The 77th Primetime Emmys were a huge night of television for shows like The Studio, The Pitt, and Adolescence, as well as some dark horse wins like Andor taking the trophy for Outstanding Writing. One of the most emotional wins of the evening was saved for almost last, however, with Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show winning Outstanding Talk Series. Winning the top category in his genre for the very first time might have been emotional under any circumstances, but the victory coming months after The Late Show was controversially cancelled makes this a standout moment from the 2025 Emmy Awards live.
Colbert was already getting a lot of hype at the Emmys before Bryan Cranston walked out on stage to announce the winner for Outstanding Talk Series, as he had presented an award earlier in the broadcast, with the audience of celebrities and creatives chanting “Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!” I wasn’t surprised to hear him cracking a joke about The Late Show’s cancellation when he presented, but I wasn’t prepared for how he and the room would react when the Late Show’s win was announced.
The longtime host was visibly overjoyed, and ushered others from The Late Show team along with him as he took to the stage to accept the award. From the audience, Jimmy Kimmel, who had used his own nomination to support Colbert, clearly was still rooting for the Late Show host, based on his expression. I felt better about my own teary reaction to Colbert’s jubilation when I spotted The White Lotus’ Aimee Lou Wood with tears in her eyes as well. As for Colbert after he finally made it to the stage, he was nothing but classy after getting the trophy from Cranston.
Colbert said that he wanted to “thank CBS for giving us the privilege to be part of the late night tradition,” despite outcry against the network when The Late Show was cancelled. The host continued, saying of the late night tradition that he hopes it “continues long after we’re no longer doing this show.” He thanked his family, the rest of the hard workers at The Late Show, and the late Amy Cole, who was a longtime executive assistant before she passed away in 2024. He then went beyond Nate Bargatze’s 45-second rule on a more emotional note:
Ten years ago in September of 2015, Spike Jonze stopped by my office and said, ‘Hey, what do you want this show to be about?’ And I said, ‘Spike, I don’t know how you could do it, but I’d kinda like to do a late night comedy show that was about love.’ 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 in some ways 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. 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!
Colbert didn’t get into any details about when he realized he was doing a “late night comedy show about loss,” but from the context, I’m guessing he was either referring to when late night television overall grew much more political during President Donald Trump’s first term in office or when his own show was unexpectedly cancelled. When he announced the cancellation on The Late Show back in July, he responded to the booing audience by saying that he shared their feelings. The decision to cancel was said to be due to financial reasons, according to CBS execs. His speech spoke of optimism and hope for the future instead of dwelling on any bitter feelings
While The Late Show is still set to end in 2026, I’m going to hold on to the memory of just how happy Colbert and his team were when walking up on that stage at the 77th Emmys, as well as all the support from the audience. Plenty of people are still on Team Colbert, even if his days on late night television are numbered at this point.
