Stephen Colbert has nothing but kind words for his replacement.
After 11 seasons on “The Late Show” and an abrupt cancellation from CBS last summer, Colbert is preparing to bid farewell to late night next Thursday. The network has said that the show’s 11:35 p.m. hour will next go to Byron Allen’s comedy talk show, “Comics Unleashed.”
In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Colbert reacted to the news that Allen would replace his show with a simple, “God bless him.”
“I know Byron. We got to know each other last year, actually. He’s fascinating,” he added, also noting Allen’s history with Johnny Carson, who hosted “The Tonight Show” from 1962 to 1992.
“I said, ‘Hey, congrats. I heard you got the time. Good for you,’” Colbert continued. “‘Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could drop Mr. Carson a note?’”
Allen caught his big break in 1979, when the then-18-year-old became the youngest comedian ever to perform on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” just days before graduating high school.
Since then, Allen has built a media empire through the Allen Media Group, founded in 1993, which has launched multiple 24-hour HD television networks, according to the company’s website.
Per Variety, Allen had been pursuing the 11:35 p.m. slot that “The Late Show” holds ever since CBS announced it would end.
“If they’re looking for a show, my hand is already up,” the comedian and businessman said during New York’s Advertising Week event last October. “Fifty years, I’ve been waiting for this moment. Definitely, I’m going for it. … I’m investing millions and millions of dollars to prove myself at 12:35.”
CBS announced its deal with Allen in April, giving him the full 11:35 p.m. hour to air back-to-back episodes of “Comics Unleashed” Mondays through Fridays. Allen will also continue to own the following hour, as his comedy game show “Funny You Should Ask” shifts its schedule.
“I created and launched ‘Comics Unleashed’ 20 years ago so my fellow comedians could have a platform to do what we all love — make people laugh,” Allen said in a statement at the time. “I truly appreciate CBS’ confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of ‘Comics Unleashed’ and ‘Funny You Should Ask,’ because the world can never have enough laughter.”
Allen will officially own the “Late Show” slot once Colbert airs his final broadcast May 21.
Colbert told THR that he still has one dream guest in mind before signing off this month. “The pope is my white whale,” he said, referring to Pope Leo XIV.
But as far as his late-night legacy is concerned, Colbert just has one goal: to be “remembered as a comedy show.”
“We harvest laughter for a living, and ultimately that’s the thing I want more than anything else,” he concluded. “I just want to make the audience laugh.”
Editor’s note: BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced Monday evening that Allen Family Digital, led by Byron Allen, is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed, celebrity.land’s parent company.
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