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For seven years, if you weren’t named John Oliver, you were just happy to be nominated in the talk series category at the Emmys.
Between 2016 and 2022, HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” dominated the category, a streak beaten only by Oliver’s former employer, “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart,” which won variety talk series the entire decade between 2003 and 2012. That remains the longest winning streak for any primetime series in Emmy history.
But the category has been no stranger to change in recent years. Up until 2015, late-night talk shows competed against the likes of “Saturday Night Live” in the variety series category. Then, the Television Academy split that category into variety talk series and variety sketch series. It was overhauled again for the 2023 Emmys when “Last Week Tonight” was moved to the new scripted variety series category, where it now faces off against “Saturday Night Live.” (If you’re lost, you’re not alone.)
With talk series now in its own category, the door is open for traditional late-night talk shows to once again vie for a prize that hasn’t been won by a broadcast series since the “Late Show With David Letterman” in 2002.
At the belated 75th Emmys in January, Trevor Noah’s final season at the helm of “The Daily Show” won the first talk series Emmy. This September, it will have to fend off the same contenders again — “The Daily Show,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” The only one missing this time is Apple TV+’s “The Problem With Jon Stewart,” which was canceled in October.
As late-night shows settle into a category all to themselves, here’s the case to be made for each nominee clinching the Emmy:
The Daily Show
Coming off a win, Comedy Central’s long-running political satire has the momentum to take the category again. Working in its favor — and certainly, the biggest hurdle other nominees will have to clear — is the return of Stewart, who signed on to helm the Monday edition each week through the 2024 presidential election in November. The other shows are anchored by a rotating crew of correspondents every week. If nothing else, the Academy has plenty of practice honoring Stewart and this sharply written show, and that nostalgic play may be too hard to resist.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Speaking of “The Daily Show,” the only reason its decade-long streak ended in 2013 was because one of its own former correspondents, Stephen Colbert, launched his series, “The Colbert Report.” That series gained momentum and eventually unseated “The Daily Show” for two years as the Emmy winner before Colbert replaced Letterman at “The Late Show.” Continuously the highest-rated late-night series, “Late Show” has been a nominee since 2017 but has never taken the award.
Late Night With Seth Meyers
Seth Meyers has risen to become one of the most cherished names in television, and his show has done what many simply can’t — it goes viral. For example, his “Day Drinking” segments with celebrities like Kristen Stewart and Dua Lipa raked in millions of views on YouTube just this season. It was a long journey for Meyers and his team to get the attention of the Academy, having not been nominated until 2022, but he has been a consistently celebrated contender ever since.
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
The longest-running current late-night talk show host has spent more than 20 years as a constant presence on ABC. In addition to hosting the series, he has broadened its audience with stints hosting the Academy Awards four times and the Emmy Awards three times. But as Kimmel blazes past his 21st year as host, there’s never been a better time to award the man Hollywood calls up to award itself.
