Colbert's replacement Comics Unleashed suffers huge drop in ratings compared to the Late Show.
Stephen Colbert's Replacement Draws Tiny Debut Audience in Debut
May 28 2026, Published 3:52 p.m. ET
Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed attracted fewer than 1 million viewers during its first night in Stephen Colbert’s former CBS time slot. This marked a significant decline from the audience that watched The Late Show wrap up just one night earlier.
The comedy panel show had an average of 995,000 total viewers and 116,000 viewers in the 18-to-49 demographic during its Friday premiere at 11:35 p.m., according to initial Nielsen Live+Same Day data reported by LateNighter.
Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed has not received the same success as Colbert's Late Show.
Colbert’s last episode of The Late Show drew more than 6.7 million viewers on Thursday. This made it the most-watched weeknight episode in the show’s 11-year history. The drop in total viewers from Colbert’s farewell to Allen’s first night was about 85%.
Comics Unleashed also lagged behind other major late-night shows. NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which aired later than usual on the East Coast due to an NBA overrun, averaged around 1.5 million viewers. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! averaged about 1.6 million viewers, despite airing a rerun.
The CBS change happened just one day after Colbert finished at the Ed Sullivan Theater. His last episode featured guests like Paul McCartney, Elvis Costello, Paul Rudd, and Bryan Cranston. Colbert had been hosting The Late Show since 2015, when he took over for David Letterman.
CBS and Paramount said they ended The Late Show for financial reasons. The network did not shift another traditional late-night host into the slot. Instead, CBS handed the hour to Allen, whose company purchased the time period and sells its own advertising.
Colbert called Bryon Allen during an episode of his YouTube series.
Before the debut, Allen told NPR he did not expect to retain Colbert’s audience.
“At the end of the day, I’m not trying to replace Colbert,” Allen said. “I am not trying to hold on to his audience because Comics Unleashed has been around for 20 years and has its own audience.”
Allen Media Group pointed to local-market numbers after the debut and claimed Comics Unleashed outperformed Fallon, Kimmel, or both in over two dozen markets. However, national ratings showed CBS trailing behind ABC and NBC in total viewers for the night.
The first half-hour of Allen’s CBS debut showcased new material with comedians Hannah Dickinson, Mark Smalls, Lance Woods, and Joe Sib. The second half-hour was a rerun that originally aired on September 30, 2025, according to The Daily Beast.
CBS’s late-night change came after months of focus on Colbert’s departure. Paramount announced the cancellation last year while pursuing an $8 billion merger with Skydance.
The deal gained attention due to Paramount also settling a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris.
Colbert criticized the settlement on air before CBS announced the end of his show. CBS stated that politics did not influence the cancellation.
Colbert returned to television less than 24 hours after his final CBS broadcast. He hosted the Michigan public access show Only in Monroe, which featured Jack White, Jeff Daniels, Steve Buscemi, Eminem, and Allen.
The Only in Monroe episode later gained hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube, nearly matching the national audience for Allen’s first CBS late-night broadcast.