Nearly two months after its cancellation, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series.
On Sunday night at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, the audience rose to their feet as Colbert took the stage, chanting, "Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!"
In his acceptance speech, Colbert expressed gratitude to the studio despite the show ending. He said, "I want to thank 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 the show."
He also thanked his family, saying, "Personally I want to thank my beautiful, brilliant wife Evelyn [McGee-Colbert] who's the real brains of the outfit, and my three children: Madeline, Peter and John."
Later in the speech, he added, "Sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it. In September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor."
Other nominees in the category included The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Colbert, 61, announced the cancellation of the show during the July 17 episode, saying, "Before we start the show, I want you to know something that I found out just last night. Next year will be our last season. The network will be ending the Late Show in May."
The announcement followed Colbert's criticism of Paramount, CBS's parent company, on the July 14 episode, regarding its $16 million settlement with President Donald Trump on July 3.