One month after the cancellation of his late night show, Stephen Colbert came out on top at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.
On Sunday, the long-running late night show picked up the award for Outstanding Talk Series, one week after winning its first-ever Emmy award at the Creative Arts ceremony for outstanding directing for a variety series.
During his speech, the comedian thanked his team, family, and fans while also addressing the recent cancellation of the CBS staple.
“Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!” the audience shouted as he appeared onstage to accept the award.
“Thank you for this honor. I want to thank CBS for giving us the privilege to be a part of the late night tradition, which I hope continues long after we’re no longer doing this show,” Colbert said. “We’ve got to thank the people that have supported the past 20 years.”
“I have never loved my country more desperately,” he continued. “Be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, punch a higher floor.”
Earlier in the show, the late night host opened the ceremony as the first presenter of the night where he was met with cheers and a standing ovation as soon as he stepped on the stage.
Colbert joked about needing a new job while displaying an old headshot of himself to the audience. He then pulled out his resume before saying, “Harrison Ford could you get this to Spielberg, would you?”
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” has garnered a whopping 33 Emmy nominations since Colbert’s debut as host in 2015, but had never won until this year. Colbert himself already has 10 Emmys to his name for “The Colbert Report” on Comedy Central.
The win comes just weeks after CBS abruptly announced that the show would be coming to an end in 2026, calling the move a “financial decision.”
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season,” CBS studios said in a statement at the time. “We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time.”
Colbert broke the news to viewers himself during an episode. When the studio audience erupted with boos, the host said, “Yeah, I share your feelings.”
“It’s not just the end of our show, but it’s the end of ‘The Late Show’ on CBS,” he said. “I’m not being replaced. This is all just going away.”
Fans, celebrities and politicians spoke out questioning the real reasons behind the show’s cancellation, including Ben Stiller, John Oliver, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel and senator Elizabeth Warren.
“CBS canceled Colbert’s show just THREE DAYS after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with Trump — a deal that looks like bribery,” Warren wrote on X. “America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” landed two Primetime Emmy nominations this year for both talk series and directing.
