At the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 14, 2026, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” secured the award for Outstanding Variety Series, marking a notable victory for the CBS program following its cancellation. The win honored the show’s final season, which concluded in May 2026, making it the sole recipient in this year’s competition for the category.
Accepting the award alongside his production team, Colbert used his platform to advocate for his colleagues. He emphasized the role late-night television plays as a training ground for emerging talent, noting that the demands of live broadcasting provide invaluable professional experience.
“The thing about these late shows is that, besides bringing a really good, steady job, is that they require so many people that they’re a fantastic incubator for young people to come in to learn to work professionally on a deadline in cooperation in collaboration,” Colbert said. He revealed that his writers, who had previously won an Emmy for variety series writing, had been tasked with crafting jokes for the ceremony. “I want you to know I got some great news: They are all tech avail. Hire them; they will make your show better, and they will make your day easier.}”
In his opening remarks, the host also paid tribute to his long career and personal life. “Over the last 21 years, I’ve interviewed at least a thousand of you,” he told the audience in the room. “Thank you for coming on to talk to this idiot… But of course, there can only be one favorite guest, and that is my wife, Evie McGee.” He closed his speech by thanking viewers for their support over the years.
The victory came within a newly restructured category that merged the previously separate Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety competitions. This change, along with a new rule designating the category as an “area” award, meant that nominees were judged independently rather than against one another. Under the Academy’s guidelines, any nominee achieving approval from at least 90% of voters would win.
This format allowed for the possibility of multiple winners among the five nominees: “The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Saturday Night Live.” Emmy producers had prepared contingency plans for the scenario in which all five shows received the honor, noting that such an outcome could delay local news broadcasts.
I didn’t realize the category merged Talk and Scripted Variety this year. Explains why SNL and Colbert were in the same bucket.
Sad the show ended, but seeing him advocate for his team instead of just gloating says a lot about his character after 21 years.
Love that he turned his win into a hiring pitch. ‘Tech avail’ is such a funny way to say they’re ready to work anywhere now.
Wait, if all five shows get 90% approval, do they all win? That would be chaos for the news broadcast schedule.
Colbert making the point about late-night as a training ground was smart. These crews really do launch careers, not just write jokes.