The final season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert achieved nine Emmy nominations, marking the series’ most significant success since Colbert assumed hosting duties.
Key nominations for the late-night talk show include:
- Outstanding Variety Series
- Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
- Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series
- Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Or Reality Series
- Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork For A Series
- Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Series
- Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special
- Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming
- Outstanding Music Direction
Previously, the show had achieved a record five nominations in 2024 across categories like production design and directing. In 2021 and 2022, it also garnered five nominations each year.
Stephen Colbert accepted the Outstanding Talk Series Award during the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. He reflected, “Sometimes, you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it. I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America.”
In over a decade hosting the show, Colbert’s program received more than 40 nominations but claimed only two awards—both in 2025—months subsequent to CBS announcing its cancellation.
CBS highlighted these achievements by congratulating the series for its nominations in an Instagram post.
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, air on September 14. CBS’s decision last year, citing financial difficulties, led to the cancellation, noting the show was incurring a $40 million annual loss.
Some, including Colbert, have debated this explanation. They speculated that CBS terminated the show as a strategic appeasement toward President Donald Trump during a pivotal merger requiring FCC approval.
In the Writers Guild Awards, Colbert criticized the network, stating, “This is not the 1950s. This is not the Red Scare. And, as far as I can tell, no one in late night is fomenting a revolution. As we know, the revolution will not be televised. It was going to be televised, but then Paramount bought it.”
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert concluded with its final episode on May 21, contributing to its five new major nominations.
Story inquiries for Lindsay Kornick, an associate editor for Fox News Digital, can be directed to [email protected] or on Twitter @lmkornick.