A month after Stephen Colbert took his last bow on The Late Show — along with some parting shots at CBS — his team is still being feisty with their former network. This time the battleground isn’t free speech and politics; it’s the Emmys.
The writers from The Late Show With Stephen Colbert went viral in recent days with a cheeky Instagram stunt, claiming they needed to launch a DIY Emmy push for the late-night program because CBS refused to stage a proper campaign. The out-of-work scribes said they were forced to cobble together something “for strictly financial reasons” — i.e., the exact same reason network bosses gave last year for canceling The Late Show.
Playful or not, CBS rejects the claims. Gold Derby has learned that, just like in years past, a traditional For Your Consideration campaign was mounted in support of The Late Show in all categories. The awards push included TV promos and digital billboards in New York City and Los Angeles, an ad buy with The Hollywood Reporter, and multiple e-blasts to Television Academy voters.
In addition, there is a dedicated FYC screening site where all of the writers are named: Ariel Dumas (head writer), Jay Katsir (head writer), Delmonte Bent, Michael Brumm, Aaron Cohen, Stephen T. Colbert, Paul Dinello, Gabe Gronli, Barry Julien, Michael Cruz Kayne, Eliana Kwartler, Matt Lappin, Caroline Lazar, Pratima Mani, Felipe Torres Medina, Opus Moreschi, Carley Moseley, Aaron Nemo, Asher Perlman, Tom Purcell, Kate Sidley, Brian Stack, John Thibodeaux, and Steve Waltien.
The writers’ lighthearted video was published June 19 on Medina’s Instagram, during the midst of nominations-round voting, which took place from June 11 to 22. As the writers mocked classic sitcom theme songs, the text read: “From the writers who brought you The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, this summer comes … We’d Love an Emmy.“
The final episodes of The Late Show aired in May and featured notable guests, including President Barack Obama, David Letterman, Jon Stewart, Paul McCartney, and Colbert’s fellow “Strike Force Five” late-night hosts: Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, and John Oliver.
Colbert’s talk show is contending for the final time at the Emmy Awards. To date, it has been nominated 33 times, but has only won twice, both last year following the announcement of its cancellation: Best Talk Series and Best Variety Directing (Jim Hoskinson).
The writing team received seven consecutive bids in Best Variety Writing between 2017 and 2023, but never won. In 2024 and 2025, due to a decrease in Emmy submissions, this category dropped from five nominations to three, and the writers were snubbed in favor of those from Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, The Daily Show, and Saturday Night Live.
This year, there’s a twist to the Emmy rules that could ensure The Late Show wins again in Best Talk Series — plus all the other eventual nominees.
Because of a decrease in submissions, the categories of Best Scripted Variety Series and Best Talk Series have been merged into one. And it will now be considered an area award.
Under the new system, nominees are judged individually rather than competitively. Instead of selecting a single winner, TV Academy voters must answer one question for each nominee: “Does this nominee merit an Emmy?” Any series that receives at least 90% “yes” votes will earn an Emmy, allowing for multiple winners in the same category.
Variety Series
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2.
Late Show with Stephen Colbert
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5.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
According to the Gold Derby data, the five predicted nominees for Best Variety Series are Saturday Night Live (88%), The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (78%), Jimmy Kimmel Live (72%), The Daily Show (67%), and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (63%).
The 2026 Emmys nominations will be announced on July 8.
