Byron Allen is making it clear that he’s not trying to replace Stephen Colbert’s “Late Show.”
In fact, Allen is looking to expand his show, “Comics Unleashed,” which is totally different from a late-night show format.
Speaking with NPR, the media mogul laid out his plans for his show.
At the end of the day, I’m not trying to replace Colbert,” Allen said. “I am not trying to hold on to his audience because Comics Unleashed has been around 20 years and has its own audience.”
“Not everyone’s going to love me,” Allen continued. “And not everyone’s going to love the fact that I’m not being racist or antisemitic or sexist.”
When NPR’s Ailsa Chang asked if CBS or Paramount had set any boundaries or off-limits topics for Comics Unleashed, Byron Allen gave a definitive “absolutely not.”
“I have absolutely not had any conversations with anybody at CBS or Paramount about what to say or not to say,” said Allen. “Do you know that I’ve been taping this show here since July or August and somebody from CBS just came by to say hello and thank us. Visited the set one time, came by to say ‘We just want to see a taping because we haven’t been here.’”
“When we’ve sent the episodes over, they barely give notes,” Allen added. “CBS has not given me any notes, any feedback about don’t be political… I started the show 20 years ago, and we’ve been crushing it for 20 years.”
But unlike Colbert, Allen will not be discussing politics on the show.
“No politics,” Allen said in a recent interview on CBS Mornings. “You come, you laugh… We’ve had on a thousand comedians — every shape and size, you name it. I want to bring people together using comedy.”
Comics Unleashed airs weeknights on CBS at 11:35.