The Late Show with Stephen Colbert wins first-ever Emmy weeks after being canceled

Cancelation of Colbert’s show was announced in July

Stephen Colbert’s eponymous late-night show has won its first Emmy award, weeks after being canceled by CBS.

At Sunday evening’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards honoring technical and artistic achievements in television, the show won outstanding directing for a variety series for Jim Hoskinson for the episode featuring David Oyelowo, Finn Wolfhard, Alan Cumming, and Ok Go.

Since its debut in 2015, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has amassed 33 Emmy nominations but had not won until Sunday evening. At the upcoming Primetime Emmys ceremony on September 14, the show will vie for more trophies in the talk series and directing categories.

The win comes just weeks after CBS announced July 18 that the show would end in 2026. The network described Colbert as “irreplaceable” and said it will retire the long-running franchise, citing a “financial decision.”

George Cheeks, the Co-CEO of Paramount Global; Amy Reisenbach, the President of CBS Entertainment and David Stapf, the President of CBS Studios, said in a joint statement to CBS News: “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert will end its historic run in May 2026 at the end of the broadcast season. We consider Stephen Colbert irreplaceable and will retire The Late Show franchise at that time.

Stephen Colbert’s eponymous late night show has won its first Emmy award (2024 Invision)

“We are proud that Stephen called CBS home. He and the broadcast will be remembered in the pantheon of greats that graced late night television.”

The statement continued: “This is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show's performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Fans and supporters of Colbert have questioned the cancellation, including fellow late-night hosts John Oliver, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, and celebrities like Adam Scott and Ben Stiller.

Even politicians waded into the arena, questioning the true reason for the cancellation.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote, “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. America deserves to know if his show was canceled for political reasons.”

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The news came months after Colbert used the show to heavily criticize his network’s corporate bosses over concerns that they could be breaking anti-bribery laws by seeking to settle a meritless lawsuit with President Donald Trump to get his administration’s approval for a merger.

The host did a spit-take after pointing out that Paramount was considering paying the president what he called a $50 million “bribe” as the company sought to complete a multi-billion-dollar deal with Skydance Media.