Stephen Colbert’s Emmy win is the best possible reply to CBS for the cancellation of his show

Stephen Colbert's The Late Show won an Emmy for the best Talk Series in 2025, marking the first such award for the show since Colbert joined it as the central host.

The 61-year-old became the host of this CBS show in 2015 and has continued working until now. In July 2025, the network decided to cancel the show from its schedule, shortly after its deal with Paramount. It meant that a show with over three decades of tradition on American television would not even receive a new host. Instead, the format itself may die an unfortunate death.

After the announcement, CBS cited a financial reason behind this cancellation, but many fans and journalists believed that it was politically motivated by those in power. Since then, the show and its host have received an outpouring of love, acknowledging Stephen Colbert's valuable contributions to this format and the world of political satire.

Many believed the show would win at least an Emmy, and once it did, the audience stood up, applauded Colbert's win, and started chanting his name. Colbert accepted their honor and began his speech, saying,

"Thank you. Thank you for this honor. I want to thank CBS for the privilege to be part of the late-night tradition, which, I hope, continues long after we're no longer doing this show."

Stephen Colbert's win in the Talk Show category feels even more deserved in the wake of The Late Show's cancellation

After speaking about the format's long tradition, Stephen Colbert turned everyone's attention to his talented crew of writers and more. He pointed at them and continued his speech, saying,

"I want to thank these people, [he pointed to the balcony and said] those people up there, the 200 incredible professionals. You're the pros, and I'm so proud to be one of you. We have to thank people who've supported us for the last 20 years."

Stephen Colbert then continued, speaking about his family, including his wife, their parents, and three children, who have supported him throughout his personal and professional life. He also thanked his late colleague, Amy Cole, and then shared an anecdote from the time he was replacing David Letterman as the show's host after Letterman's retirement. Colbert said,

"10 years ago, in September of 2015, [filmmaker] Spike Jonze stopped by my show, and asked, 'Hey, what do you want this show to be about?'. And, I said, 'Ah, I don't know Spike, how you can do it, but I'd kind of want to do a late-night show, you know, a late-night comedy show that was about love.'"

He added,

"I don't know if I ever figured that out, but at a certain point, and you can guess what that point was, I realized that we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss. And that's related to love because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it."

Otherwise, Stephen Colbert also got on stage to present the award for the Best Actor in a Comedy Series category. Even then, the audience gave him a standing ovation. Instead of drawing attention simply to himself, he said,

"While I have your attention, 'Is anyone hiring?' [I'm asking this] because I've 200 very well-qualified candidates with me here tonight, who'll be available in June."

Whether what he said here or after winning the award, Colbert's comments showed further proof of his sharp wit, fine comedic delivery, and knack for pulling at everyone's heartstrings. He brought his headshot from the post and jokingly handed it over to Harrison Ford, with a resume, to forward it to Steven Spielberg.

Yet, Colbert didn't forget to give flowers to his crew who made it all happen and wants to ensure that they get jobs, much like how Conan O'Brien helped his crew get jobs after his New York-based show was cancelled. Colbert's grace and confidence, along with overall high ratings for a long time, make his speech seem like a befitting reply to the cancellation.

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Also read: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will now be directed by Yvonne De Mare as series nears 2026 conclusion

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