Thursday, August 13, 2026

'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert's final Emmy nominations

I'm returning to awards show coverage with the final Emmy nominations for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. I begin by sharing For Your Emmy Consideration: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which might be the last video ever uploaded to the show's YouTube account.

A look back at some of the best moments from the final season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!
That was fun and I already miss Stephen. My monologue posts are not the same without him.

Follow over the jump for the show's final Emmy nominations.


I'm recycling what I wrote in 'The Daily Show' examines Fauci's testimony and RFK Hospital plus Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show' as my reaction.
The graphic says seven nominations, but four of those are for Desi Lydic Foxsplains and Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize with two each, so the main show only has three. This places [The Daily Show] behind Saturday Night Live with eleven, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert with nine, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! with six, and even with Last Week Tonight with John Oliver at three. Gold Derby is predicting that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will win.

Next, The Daily Show proper's nominations at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment)
  • The Daily Show: "RFK Hospital: An Original Series Inspired by the Medical Advice of RFK Jr. – Nikolai Johnson (Comedy Central)
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: "Moon Mammoths Game Documentary" – Ryan Barger (HBO)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show closes out its storied run at the Ed Sullivan Theater with help from Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello" – Andrew Matheson and Amanda Sprecher (CBS)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Home Alone" – Ryan Spears (NBC)
  • Saturday Night Live: "MAHAspital (The New Pitt)" – Christopher Salerno and Mak Makower (NBC)
SNL won this award for its 50th anniversary special last year and The Daily Show the year before, so they're the co-favorites. I plan on writing one of these posts for SNL, so I'm waiting until then to make a call.
Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Series
  • The Daily Show: "Episode 30105" – Michael Williams, Jeff Latonero, Matt Muro, Phil Salanto, Michael Schmehl, Tim Quigley, and Rich York (Comedy Central)
  • Dancing with the Stars: "20th Birthday Party" – Charles Ciup, Ron Brasi, Daryl Studebaker, Bettina Levesque, Kary D'Alessandro, Bruce Green, Rob Palmer, Daniel Schade, Nathanial Havholm, Mike Carr, Ed Horton, Easter Xua, Brian Reason, Adam Margolis, Jonas Brueling, Dave Levisohn, Jimmy Garcia, Damien Tuffereau, Emilie Pesante, and Ron Lehman (ABC)
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "Guests: Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Kumail Nanjiani, Josh Meyers, and Musical Guest Reneé Rapp" – Ervin Hurd, David Fernandez, Tim Farmer, Steve Garrett, Mark Gonzales, Greg Grouwinkel, Garrett Hurt, Kris Wilson, Bernd Reinhardt, and Marc Stumpo (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale" – Karen Obel Cape, Brian Cimino, Joe Debonis, John Harrison, Dante Pagano, and John Hannel (CBS)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Host: Olivia Rodrigo" – Bill DiGiovanni, John Pinto, Paul Cangialosi, Anthony Tarantino, Dave Driscoll, Brian Phraner, and Daniel Erbeck (NBC)
SNL won the past two years and Dancing with the Stars the year before those, so they're my co-favorites. Again, I'll wait until I write the SNL entry to make that call.
I plan on writing this year's edition of It's Saturday night, so here are the 21 Emmy nominations for 'Saturday Night Live' on the 22nd or 29th. This Saturday is World Honey Bee Day, so SNL will have to wait, as will Jimmy Kimmel. Priorities.

