Byron Allen Shares Real Feelings on Taking Stephen Colbert’s Late Night Spot

On May 22, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen will replace The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on the late-night schedule, and the media mogul has a bit to say on the matter.

The long-running comedy talk show is produced by Allen Media Group and hosted by comedian and media mogul Byron Allen. Originally premiering in 2006, the show features a roundtable format where four comedians and the host share anecdotes, jokes, and observations on pop culture. Allen believes the series can attract a strong audience in CBS’ late-night window. “We’re doing a show with nothing political, racist, sexist, or homophobic… just clean comedy,” said Allen to Variety.

During the interview with the publication, Allen also addressed the changing landscape of late-night and CBS’s decision to cancel Stephen Colbert‘s show, which he called “an unfortunate event.” He then took a moment to praise Colbert. “I really like Stephen Colbert. I think he is a magnificent human being,” Allen told the publication. “He’s a super talent, I believe he is an American treasure.”

However, an opportunity is an opportunity, and Allen made CBS a deal they could not refuse: The businessman pitched CBS on a cheaper business model after the cancellation of The Late Show. Instead of CBS spending its own money to create and produce a brand-new late-night show, Allen proposed airing his existing show, Comics Unleashed. Under the deal, CBS would avoid the high production costs of launching a new late-night series, and Allen’s company would actually pay CBS. This way, CBS could still fill the 11:35 p.m. slot while making coin.

But there is another reason Allen is excited to take over the slot.

Allen takes over Colbert’s late-night slot on May 22, a date he insisted upon because “my hero Johnny Carson” signed off from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson exactly 34 years earlier in 1992. In 1979, at age 18, Allen became the youngest comedian to ever perform on The Tonight Show, a pivotal moment in his life.

“I remember standing behind the curtain, joking with you know, the crew, and I had my back to the curtain. And all of a sudden, they stopped laughing and kidding with me. And then they said they clear their throats like, like Turn around, turn around, and was Johnny Carson,” said Allen to PBS. “And he had gotten up from behind his desk, and he said, ‘Hey, kid, don’t worry, you’re going to be great.”

“And at that moment, I said, ‘Wow, this guy is one of my heroes.’ And I said, ‘What I do in the next five minutes will change my life, and my mother’s life, the trajectory of our lives forever. So I’m going to go out there, I’m going to have fun, and I’m just going to light it up.’”

Allen promises in the first episode of Comics Unleashed in its new time slot, he will “take a minute to share some thoughts about late night and what we’re doing.”

Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, Friday, May 22, 11:35/10:35c, CBS