The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ended its 11-year run with an Emmy win Monday night—and in a speech that could have become a political final word, Colbert chose to make it a thank-you. We had a great time doing it for you.” Colbert did not mention Donald Trump in his Emmy speech, despite the president being a frequent target of his political comedy throughout the show's run. Trump repeatedly criticized Colbert and The Late Show.
After CBS announced the cancellation in 2025, Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, writing, “I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert!” The Late Show aired for the final time in May 2026. Colbert dedicated much of Monday night's acceptance speech to the more than 200 people who made the show possible, calling late night a “fantastic incubator” for young people learning to work under pressure and collaborate.
He thanked the many guests he had interviewed before turning to his wife, Evelyn “Evie” McGee Colbert, whom he called his favorite guest. He closed by thanking the audience for watching, saying he and his team had “a great time” making the show for them. We’ll catch you all on the flip,” he said.
Colbert won the Emmy in a field that included The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and Saturday Night Live. The category was also different this year. The Television Academy combined the former Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series categories into a single Outstanding Variety Series award and reclassified it as an “area award.” Instead of choosing one winner, voters evaluated each nominee individually with a yes-or-no vote.
Any show that received at least 90 percent “yes” votes could win, meaning multiple shows could take home the Emmy in the same year. Two weeks ago, Colbert endorsed fellow nominee Jimmy Kimmel in an Instagram video saying, “I think we can all agree that Jimmy Kimmel deserves an Emmy.” Kimmel applauded as Colbert delivered his speech Monday night. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcexvTFzqNs/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== The show ran for 11 seasons with Colbert at the helm, following David Letterman’s 22-year run as host and bringing the Late Show franchise’s total run on CBS to 33 years. Its final episode aired in May 2026 and drew 6.74 million viewers, making it the most-watched weeknight episode in the show’s history, according to CBS data.
The cancellation came just days after Colbert criticized CBS parent company Paramount for its $16 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump over a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Colbert denounced the deal as a “big fat bribe” while Paramount was seeking approval for its merger with Skydance Media. CBS said it was “purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night,” stressing that it was not “related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.” Colbert is currently working on The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past with his son, Peter McGee, according to IMDbPro.
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