ENTERTAINMENTLate-Night Veteran David Letterman Sounds Off on Stephen Colbert's Replacement
Late-night icon David Letterman slammed CBS for its cowardice in firing ratings smash Stephen Colbert.
April 13 2026, Published 4:55 p.m. ET
Late-night icon David Letterman has publicly criticized CBS for its handling of fellow late-night host Stephen Colbert's departure and the decision to fill the time slot with Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed.
Letterman, who hosted The Late Show for 22 years, characterized the network’s move as "pure cowardice" and expressed that Colbert — whom he described as the "face of that network" — was not treated with the respect he deserved.
Letterman, 79, dismissed CBS's claim that the cancelation was "purely a financial decision," questioning why a show that had been the top-rated late-night program for years suddenly became "unsustainable.”
David Letterman weighed in on Stephen Colbert's replacement.
He suggested the shift to media mogul Allen is a strategy for CBS to avoid production costs while generating revenue through a "time-buy" agreement. Under this deal, Allen pays CBS millions to lease the time slot and handles his own advertising sales.
“They don’t want to spend any money, so they’re going to make money,” he said in his Friday, April 10, podcast. “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.“
“The show is a pretty good idea,” Letterman added. “It’s all panel. Nobody’s doing any standup, except they’re seated doing standup.”
'Comics Unleashed' will air on May 22.
Letterman alluded to potential political undercurrents, noting that the decision followed Colbert’s vocal criticism of a legal settlement between CBS's parent company, Paramount and President Donald Trump.
Starting May 22, Comics Unleashed will air back-to-back half-hour episodes in the 11:35 p.m. ET/PT slot once reserved for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
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Stephen Colbert's show was canceled.
Allen described the move as a "risky bet," acknowledging he is paying "tens of millions of dollars" for the slot.
He expressed gratitude for CBS' confidence in his "two-hour comedy block," which also includes Funny You Should Ask.
“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, 64, said in a statement.
Colbert's final show is scheduled for May 21.
“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 added.
Colbert's final show is scheduled for May 21.
He has responded to the news with humor, joking that "cancel culture has gone too far" but promising to keep "the gloves off" for his remaining months on air.
Following his exit from television, Colbert is set to co-write a new Lord of the Rings film.
