Stephen Colbert won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series on Sunday at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, months after CBS announced it would cancel "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." In an acceptance speech that mixed gratitude and defiance, Colbert said he had "never loved my country more desperately" and thanked CBS for the opportunity to be part of the late-night tradition.
"Sometimes, you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it," Colbert told the audience, adding, "Stay strong and be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor," a reference to a Prince song lyric. He beat out finalists including "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and Comedy Central's "The Daily Show."
Colbert used the night both to salute colleagues and to acknowledge the uncertain future of his program. He thanked CBS for "giving us the privilege to be part of the late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we’re no longer doing this show," and earlier in the evening received a standing ovation while presenting another award. During that appearance he joked about the show's cancellation, quipping whether anyone was "hiring" and mockingly handing his résumé to Harrison Ford.
CBS announced in July that "THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT" will end its run at the conclusion of the 2025–26 broadcast season, saying the decision was "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." The network also said it would retire "The Late Show" franchise and called Colbert "irreplaceable." The cancellation drew accusations from some critics who said the move was influenced by Republican political pressure as Paramount pursues a merger with Skydance Media; CBS described the matter in financial terms.
Colbert, known for his outspoken criticism of former President Donald Trump, has previously exchanged public barbs with the president and at one point told Trump to "go f--- yourself" after the president taunted him over the cancellation. Industry observers noted that the controversy surrounding the cancellation may have heightened attention to Colbert's final season and the Emmy win.
The host also used recent broadcasts to speak directly to political violence after the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk earlier this month. Colbert opened his show with condolences and a denunciation of violence, saying, "I am old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s, and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences." He added that political violence "only leads to more political violence" and said he hoped the attack was the act of a lone madman.
Colbert took over "The Late Show" from David Letterman in 2015 and has been a prominent voice on late-night television ever since. The Emmy win marks one of the program's highest-profile recognitions as it heads toward a scheduled final episode in May 2026, closing a chapter of late-night broadcast history noted by CBS in its announcement of the franchise's retirement.