CBS to replace Stephen Colbert with actual comedy
CBS will waste no time looking for laughs after "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" ends its near-11-year run.
Colbert has faced consistent scrutiny since reports surfaced of his show's alleged $40 million annual losses against a $100 million budget. Now, the finish line is fast approaching as his show nears its May 21 finale.
'The world can never have enough laughter.'
CBS will reportedly waste no time replacing Colbert and is moving right along with a new lineup for the 11:35 p.m. time slot on May 22.
Giggle gang
According to The Hill, Colbert's late-night talk show is set to be replaced by a pair of half-hour programs featuring actual comedians.
First, back-to-back episodes of "Comics Unleashed" will air in Colbert's soon-to-be former slot, moving up an hour from where it sits currently. The show features panels of bantering stand-up comics that have ranged from newbies to legends like Dennis Miller, Bert Kreischer, John Lovitz, and more.
Moving into the 12:35 a.m. slot is "Funny You Should Ask," a reboot of the 1968 classic of the same name. The format has celebrities and comedians answer trivia questions, while contestants have to determine if they are giving the right answer.
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Nothing personal
CBS said in 2025 that its cancellation of Colbert's show was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night."
They added, "It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content, or other matters happening at Paramount."
This came around the same time that CBS News' parent company, Paramount, paid a $16 million settlement to President Trump. The lawsuit claimed the network deceptively edited an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris during her 2024 presidential election campaign, the Guardian reported.
Colbert called the settlement "a big fat bribe."
Happy meal
Both shows replacing Colbert are produced by comedian Byron Allen, who has pushed out a steady stream of TV shows and movies over the past two decades.
Allen told The Hill that "Comics Unleashed" is a platform for comedians to simply "make people laugh," adding that he truly appreciates CBS for "picking up our two-hour comedy block."
"The world can never have enough laughter," Allen added.
The 64-year-old is on the board of governors of the Motion Picture & Television Fund, along with other Hollywood staples like director J.J. Abrams, actor Colin Farrell, and rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. The fund describes itself as supporting "working and retired members of the entertainment community with a safety net of health and social services.
In 2025, Variety reported that Allen reached a settlement with McDonald's after filing a $10 billion lawsuit against the food chain. The lawsuit alleged that McDonald's discriminated against black-owned media companies in its TV advertising expenditures.
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Comedian Leslie Jones calls marriage 'legalized slavery' — and cringes as her progressive logic backfires
A friendly podcast interview turned into a harrowing ordeal when comedian Leslie Jones faced every celebrity's nightmare: having to justify her progressive beliefs.
In a recent appearance on writer and comedian Ziwe's YouTube show "You'd Be an Iconic Guest," the "Saturday Night Live" alum was her usual confident self, offering her takes on race, marriage, and culture.
Confident, that is, until the host began challenging Jones' logic.
'If he expecting you to be a trad wife, might as well pull out a whip and a chain.'
Ball and chain
After Jones said she finds "powerful men" like President Barack Obama attractive, Ziwe suggested that this proclivity might be interpreted as "submissive."
"Could you be a trad wife, is what I'm asking," the host added.
"Absolutely f**king not," Jones replied.
When pressed to clarify, Jones expanded her contempt to marriage in general.
"Because that's not who the f**k I am. And my daddy didn't raise me like that," Jones asserted. "To be anybody's wife. My dad used to literally say that to me, 'I didn't raise you to be somebody's wife.'"
"That's so brave," Ziwe replied, in a tone that suggested the opposite.
Undaunted — or unaware — Jones brought her rant to a bold conclusion: "I think marriage is legalized slavery."
RELATED: Leslie Jones wants every ICE employee to go to prison: 'Y'all know y'all did wrong stuff!'
Guys and gays
Ziwe, demonstrating an impressive restraint, calmly encouraged her guest to pursue her bizarre line of thought.
"Say more. Because if I'm thinking about slavery and I'm thinking about marriage, there are two different images that come into my head."
"Absolutely not," Jones came back. "I don't know how you don't. A man is, especially if he expecting you to be a trad wife, might as well pull out a whip and a chain."
"I don't believe in ... marriage. ... And I don't think it's beneficial for a woman at all," Jones went on.
As Jones' irritation mounted, Ziwe ramped up the trolling, asking her guest which cause she cared less about: gay rights or men's rights.
"Male rights," Jones replied. "Because f**k them, they already got rights."
