Stephen Colbert Wins Primetime Emmy, Addresses Show’s Cancellation: ‘Is Anyone Hiring?’

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert won outstanding talk series at the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday (Sept. 14), two months after CBS’s stunning announcement on July 17 that they were canceling the show. Stephen Colbert‘s win was greeted with a standing ovation at the Ovation Theater at L.A. Live.

Actually, Colbert received a standing ovation even before he won, when he presented the first award of the night. “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?,” he joked. “’Cause I’ve got 200 very well-qualified candidates with me here tonight who’ll be available in June. I also brought my own resume with me tonight.”

When Colbert won the Emmy, later in the broadcast, he took the high road. “I want to thank CBS for giving us the privilege of being part of the late-night tradition, which I hope continues long after we’re no longer doing this show.” He concluded his remarks with a comment that suggested he is looking to his post-CBS future. “If the elevator tries to bring you down, go cray and punch a higher floor.”

This was Colbert’s 11th career Emmy, but it was his program’s first win in that top category, following eight consecutive losses. Colbert’s previous show, The Colbert Report, won back-to-back awards in a predecessor category, outstanding variety series, in 2013-14. As an executive producer of the show, Jon Stewart won his 25th Primetime Emmy. He is closing in on the all-time Emmy winner, producer Sheila Nevins, who has won 31 awards.

The other nominees in the category were Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Daily Show.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! lost a top program award for the 14th consecutive year, though this year wasn’t really a fair contest. Many voters rallied behind Colbert for reasons that went beyond simply admiring his show. Jimmy Kimmel’s program was nominated three times for outstanding variety series and now 11 times for outstanding variety talk series.

The Daily Show was last year’s winner in this category. In addition, The Daily Show With Jon Stewart won 11 times and The Daily Show With Trevor Noah won once.

Comedian Nate Bargatze hosted the show, which, by coincidence, aired on CBS, the network that received industry ire for axing Colbert. (The three legacy networks – ABC, CBS and NBC – and Fox air the show on a rotating basis.)

Other 2025 Emmy News

SNL50 topped Beyoncé Bowl and the Super Bowl Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar won for outstanding variety special (live).

There were two musical performances on the show. Reba McEntire and the two women from Little Big Town – Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman – sang the theme song from The Golden Girls, which debuted on NBC 40 years ago to the day. Andrew Gold wrote and first recorded the song, “Thank You for Being a Friend,” in 1978, when it reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson performed Gill’s 1995 hit “Go Rest High on That Mountain” as this year’s In Memoriam song. The song reached No. 14 on Hot Country Songs and won the Grammy and the CMA Award for song of the year. The In Memoriam spot included numerous people who had a music tie-in, including such legends as Quincy Jones and Ozzy Osbourne; Robin Kaye, the American Idol music supervisor who was killed by an intruder in her home;   variety TV producers Don Mischer, Gary Smith and Allan Blye; directors Jeff Margolis and Marty Callner; composers Mark Snow and Alf Clausen; choreographer Judith Jamison; and Hot 100 hitmaker-turned-game-show-host Wink Martindale.   

The Studio was the top winner across the three nights of the 2025 Primetime Emmy Awards – two nights of Creative Arts Emmys and now the main primetime telecast. The comedy won a total of 13 Primetime Emmys this season, setting a new record for the most Emmys for a comedy series in a single season. The old record was held by The Bear, which won 11 awards in 2024.

Seth Rogan personally won four awards for his work on The Studio, tying the all-time record for most Primetime Emmys in one year. The feat was previously accomplished by Moira Demos (Making a Murderer, 2016), Amy Sherman-Palladino (Fleabag, 2018) and Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek, 2020).

Other series that won three or more Primetime Emmys this year across the three nights of awards were: The Penguin (nine); Adolescence, SNL50: The Anniversary Special and Severance (eight each); Andor, The Pitt and The Traitors (five each).

Jean Smart, 73, won her seventh career Emmy for her leading role in Hacks. Kathy Bates, 77, won her third career Emmy for her leading role in the reboot of Matlock. Catherine O’Hara, 71, won her third career award for her supporting role in The Studio. Harrison Ford, 83, won his first Emmy for his supporting role in Shrinking. (Just by being nominated, Bates become the oldest nominee in that category to date.)

Smart has won more Emmys in acting categories than anyone else in the 2000s. In all of Emmy history, she is just one shy of the all-time record of eight acting awards shared by Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Smart has won four times for Hacks since 2021, twice for Frasier (2000 and ’21), and once for Samantha Who (2008).

At the other end of the age spectrum, Owen Cooper, 15, won outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie for Adolescence, becoming the youngest male actor ever to win a Primetime Emmy. He edges out Scott Jacoby, who was 16 when he won in 1973 for Seven time Emmy winneoutstanding performance by an actor in a supporting role in drama for playing the son of a gay dad in That Certain Summer, an ABC Movie of the Week that was groundbreaking for the time.

Two actresses have won at even younger ages:  Roxana Zal, who was just 14 when she won outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or special for Something About Amelia in 1984, and Kristy MacNichol, who won outstanding continuing performance by a supporting actress in a drama series for Family on her 15th birthday (not a bad present).