NEWSStephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and John Oliver Face Off in a Bigger Late-Night Emmy Race
Stephen Colbert entered a crowded Emmy race alongside late-night hosts.
July 12 2026, Published 6:35 a.m. ET
Late-night’s biggest names are heading into an unusually crowded Emmy fight.
The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live were all nominated for Outstanding Variety Series after the Television Academy merged the former Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series categories.
The change sets up a race packed with past winners, familiar rivals and one major twist: more than one show could walk away with a statue.
A Merged Category Changes the Game
John Oliver extended his Emmy-winning streak.
The combined category brings together traditional late-night talk shows, John Oliver’s HBO series and SNL, which previously competed in separate lanes.
Oliver has been almost impossible to ignore at the Emmys, winning 10 in a row across the former variety talk and scripted variety categories. The Daily Show won the Outstanding Talk Series Emmy twice after Last Week Tonight moved categories, while The Late Show won last year.
SNL also enters with a heavy awards history, after winning six straight Emmys in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category from 2017 to 2022.
Stephen Colbert Gets a Final Embrace
Five late-night shows earned nominations in the Outstanding Variety Series category.
The Late Show earned nine nominations for its final season, the biggest Emmy haul of Colbert’s 11-year run behind the desk.
The show is nominated for variety series, writing, directing, production design, technical direction and camerawork, lighting design, sound mixing, picture editing and music direction.
CBS aired the series finale on May 21, ending the Late Show franchise after 33 years, including 22 under David Letterman and 11 under Colbert. The network called the move a financial decision, though the cancellation drew scrutiny because of the show’s ratings strength and the timing of Paramount’s merger with Skydance.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert Bring Political Heat
Political tensions continued to influence late-night television.
The category also arrives after a turbulent year for political comedy.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! has drawn attention for how Kimmel handled political pressure after ABC temporarily took him off the air following criticism from conservatives over his comments after Charlie Kirk’s death.
Colbert’s final stretch also carried political weight. His show was canceled days after he called his parent company’s lawsuit settlement with President Donald Trump’s administration a “big fat bribe.”
Last year, Kimmel publicly supported Colbert with Los Angeles billboards saying he would vote for Stephen. This year, they are nominated against each other.
How More Than One Show Could Win
Multiple shows became eligible to win the same Emmy.
Outstanding Variety Series is now an area award, meaning nominees are not simply ranked against one another. Each nominee is judged on whether it merits an Emmy.
If more than one show receives at least 90% “yes” votes from Emmy voters, multiple programs can win. If none clears that threshold, the show with the highest percentage wins.
Final-round voting runs Aug. 17–26. The Primetime Emmy Awards air Sept. 14 on NBC.