Again, Ziwe pressed Jones to explain.
When Jones said something about men needing to "evolve," Ziwe countered by bringing up a recent incident in which the NBA reprimanded Jones for disrupting a game while sitting courtside.
"So it's interesting as you talk about how men should do better and get better. You're barking at a, you know, young 24-year-old doing their job ... what's the logic there?" the host asked.
Jones confirmed the incident, offering no justification other than her age: "I'm 58 ... I should be able to do whatever I want."
Therapy session
As the interview went on, Jones became increasingly exasperated, likening it to an interrogation, asking for her publicist, and at one point musing, "My career about to be over 'cause I think I'm going to attack this person."
The interview culminated with Ziwe — demonstrating an impressive command of progressive-ese — calling out Jones for not watching her show before her appearance.
"You've never engaged with my work at all as a black woman? ... Wow. And so you're talking about breaking the glass ceiling and how men should do better. And you have a black woman sitting across from you, and you can't even think to engage with her work[?]"
While Jones gamely stayed for the entire interview, despite her evident discomfort, she did admit it was not an enjoyable experience. "I'm gonna need therapy after this."
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Comedian Mark Normand crushes woke studio execs who wanted Muslim joke removed: 'On one condition ...'
Stand-up comedian Mark Normand believes in making fun of everyone, equally.
When asked about his latest Netflix special, Normand said he wanted to be "inclusive," meaning he wanted to make fun of people from all walks of life.
'I want you to admit on this call that they're a dangerous people.'
Normand told podcaster Shannon Sharpe recently that he gave "equal opportunity" mockery to every group, including "trans, Mexican, black, gay, Muslim, everyone."
It was one of those specific groups that executives confronted Normand about and wanted it removed from his hour-long set. The comic revealed a phone call he received from top brass recently, and while most would assume he was referring to Netflix — given that his "None Too Pleased" special was just released on the platform — a Normand voiceover told audiences multiple times it was actually Hulu he had the conversation with.
On the podcast "Tuesdays with Stories," the New Orleans native recalled, "About a week ago or two weeks ago, they said, 'Send us a couple jokes you like. We'll chop them up and use that as promo on social media.'"
A week later, representatives allegedly asked the comedian to have a conference call, which he was not looking forward to because it's "18 Jews on there with a speakerphone and my Jews," Normand joked with co-host Joe List.
"They go, 'Yeah, we got some bad news there. We reviewed the special again. We'd like to take out the Muslim joke.'"
Normand explained that staff told him that the last time "a comic did a Muslim joke," they got bomb and death threats. But the 42-year-old said he refused to take it out.
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"I like the joke. It kills. It's a hot joke," Normand said, adding, "And you know, no one touches 'Muzz,'" referring to Muslims.
The comic said he fought for his joke, telling the platform, "You approved it. Now you're going back."
The platform allegedly then focused its battle on not removing the joke from the special itself but rather getting Normand to agree that it would not appear in social media promotions. The platform apparently believed social media was where most of the turmoil and backlash spawns from, not from people actually watching the special.
In response, Normand then gave the reps an ultimatum:
"OK. I don't love it, but OK. I will take it off on one condition," he recalled saying. Normand then said he told those on the call that he would only approve the social media plan if they admitted Muslims are dangerous.
"I want you to admit on this call that they're a dangerous people. And they were like, 'What? No. What, are you crazy?' And I'm like, 'You got to admit it, or I'm keeping it, or I'm posting it.'"
Normand said he could hear the commotion through the phone, until he was eventually told they would not adhere to his request, chiefly because it's "offensive."
That's when Normand called out the studio's hypocrisy.
"That's what the call is!" Normand remembered. "You're calling about this, and I just need you to say it out loud."
Remembering his phone call had Normand up in arms on the recent podcast, as he mocked the executive class for "signaling" about their beliefs but not standing behind them.
"You can say, 'Hey, I love this group.' But then you don't live near them. You know, we're all talk. We're all signaling. We're all virtuous, but you don't actually act that way."
"So they admitted it," Normand said to his surprise; and while he did reveal he was "half joking" when he made his request, the comedian had a good time getting "a group of HR homos" to say, "All right, they're dangerous. We'll see you later," before hanging up the phone.
As for which platform Normand spoke to, Netflix did not respond to a request for clarification; Hulu did not reply either. Normand seemingly had one special on the latter platform, "Out to Lunch" (2020), but it appears to no longer be available.
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