Stephen Colbert Celebrates First Primetime Emmy for ‘Teh Late Show’ Amid Cancellation Proclamation
Los Angeles – Stephen Colbert and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” secured their first Primetime Emmy Award on Sunday, winning in the outstanding directing for a variety series category at the Creative arts Emmys. the win arrives two months after CBS announced the show’s cancellation, slated to conclude in 2026, bringing an end to the long-running late-night franchise that began with David Letterman in 1993.
Accepting the award, Colbert reflected on the show’s journey, stating, “I don’t know how you could do it, but I’d like to do a late-night comedy show about love. I don’t know if I ever figured that out, but at a certain point…I realized that in some ways we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss. And that’s related to love because sometiems the only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it.” He punctuated the moment with a celebratory “Woo!” and a raised fist.
The cancellation has been met with controversy, unfolding shortly after CBS parent company Paramount settled a lawsuit with the Trump management and merged with Skydance Media. Colbert, a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump-who appeared on the show in 2015-has consistently satirized him. Trump, despite denying responsibility for the show’s cancellation, posted on Truth social, “I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.”
Throughout his career, Colbert has been nominated for 44 Primetime Emmys, winning 10 for his previous work on “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report.” He also boasts two grammy Awards, five Peabody Awards, seven Producers Guild Awards, and four Writers Guild Awards. In a recent speech, Colbert expressed his continued patriotism, saying, “Ten years later, in September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor!”