First on LateNighter: Funny You Should Ask is getting ready to ask some new questions.
The Byron Allen-produced comedy game show is returning to production Aug. 11, with new episodes set to begin airing in its 12:35 a.m. time slot on CBS on September 21.
The show has been airing episodes that previously aired in syndication since making its CBS debut in late May. It follows Comics Unleashed as the second half of Allen’s new two-hour block, which launched following Stephen Colbert’s Late Show finale.
Hosted by Jon Kelley, Funny You Should Ask has produced 450 episodes across nine seasons and is on track to tape its landmark 500th episode this winter.
The show pits two contestants against each other as a panel of six comics cracks jokes and offers answers to trivia questions. Contestants must then decide whether those answers are correct or merely funny. After three rounds, the contestant with the most money advances to an end game for a larger cash prize.
Allen himself is a permanent fixture on the panel. Other regular panelists have included Tiffany Haddish, Jon Lovitz, Jamie Kennedy, Sheryl Underwood, Jackee, Adam Carolla, Howie Mandel, Whitney Cummings, Caroline Rhea, Natasha Leggero, Jeff Ross, Tommy Davidson, Jimmie Walker, and Gabriel Iglesias.
As we recently reported, Funny You Should Ask has proven to be something of an anomaly in late night. Since landing on CBS, it has retained roughly 80% of the audience watching at the beginning of its hour through 1:35 a.m.—a remarkable retention rate at a time of night when sleep is every television show’s biggest competitor.
In June, the show delivered ratings comparable to those earned by After Midnight during the same period a year earlier. The Taylor Tomlinson-hosted show aired its final original episodes in June 2025.
“Funny You Should Ask is a comedy game show with a simple premise—for every question there’s a funny answer,” Byron Allen said in a statement. “Funny You Should Ask is an idea I’ve had in my head for over 50 years, and I am very happy to share it with everyone because the world can never have enough laughter.”
Wow, the panel is a real who’s-who of washed-up comedians.
Just because you don’t know whether they are still performing stand-up doesn’t mean they aren’t. You don’t know what else they could be doing. I didn’t know the Raven-Symone had been on Broadway. I didn’t know that Jeff Ross was on Dancing with The Stars. I believe he still produces those celebrity roasts. Sheryl Underwood was a host on The Talk until it ended. Tiffany Haddish was a guest host for Jimmy Kimmel this summer. Byron Allen may be a “washed-up comedian” but he is either a multi-millionaire or billionaire.
Howie Mandel is a judge on America’s Got Talent. He is in TV commercials due to his celebrity.
They have to go somewhere when you cancel/end Chelsea Lately & @Midnight.
It’s Hollywood Squares without the tic-tac-toe — and it’s not even a very good Hollywood Squares without the tic-tac-toe. Even the Drew-and-Nate version of Hollywood Squares is better, and I have problems with the Drew-and-Nate version.
Will NOT watch CBS unless you
BRING back Steven Colbert.
Good Luck. NO Network will ever hire Stephen. He is toxic.
If by no network you mean CBS, ABC, NBC, or Fox, then you’re likely correct. But it has nothing to do with Colbert being “toxic,” whatever that means. Network TV is dying a slow death anyway, and so is cable. I doubt Colbert would want to do another late-night talk show anyway. He’s over 60 and has spent the last 29 years in late-night television. He’ll probably do something different, but you’re fooling yourself if you think he can’t get a show on a cable network or streamer. Conan had no trouble getting a series after his run in late night and his ratings were abysmal on TBS for well over a decade.
The last approval rating I saw for Trump was 32%, and that will continue to fall as his inane tariff policies and pointless war in Iran slow the US economy. Republicans in Congress will be turning on him soon like the little rats they are. Colbert isn’t going to have a problem finding work because he was a vocal Trump critic. If anything, his criticism of Trump will only help him as reality sets in for the mouth-breathing MAGAts and corporations stop kowtowing to the dumbest President to ever disgrace this great nation.
Maybe it could work for a weekly show on cable. The issue is that the late night format never took off on streaming and these shows are very expensive to produce, that’s why the best non-American versions of the format are weekly programs.
Unfortunately, these shows are a relic of the era of higher ad rates and 150 dollars cable bills.
Maybe Colbert could rant and make jokes about the orange one on his official podcast if he has one.
As with FYSA, I don’t think their would be a nasty lawsuit between them since the Nate/Drew Hollywood Squares airs on the same network but of course different timeslots.
Tommy Davidson?
Gabriel Iglesias?
I missed those episodes.
I don’t like that the losing contestant loses all of their money that they earned.
Funny You Should Ask is my favorite game show to watch in the afternoon every day. Hate that you have moved it to late night time. Don’t stay up that late. Please put it back on at daytime.
Love this show, and since I’m semi-retired, I watch it as often as I can! Especially love Jon Lovitz, Whitney Cummings, and Jeff Ross.