Stephen Colbert replacement Byron Allen's late-night debut ratings are out.
'Clean, Pure Comedy’: Byron Allen Shrugs off Box Office Slump After Taking Over Stephen Colbert’s Late Show
The debut numbers are in for the show that took over Stephen Colbert's late-night slot on CBS.
The numbers for Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed show that the series struggled to maintain its predecessor's viewership in its premiere, according to Nielsen data.
Taking over the late-night slot previously held by The Late Show, Allen's comedy showcase failed to draw the audience that routinely tuned in for Colbert.
According to the Nielsen ratings, Allen’s debut episode brought in an average of just 995,000 total viewers.
This marks a steep 85 percent drop from the 6.7 million viewers who tuned in for the grand finale of The Late Show.
Not just this, the show also struggled against its main late-night rivals.
Despite having a delayed broadcast, NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon pulled in 1.5 million viewers, while a repeat of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! outpaced Allen with 1.6 million viewers.
An X user's post on the ratings of Byron Allen's new show.
As reported by The Daily Beast, Colbert's digital footprint is almost on par with Allen's broadcast presence.
Colbert's guest appearance on Only in Monroe pulled in 928,000 views on YouTube, excluding audiences who tuned in via other platforms and channels.
'I'm Not Trying to Replace Stephen Colbert'
Despite the poor debut ratings, Allen, during an interview with NPR, made it clear that he is not trying to step into Colbert's shoes.
The founder and CEO of Allen Media Group defended his project and explained that his show is an entirely different concept.
"At the end of the day, I’m not trying to replace Stephen Colbert. I’m not trying to replace David Letterman. I’m not trying to replace Craig Ferguson or Tom Snyder. I’m just leasing a theater, and I’m putting on my show. I’m just showing up and doing what I do. I am a comedian first and foremost," he said.
Allen mentioned that he is not trying to hold onto Colbert's audience, noting that his show, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, has been around in syndication for 20 years and has an audience of its own.
He also called Colbert a "national treasure" and added, “Not everybody’s gonna love me. But there is that one or two percent that would be like ‘h-ll yeah, I’m rolling with you’ and I learned that at an early age, and by the way, that simple lesson made me a billionaire.”
Byron Allen says he will avoid politics on his show.
Byron Allen Says No to 'Political Humor'
Allen also said that his show will not focus on politics. He told CBS Mornings, “No politics. You come, you laugh… We’ve had on a thousand comedians, every shape and size, you name it. And I want to bring people together using comedy.”
Explaining the style of his show, he said, "Late-night has enough political humor already. I think we’re very polarized. People are very stressed. And I think people just want to laugh. They just want clean, pure comedy."
Colbert’s departure from CBS marked the end of an eleven-year run for The Late Show.
The transition began when CBS announced the program's conclusion, which came right after Colbert openly mocked his network's parent company, Paramount Global.
He criticized the corporation for paying a multi-million dollar settlement to Trump over a 60 Minutes legal dispute, leading to creative friction.
CBS executives later stated that the programming change was "purely a financial decision."