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But for you does that include “The Daily Show”?

Stephen is just a classy guy no doubt about it.

About Byron Allen taking his time slot, Colbert told The Hollywood Reporter:

“God bless him. I know Byron. We got to know each other last year, actually. He’s fascinating.”

He even brought up Allen’s history in late night as the youngest comic to ever perform on Carson at 18 and said:

“Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could drop Mr. Carson a note?”

That’s just who Stephen is. No bitterness, no cheap shots. Just gracious.

And in all fairness Allen seems like a classy guy too calling Stephen a national treasure.

My issue with Allen has always been that he talks about everything like he personally rescued television from a five alarm fire. In the article he says:

“I truly appreciate CBS’ confidence in me by picking up our two-hour comedy block of Comics Unleashed and Funny You Should Ask.”

Come on man. They didn’t “pick it up.” You 100% paid for the airtime. That’s syndication. It’s basically an infomercial model with comedians instead of blenders.

And honestly that’s always been my thing with Byron Allen. He acts like every business deal is the moon landing. Meanwhile the actual shows feel like the TV equivalent of mayonnaise. Safe, bland, technically food.

That’s the part I still can’t fully wrap my head around.

It’s no secret at this point that the Ellisons are currently fans of the Orange Dictator. I say currently because the pattern with Trump is always the same. Eventually people either wake up to his BS or they become the next target of his rage machine.

When Paramount and Skydance wanted this merger, the biggest open secret in Hollywood was that canceling Stephen Colbert was partly about currying favor with Trump’s ego. Everybody danced around saying it outright but nobody really believed it was just some normal business decision disconnected from politics.

What I don’t understand is why it seemingly stopped with Colbert.

Because there are two other major anti Trump shows sitting right there on sibling network Comedy Central.

First there’s The Daily Show. Especially on Monday nights when Jon Stewart is hosting, he goes absolutely scorched earth on Trump and his minions in ways that honestly sometimes make Stephen look tame by comparison. Jon will spend 20 straight minutes dismantling MAGA nonsense piece by piece with zero hesitation.

Yet while Stephen was supposedly too much of a problem for Paramount, Jon Stewart’s contract got renewed.

Then there’s South Park.

If you watched last season, they were not exactly subtle. Spoilers obviously, but they literally did a storyline where Trump was impregnating the devil with basically the Antichrist. They took shot after shot after shot at him including endless jokes about the size of his… you know what.

And somehow that survives untouched too.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m glad those shows are still around. Honestly after next Thursday they’re probably the only Paramount properties I’ll still regularly watch.

But it raises the obvious question.

Why were they spared while Stephen got axed?

Was it calculated cover so Paramount can point and say “See? We still allow anti Trump voices. We aren’t in bed with him.”

Was it because Colbert is on CBS proper while Comedy Central exists in its own little corner and Trump either didn’t notice or doesn’t realize Paramount owns both?

Or is the answer way less complicated and way more depressing?

Maybe those shows simply make more money relative to their cost and at the end of the day that’s the only language corporations speak.

Still, the fact that Stewart and South Park survived does give me a little hope for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver if this Warner Bros. merger actually happens. Maybe prestige political comedy still has enough value that even giant corporations know better than to completely kill it off.

At least I hope so.

I started seeing promos for Comics Unleashed starting at 11:35 on May 22 and it finally hit me that this is probably really it. At this point it doesn’t feel like there’s gonna be some dramatic 11th hour saving of The Late Show. Never say never in TV because stranger things have happened… but realistically, next Thursday feels like the end of this era.

And honestly I’ve started thinking about what this post-Late Show/Colbert world even looks like.

Kimmel is probably the biggest immediate winner here. I think a lot of habitual live Colbert viewers are just naturally gonna drift over there because it’s the closest thing tonally. He’ll probably see a pretty decent bump from people looking for that same kind of nightly comfort watch.

Fallon probably gets a little bit of a bump too, but nowhere near Kimmel. Fallon’s audience already kinda exists in its own lane and I don’t know if hardcore Colbert viewers suddenly become Tonight Show people overnight.

But the one situation I genuinely cannot understand is Byron Allen.

CBS is happy because they get paid either way. To them 11:35 is now Byron Allen’s problem.

And I’m sorry, but Comics Unleashed taking over that slot feels surreal. This is the same show Norm Macdonald joked about by saying he had “never been more leashed.” When they announced it was taking over 11:35 there were already jokes that his “fan” must be ecstatic.

Back in the day it honestly felt like 90% of that show’s ratings came from TVs left on after The Late Late Show while people were asleep on the couch.

The weird thing is it doesn’t even feel like there’s an actual movement behind it. Conservatives aren’t rallying around Comics Unleashed. Most of them seem way more interested in the fantasy scenario where CBS hires Greg Gutfeld
And now Byron Allen’s in an even worse position because CBS handled the Colbert situation in a way that created an audience that isn’t apathetic they’re actively angry. There’s a sizable group of viewers who are basically boycotting whatever comes next out of principle.

I know personally I won’t be watching it if it’s the last thing on TV, and I just don’t see where this massive new audience is supposed to magically come from.

But Stephen? Stephen will be fine.

He’s too talented, too connected, too smart, and too well liked in the industry to disappear. Whether it’s another show, streaming, producing, political coverage, specials, theater, whatever he’ll land on his feet. Honestly he may end up bigger once he’s free of network late night constraints.

Still though… it’s weird watching an institution like The Late Show actually come to an end in real time.