Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen is gearing up for its new 12:30am home on CBS, with Allen Media Group confirming that the series has hired a staff and is heading back into the studio to produce new episodes.
Allen will record 132 new episodes of the comedian panel show, which first launched as a syndicated series in 2006 and has only sporadically produced new episodes since its earliest years.
Until 2014, the show aired episodes originally produced between 2006-2007. Its 2023 run on CBS, which ran in between the end of The Late Late Show with James Corden‘s run and the premiere of After Midnight with Taylor Tomlinson, consisted of both reruns and never-before-seen episodes, all of which were shot prior to 2023.
Comics Unleashed staff will begin recording what it’s calling the show’s twentieth season in August.
Assuming all 132 episodes air on CBS this season, Comics Unleashed will be comprised of as many new episodes as After Midnight aired in 2023, although with Allen’s show planning to air two 30-minute episodes back-to-back Monday through Friday, it’s a good bet that the show will be filling its second half-hour with repeats. (Allen’s soon-to-be timeslot competitor, NBC’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, produced a total of 139 new episodes in 2023.)
Comics Unleashed is set to replace CBS’ After Midnight in the 12:37am slot this fall. (After Midnight ceased production in June and is airing repeats throughout the summer.)
LateNighter previously reported on the the unusual deal that led to Comics Unleashed finding its way back to late-night TV, with CBS leasing the time slot to Allen’s company in a time buy.
Comics Unleashed is produced and distributed by Allen’s Allen Media Group, formerly known as Entertainment Studios. The show’s previous team of executive producers—Byron Allen, his mother Carolyn Folks, and his wife Jennifer Lucas—returns for the new season, with comedian Jodi Miller joining the fold. Miller previously guested on Comics Unleashed and was a regular panelist on Allen’s 2017 game show Funny You Should Ask.
“Comics Unleashed is a true passion for me, simply because this world can never have enough laughter,” Allen said in a statement. “I created this show more than 20 years ago so that the best comedians can always have a home and do what they live to do–come together and make everyone laugh.”
Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen will premiere in its new slot Monday, September 22nd at 12:37 AM ET/PT on CBS. Episodes will also be available to stream live on Paramount+ via local CBS affiliate live feeds.
this is so bad…he might make Gutfeld seem funny
🤢