In a bit of sweet revenge, Stephen Colbert and his canceled Late Show pulled off a pair of surprising wins on the first night of the Emmys on Saturday.
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, beating out Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, which has taken home the statue for the past 10 years in a row.
The program’s digital companion series, Colbert Before Air, also pulled off an upset, winning Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series.
The CBS program picked up additional hardware during the ceremony, including Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment), and Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Series.
“I’d like to thank all those who keep late night going, [John] Oliver, [Jimmy] Kimmel. Super important institution in this country,” said Tom Purcell, The Late Show’s executive producer, as he accepted the writing award on the program’s behalf. “Keep the flame burning, guys!”
For Colbert Before Air, the win was particularly notable. The digital series has produced only about 10 episodes over the past year, with installments running just two to four minutes apiece. Yet the bite-sized show managed to beat out several more established short-form contenders for the Emmy.
The wins give Colbert’s final season an early boost heading into the main Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, when The Late Show will compete for Outstanding Talk Series against The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Saturday Night Live, and Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Saturday’s ceremony was the first of two Creative Arts Emmy events being held ahead of the main broadcast. The first night focused largely on variety, reality and nonfiction categories, with the second night covering additional scripted and craft awards. The ceremonies will be combined into a televised special airing Sept. 12 on FXX, while the main Emmys will air Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock.
The early wins arrive less than four months after CBS announced that The Late Show would end in May, citing financial reasons. The cancellation nevertheless prompted accusations of political censorship, particularly because it came amid controversy surrounding Paramount’s settlement with President Donald Trump and the pending acquisition of Paramount by Skydance.
Colbert has long been an outspoken critic of Trump and also publicly criticized the settlement shortly before CBS announced the show’s cancellation.
Whatever the reasons for the cancellation, Saturday’s awards gave the outgoing show something to celebrate.
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