David Letterman recently shared his stance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert being replaced by Byron Allen’s comedy talk show, Comics Unleashed. He reflected on how the network wants to reduce spending and increase revenue. He believes this replacement seems to work in CBS’s favor on the compensation and advertising front.

David Letterman reacts to Stephen Colbert’s Late Show replacement

During an episode of The Barbara Gaines Show, Letter shared his thoughts on Colbert’s late-night show going off the air and Allen’s comedy show taking its place. He said about this potential shakeup, “They don’t want to spend any money, so they’re going to make money.”

Revealing how this potential replacement works perfectly for the network, he explained, “They charge Byron Allen some reasonable price. He sells all the advertising for his Comics Unleashed, and it’ll be, I think, 90 minutes or two hours of comics talking about funny stuff.” He believes that Allen’s show replacing Colbert’s show is a “pretty good” idea due to the show’s format. “Nobody’s doing any standup, except they’re seated doing standup,” he elaborated.

In July 2025, Colbert announced that his late show had been canceled, with the last episode airing in May 2026. He didn’t disclose a specific reason but extended his thanks to partners, network, and the audience. CBS later released a statement saying the decision was “purely a financial” and not a reflection of the show’s performance (via CNN)

In addition, Byron Allen issued a statement expressing his gratitude to CBS for picking up his show as a replacement for the 11:35 p.m. slot, while also highlighting the vision behind the show.

“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. 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,” he added.