had lunch with Colbert, about whom he had only good things to say. “He is a phenomenal human being,” Allen said. “Stephen Colbert is truly special. I mean, I love him. He is so gracious, so kind, so genuine. And he texted me and said, ‘Congratulations on getting the time period.'”
Before Comics Unleashed is unleashed on CBS, The Late Show will get a proper send-off Thursday night, running 19 minutes longer than usual and wrapping at 12:54 a.m.
It is currently unclear who will join Colbert in the Ed Sullivan Theater for his last day on the job. The Emmy-winning host invited a large group of celebrities to the show for its penultimate episode Wednesday night, including Robert De Niro, Aubrey Plaza, and Jeff Daniels — who helped administer the Colbert Questionert to him.
“I’ve always said that I wouldn’t give my answers to any of those questions until the show was over,” Colbert remarked. “But… this is close enough.”
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