Stephen Colbert Scores First Emmy as ‘The Late Show’ Nears Cancellation

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Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Show” won its first Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Series, a significant achievement happening as the show is reportedly nearing its end.

Colbert began his speech by reflecting on his career, recalling a conversation with producer Spike Jonze from ten years prior. He’d told Jonze he wanted to create a late-night comedy show centered around the theme of love.

He went on to explain that, looking back, their show felt like a late-night comedy dealing with grief. He connected this to love, saying you often only realize how much you care about something when you’re afraid of losing it.

Stephen Colbert says he’s focused on finishing his run of “The Late Show” strongly when it ends in May 2026, wanting to make sure the show concludes in a great way.

— Variety (@Variety) September 15, 2025

You know, looking back, Colbert really nailed the feeling of the moment. He said something about how, ten years on, in September 2025, he’d never felt more passionately about America. It was a really powerful message – a simple ‘God bless America,’ but with this added plea to stay strong and be brave. And the line about the elevator? Totally bizarre, but honestly, it kind of worked! It was like a call to fight back, even against the absurd things life throws at you – go wild and aim higher, he seemed to say.

The show, which airs alongside competitors like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and the previous winner “The Daily Show,” was canceled earlier this year. CBS explained the decision to end the series at the end of its current season was about money, and not connected to how well the show was doing, its content, or anything else happening within the company, according to CBS CEO George Cheeks and other leaders.

The network was simultaneously working through the potential sale of Paramount to Skydance Media and resolving a $16 million legal dispute with former President Trump stemming from a segment on “60 Minutes.”

Shortly before the show was canceled, Stephen Colbert publicly addressed the situation, making light of the settlement. He jokingly called it a “big fat bribe” and expressed his disappointment, saying, “As a long-time employee of this network, I’m offended, and it’s hard to regain trust. But if I had to guess what would help, I’d say $16 million.”

Stephen Colbert’s witty and insightful take on politics has attracted a dedicated fanbase. Even with falling ad sales, his show has remained the most-watched late-night program for nine years in a row.

The cancellation of the show came as a surprise to many, considering it had been a key part of CBS’s late-night lineup since David Letterman started the programming block in 1993. Stephen Colbert replaced Letterman, having previously hosted “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central for nine years, where he famously played a humorous and critical political commentator.

Before this win, “The Late Show” had been nominated for an Emmy several times but hadn’t won in the talk series category. They did recently win a Creative Arts Emmy for their directing. During the show, Stephen Colbert received a standing ovation when he presented the first award, playfully joking about needing a job and giving Harrison Ford a headshot to show to Steven Spielberg.

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2025-09-15 11:46