Next, a category I covered in John Oliver examines 'Trump & Crypto' plus Emmy nominations for 'Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'.
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live! – (ABC)
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – (HBO)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert – (CBS)
Every editor and expert at Gold Derby, along with 73.5% of users, think Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will walk off the podium with the Emmy statuette. I agree. I feel like telling the 26.1% of users who picked The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that being a sentimental favorite won't work in this category and to listen to the professionals.
The users are already shifting their preferences, as 77.2% now pick Last Week Tonight with John Oliver while 22.0% remain with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Now the categories I covered in Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show leads Outstanding Variety Special (Live) at the Emmys.
Outstanding Music Direction
  • The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny – Miguel Gandelman (NBC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale" – Louis Cato (CBS)
  • The Oscars – Michael Bearden (ABC)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Host: Jack Black" – Lenny Pickett, Leon Pendarvis, Eli Brueggemann, and Maddie Rice (NBC)
  • Wicked: One Wonderful Night – Stephen Oremus (NBC)
For the third and final time, every expert and editor along with 90.1% of users think The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny will win, giving Miguel Gandelman an Emmy. Wicked: One Wonderful Night notched 9.1% of users, The Oscars 0.8%, and the rest of the field earned no votes at all.
Still no love for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special
  • The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny – Thomas Holmes, Alex Guessard, Dave Natale, Christian Schrarder, Thomas Pesa, and Pablo Munguia (NBC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale" – Jim Murray, Harvey Goldberg, Greg Allen, and Alan Bonomo (CBS)
  • The Muppet Show – Christopher Neely, John Chamberlin, Sean Madsen, Jordan McClain, Sanaa Kelley, Sam Sgriccia, and David Michel-Rudy (Disney+)
  • The Oscars – Paul Sandweiss, Tommy Vicari, Biff Dawes, Steve Genewick, Pablo Munguia, Patrick Baltzell, Mike Parker, Tom Pesa, John Perez, Shane O'Connor, and Kristian Pedregon (ABC)
  • Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: The Final Show – David Payne and John Ross (Disney+)
I'd say this is between Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift. May the bigger pop star win!
I close with categories I haven't covered, beginning with the one award Gold Derby has odds on.
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "Guests: Robert De Niro as The New FCC Chair, Glen Powell, and Musical Guest Sarah McLachlan" – Andy Fisher (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Series Finale" – Yvonne De Mare (CBS)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Host: Olivia Rodrigo" – Liz Patrick (NBC)
Every editor, 90% of experts, and 73.6% of Gold Derby users selected Saturday Night Live to win, while the remaining 10% of editors and 25.6% of users like The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and only 0.8% of users are behind Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Now for two craft categories.
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "Guests: Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Kumail Nanjiani, Josh Meyers, and Musical Guest Reneé Rapp" – David Ellis, Hillarie Brigode, and Heidi Miller (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "Guests: John Krasinski, and Special Appearances" – Jim Fenhagen, Larry Hartman, Brendan Hurley, and Riley Mellon (CBS)
  • RuPaul's Drag Race: "RDR Live Returns!" – Jen Chu, Tyler Stone, and Melissa Arcaro (MTV)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Host: Jack Black" – Akira Yoshimura, Keith Ian Raywood, N. Joseph DeTullio, Ken MacLeod, Melissa Shakun, and Kimberly Kachougian (NBC)
  • The Traitors: "The Black Banquet" – Stuart Frossell, Luke Fuller, Georgia Picton, Alex Robertson, Rosie Westwood, and Celina Hodge (Peacock)
SNL has won this award five of the past six years with only RuPaul's Drag Race breaking the streak, so I think SNL is the favorite.
Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Series
  • Dancing with the Stars: "20th Birthday Party" – Noah Mitz, Madigan Stehly, Hannah Kerman, Will Gossett, Patrick Brazil, Joe Holdman, Matt Benson, Matt McAdam, Alan Pineda, and Kevin Faust (ABC)
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!: "Guests: Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Kumail Nanjiani, Josh Meyers, And Musical Guest Reneé Rapp" – Craig Housenick, Darien Koop, James Worman, Ruben Escobar, and Guy Jones (ABC)
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "Guests: Bruce Springsteen, Special Surprise Guests" – Michael Scricca, Hillary Knox, Constantine Leonardos II, and Tom Carroll (CBS)
  • Saturday Night Live: "Host: Ariana Grande" – Geoffrey Amoral, Rick McGuinness, Trevor Brown, Tim Stasse, William McGuinness, Frank Grisanti, and Reginald Campbell (NBC)
  • The Voice: "Finale Part 2" – Oscar Dominguez, Johnny Bradley, Ronald K. Wirsgalla, Erin Anderson, Daniel K. Boland, Phillip "Gene" Webber, Andrew Munie, Vanessa Arciga, Jeff Shood, and Terrance Ho (NBC)
SNL has won this award the past two years with only Dancing with the Stars among the current nominees winning this decade, so those are my choices for favorite.

For an encore, watch After "The Late Show" Series Finale, Will All Of Late Night Television Be Destroyed?

Stephen Colbert's interview with Paul McCartney is interrupted when an interdimensional wormhole opens up at the Ed Sullivan Theater. Does this spell the end of late night television as we know it?
Maybe The Late Show has a better chance at Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming (Segment) than I thought.

That's a wrap for today's installment of this series. Stay tuned to see if I continue it tomorrow.

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)