Stephen Colbert's Late Show won its first Emmy on Sunday, less than two months after its cancellation by CBS drew a gleeful response from Donald Trump. The show took the Creative Arts award for outstanding directing for a variety series, for an episode featuring actors David Oyelowo, Finn Wolfhard, and Alan Cumming, along with a musical performance by OK Go.
While Colbert himself has won 10 previous Emmys, this marks the first time his late-night program has earned the honour since he took over in 2015. The show is set to end in May 2026 after CBS controversially cancelled it in July, a decision that came amid Paramount's pending $8.4bn merger with Skydance and Colbert's criticism of a $16m settlement CBS paid to Trump over a lawsuit about edited interview footage.
Trump, a frequent target of Colbert's jokes, celebrated the cancellation on Truth Social, writing: 'I absolutely love that Colbert was fired.' Colbert responded on air with an expletive-laden retort, calling it a dream for a sitting president to celebrate his career's end. CBS chair George Cheeks later attributed the cancellation to financial pressures in late-night television, not politics.
The Emmy win, directed by Jim Hoskinson, was seen by industry insiders as a reaction to public dismay over the show's cancellation. The Late Show had amassed over 30 Emmy nominations before this victory, trailing only AMC's Better Call Saul in nominations without a win. Colbert's previous Emmys came from his Comedy Central show The Colbert Report and a 2020 election special.
