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Stephen Colbert's New Job Revealed 2 Months Before Late Show Exit
CBS has found a familiar face to replace Stephen Colbert.
After The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs it's final episode on May 21, the network will beginning airing Comics Unleashed With Byron Allen in the 11:35 p.m. time slot beginning May 22, according to an April 6 press release.
The comedy talk show—which currently airs at 12:35 a.m. after Colbert—will be followed by Byron Allen's other late night game show Funny You Should Ask once Colbert's decade-long tenure at CBS comes to an end.
And while some fans are still mourning the ending of an era—CBS announced Late Night's cancellation in July 2025 after 33 years on the air—Allen hopes to continue bringing laughs to night owl viewers with the stand-up comedians featured on future episodes of his nightly talk series.
"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."
As for Colbert's next move following his show's finale, the 61-year-old will be quite busy with an exciting new big screen project. Last month, The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson revealed the host is set to “develop the script” for an upcoming film in the franchise.
And as a self-proclaimed superfan of the fantasy novels, Colbert couldn’t hide his excitement over his new role.
"I’m pretty happy about it,” he said alongside Jackson in a March 25 X video. “You know what the books mean to me and what your films mean to me.”
Scott Kowalchyk/CBS via Getty Images
Noting that he wanted to focus the upcoming movie on chapters three through six from the first book, which never made it into the movies, Colbert knew for some time now “that could be its own story that could fit into the larger story.”
“It took me a few years to scrape my courage into a pile to give you a call,” he explained of the script-writing process. “But about two years ago, I did. You liked it enough to talk to me about it.”
But the exciting new venture doesn't mean Colbert won't miss connecting with late night viewers on a daily basis.
“I'm grateful to you, the audience, who have joined us,” he told fans upon news of the show's cancellation last year. “I'm grateful to share the stage with this band, these artists over here every night. And I am extraordinarily, deeply grateful to the 200 people who work here.”
But The Late Show isn’t the only franchise going off the air. Keep reading for more TV cancellations…
Mark Schafer/CBS
RENEWED: CIA
CBS' top CIA agents will be back on the case when they return for another season.
Michael Parmelee/CBS
RENEWED: Elsbeth
Carrie Preston's quirky alter-ego will return with the CBS show's fourth season.
Darko Sikman/CBS
RENEWED: Tracker
Justin Hartley's drama has been renewed for a fourth season by CBS.
Sonja Flemming/CBS
RENEWED: Matlock
The Kathy Bates-led drama will take on more legal cases during season three.
Troy Harvey/2026 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
RENEWED: Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage
The CBS comedy will return for season three.
Disney/Eric McCandless
RENEWED & ENDING: Wizards Beyond Waverly Place
The Wizards of Waverly Place sequel will return for season three this summer in a four-part event, with the first episode directed by Selena Gomez.
Netflix
RENEWED: Age of Attraction
Get ready to fall in love with some new age-gap couples because Netflix's new reality dating show has been renewed for a season two.
Matt Barnes/CBS
CANCELED: DMV
CBS terminated the workplace comedy costarring Molly Kearney, Gigi Zumbado, Tony Cavaleiro, Alex Tarrant, Harriet Dyer and Tim Meadows after one season.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
RENEWED: Grey's Anatomy
No emergency here. ABC's longest-running scripted drama will return for seson 23.
Sergei Bachlakov/CBS
CANCELED: Watson
The modern take on Sherlock Holmes' story, with Morris Chestnut starring as the detective's fame sidekick Dr. John Watson, was canceled after two seasons.
CBS Media Ventures/Paramount
RENEWED: Flip Side
Hosted by Jaleel White, the game show was renewed for a third season by CBS Media Ventures.
CBS Media Ventures/Paramount
RENEWED: Wheel of Fortune
"America's favorite game show" will be back with more head-scratching word puzzles with seasons 44 and 45.
CBS Media Ventures/Paramount
RENEWED: Hot Bench
The daytime court show will lay down more justice when season 13 debuts.
Michael Yarish/Paramount+
RENEWED: Criminal Minds: Evolution
The long-running FBI drama will solve more heinous crimes and murders when season 20 debuts on Paramount+ in 2027.
Apple TV
RENEWED & ENDING: For All Mankind
Apple TV announced the space drama will return for a sixth and final season.
HBO Max
ENDING: Hacks
The Emmy-winning comedy starring Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder returns with its fifth and final season April 9.
Peacock/NBCUniversal
RENEWED: Ashanti and Nelly: We Belong Together
Music to our ears! The Peacock reality series following Ashanti and Nelly's decades-long love story will return for season two.
Sophy Holland/Bravo
ON PAUSE: The Real Housewives of Miami
The Bravo series has halted production after season seven ended in October due to low ratings, according to multiple outlets. Fingers crossed we get our drama-loving Florida ladies back ASAP.
Ryan Muir/TBS/Warner Bros. Discovery
RENEWED: Impractical Jokers
Comedians Brian “Q” Quinn, James “Murr” Murray and Sal Vulcano will return for more laughs and pranks when season 13 of the TBS series premieres.
Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios
RENEWED: Cross
Prime Video's thriller series will solve more mysteries and murder cases on season three.
Netflix
NOT ENDING, BUT...: With Love, Meghan
The royal's Netflix series With Love, Meghan, which released seasons one and two in 2025, has not been renewed for a third season on the streaming platform, but is instead continuing with one-off episodes.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes told Variety in a story published March 17, “With Love, Meghan will continue as seasonal specials.”
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
RENEWED: Paradise
The post-apocalyptic drama starring Sterling K. Brown will return for season three on Hulu.
Ben Symons/Peacock
RENEWED: Love Island USA & Love Island: Beyond the Villa
Peacock's hit dating reality competition series and its spinoff will return this year for seasons eight and two, respectively.
Sonja Flemming/CBS
RENEWED: Marshals
The Duttons aren't going anywhere. The Yellowstone spinoff starring Luke Grimes was renewed for a second season at CBS.
Paramount/CBS Media Ventures
RENEWED: The Drew Barrymore Show
Drew Barrymore's eponymous daytime talk show will be back for seasons seven and eight.
AMC Networks
RENEWED: The Audacity
The new AMC drama has already been renewed for a second season ahead of its season one debut in April.
Prime Video/Amazon MGM Studios
ENDING: The Boys
In the fifth and final season, it’s Homelander’s world, completely subject to his erratic, egomaniacal whims. Hughie, Mother’s Milk, and Frenchie are imprisoned in a “Freedom Camp.” Annie struggles to mount a resistance against the overwhelming Supe force. Kimiko is nowhere to be found. But when Butcher reappears, ready and willing to use a virus that will wipe all Supes off the map, he sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the world and everyone in it. It’s the climax, people. Big stuff’s gonna happen.
MTV/Paramount Networks
ENDING: Jersey Shore Family Vacation
Get ready to GTL one last time. MTV announced the upcoming eighth season of the reality show will be it's last.
The final season premieres May 7.
Disney
RENEWED: Abbott Elementary
School will be back in session when Quinta Brunson's Emmy-winning ABC comedy returns for season six.
NBC
RENEWED: Destination X
NBC has renewed the travel and adventure reality competition series for a sophomore season.
Check out Peacock to binge your favorite NBCU TV shows and movies, live sports and more!
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