What Show Will Replace 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' on CBS? Everything to Know So Far

The end of the road is near for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

In July 2025, CBS confirmed it would end Stephen Colbert's show and retire The Late Show franchise, clarifying it was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."

The broadcasting company's executives explained, "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount."

The host also told his audience he was informed of his program's cancelation after 10 years on air, receiving a chorus of "No!" and boos from fans.

"It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of The Late Show on CBS," he said. "I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away. And I do want to say ... that the folks at CBS have been great partners. I'm so grateful to the Tiffany Network for giving me this chair and this beautiful theater to call home. And of course I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us every night."

Colbert shared he was "extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here," adding, "I've had the pleasure and the responsibility of sharing what we do every day with you in front of this camera for the last 10 years. It is a fantastic job. I wish somebody else was getting it. It's a job that I'm looking forward to doing with this usual gang of idiots for another 10 months."

Ahead of the final episode, CBS confirmed in an April 6 press release that The Late Show With Stephen Colbert would be replaced by Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen.

"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 said in a statement. "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."

Meanwhile, George Cheeks, Paramount's chair of TV media, disclosed at CBS' fall 2026 schedule reveal, "Byron's been a great partner to us at 12:30 so we feel confident he will continue to be a great partner for us at 11:30 as well. We will continue to develop. We considered everything, but we felt like this was the right move."

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will air the series finale on May 21. Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen will begin broadcast in the 11:35 p.m. slot the following day.

Colbert spoke about the upcoming transition days after CBS confirmed the new show for the 11:35 p.m. time slot.

"God bless him. I know Byron. We got to know each other last year, actually. He's fascinating," he shared in a cover story with The Hollywood Reporter. "You know his history with Carson? Anyway, when I found out, I wrote him the next morning, and I said, 'Hey, congrats. I heard you got the time. Good for you. Wouldn't it be lovely if you could drop Mr. [Johnny] Carson a note?'"

When asked whether it was "better or worse than being replaced by another traditional late night comedy show," Colbert replied, "It's none of my business."

"I don't know what it's going to be, and I don't know what I can do to help other than what I did the last 11 years. But one night I'll turn on the TV and probably no one will be there," he said about the future of the talk show genre.

When CBS announced the show's cancelation, David Letterman — who exited his own Late Show in 2015 — uploaded a YouTube video alongside the caption, "You can't spell CBS without BS."

He also called the termination "very strange," "complicated" and "a bit of a surprise" during an interview on The Barbara Gaines Show.

"If they were losing this kind of money, you're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday?" he wondered. "They did not do the right thing. They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of the network, in the way he deserves to have been handled… Now for Stephen, I love this. He's a martyr. Good for him. And if you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the hall of fame for his induction."

Letterman also slammed CBS in a separate interview with The New York Times, alleging the network pulled the plug on the show for reasons beyond financial concerns.

"He was dumped because the people selling the network to Skydance said, 'Oh no, there's not going to be any trouble with that guy. We're going to take care of the show. We're just going to throw that into the deal. When will the ink on the check dry,'" he added. "I'm just going to go on record as saying: They're lying. Let me just add one other thing, Jason [Zinoman; The New York Times writer]. They're lying weasels."

Jimmy Kimmel took to Instagram to criticize the move, writing, "I'm just as shocked as everyone. Stephen is one of the sharpest, funniest hosts to ever do it. I really thought I'd ride this out with him for years to come. I'm sad that my family and friends will need a new show to watch every night at 11:30. But honestly, he's really been a gentleman and a true friend over the years - going back to The Colbert Report, and I'm sure whatever he does next will be just as brilliant."

Meanwhile, Andy Cohen shared a headshot of Colbert on his Instagram Story.