{"id":2412436,"date":"2026-05-11T23:05:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2412436"},"modified":"2026-05-11T23:05:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T23:05:21","slug":"stephen-colbert-reacts-to-late-show-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/stephen-colbert-reacts-to-late-show-replacement\/","title":{"rendered":"Stephen Colbert Reacts To \u2018Late Show\u2019 Replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stephen Colbert has nothing but kind words for his replacement<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After 11 seasons on \u201cThe Late Show\u201d and an abrupt cancellation from CBS<\/a> last summer, Colbert is preparing to bid farewell to late night next Thursday. The network has said that the show\u2019s 11:35 p.m. hour will next go to Byron Allen\u2019s comedy talk show, \u201cComics Unleashed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter<\/a>, Colbert reacted to the news that Allen would replace his show with a simple, \u201cGod bless him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI know Byron. We got to know each other last year, actually. He\u2019s fascinating,\u201d he added, also noting Allen\u2019s history with Johnny Carson, who hosted \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d from 1962 to 1992.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI said, \u2018Hey, congrats. I heard you got the time. Good for you,\u2019\u201d Colbert continued. \u201c\u2018Wouldn\u2019t it be lovely if you could drop Mr. Carson a note?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Allen caught his big break in 1979, when the then-18-year-old became the youngest comedian ever to perform on \u201cThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,\u201d just days before graduating high school.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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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\u2019s website<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Per Variety<\/a>, Allen had been pursuing the 11:35 p.m. slot that \u201cThe Late Show\u201d holds ever since CBS announced it would end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cIf they\u2019re looking for a show, my hand is already up,\u201d the comedian and businessman said during New York\u2019s Advertising Week event last October. \u201cFifty years, I\u2019ve been waiting for this moment. Definitely, I\u2019m going for it. \u2026 I\u2019m investing millions and millions of dollars to prove myself at 12:35.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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CBS announced its deal with Allen in April, giving him the full 11:35 p.m. hour to air back-to-back episodes of \u201cComics Unleashed\u201d Mondays through Fridays. Allen will also continue to own the following hour, as his comedy game show \u201cFunny You Should Ask\u201d shifts its schedule.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI created and launched \u2018Comics Unleashed\u2019 20 years ago so my fellow comedians could have a platform to do what we all love \u2014 make people laugh,\u201d Allen said in a statement at the time. \u201cI truly appreciate CBS\u2019 confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of \u2018Comics Unleashed\u2019 and \u2018Funny You Should Ask,\u2019 because the world can never have enough laughter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Allen will officially own the \u201cLate Show\u201d slot once Colbert airs his final broadcast May 21. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Colbert told THR that he still has one dream guest in mind before signing off<\/a> this month. \u201cThe pope is my white whale,\u201d he said, referring to Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But as far as his late-night legacy is concerned, Colbert just has one goal: to be \u201cremembered as a comedy show.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe harvest laughter for a living, and ultimately that\u2019s the thing I want more than anything else,\u201d he concluded. \u201cI just want to make the audience laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Editor\u2019s note:<\/em> BuzzFeed CEO Jonah Peretti announced Monday evening that Allen Family Digital, led by Byron Allen, is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed, celebrity.land\u2019s parent company.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n