Days after Stephen Colbert's final episode of The Late Show, CBS has replaced the politically incisive late-night host with Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, a show critics describe as a grim sign of the times for television. The move comes amid a media merger and has drawn sharp reactions from viewers accustomed to Colbert's sharp monologues and celebrity interviews.
Comics Unleashed, which debuted in the 11:35 pm slot, features stand-up comedians but lacks writers, a comic sensibility, or a discernible point of view, according to early reviews. The show's heavy use of canned applause and a generic set design has been compared to an infomercial rather than a traditional late-night programme. Allen, a 65-year-old comedian and media mogul, has defended the show as a place where five comedians sit around with the sole purpose of making people laugh.
Under the CBS arrangement, Allen retains most of the advertising revenue while renting the time slot from the network. In interviews, he boasted that CBS executives offered virtually no creative notes, and the show remains largely unchanged from its 2006 syndication debut. Critics note that the show avoids current events, such as the war in Iran or papal comments on AI, to avoid dating itself.
The replacement has been met with disappointment from viewers who expected a continuation of Colbert's legacy. Some have suggested alternatives like Jimmy Kimmel or John Oliver for those seeking sharp political commentary. The shift reflects broader trends in television, where bargain-bin content increasingly fills prime slots once occupied by major network productions.
