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CBS Kicks Off ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Emmy Push With Celeb-Heavy Video, But No Sign Of Throwing Support Behind Jimmy Kimmel
CBS has launched its "For Your Consideration" (FYC) Emmy campaign for the cancelled Late Show with Stephen Colbert, releasing a celebrity-packed video on YouTube. Notably, the promotional clip includes footage of rival late-night hosts, including Jimmy Kimmel, but stops short of Colbert publicly returning the support Kimmel showed him last year, when Kimmel put up a billboard declaring "I'm voting for Stephen" after CBS announced the show's cancellation.
The Late Show is competing in the newly merged Outstanding Variety Series category against Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Saturday Night Live, with the possibility that more than one show could win under the revised rules. Colbert's programme received nine Emmy nominations this year, spanning writing, directing, music direction, picture editing, sound mixing, lighting design, camerawork and production design. The FYC video draws heavily on Colbert's final episodes, featuring appearances from William Shatner, Bette Midler, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Billy Crystal, Oprah Winfrey, David Letterman, Barack Obama, Prince Harry and Paul McCartney.
In short
- CBS releases starry FYC video to push Colbert's Emmy campaign
- No public reciprocal support shown for Jimmy Kimmel this year
- Late Show earned nine nominations in newly merged variety category
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Colbert's Emmy campaign appropriately centres on The Late Show's artistic and technical accomplishments rather than inter-show relationships, which is fitting for a competition based on merit. As direct competitors in the same Emmy category, maintaining professional boundaries makes sense; whilst Kimmel's earlier gesture was generous, competitors need not exchange public endorsements. An Emmy case should ultimately rest on the quality of the work, not on reciprocal displays of goodwill.
The case against
Kimmel made a notably generous and public gesture of support when Colbert's show ended, and professional courtesy suggests acknowledging such kindness, particularly between respected colleagues. A reciprocal endorsement would have been a meaningful gesture honouring both the camaraderie of the late-night community and Kimmel's own goodwill, and would have cost Colbert little. The contrast between Kimmel's prominent support and Colbert's silence may strike observers as ungracious, raising questions about whether competitive considerations override the basic courtesies that ought to characterise collegial relationships.
Explained simply
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is a US television programme that mixes comedy, interviews and commentary, and is one of several shows competing for Emmy Awards, America’s main television prizes. CBS has cancelled the programme, and this year it has nine nominations across categories including writing, music and production.
Its competitors include Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Saturday Night Live. The variety series award category has been merged, and the rules allow for more than one winner, so several programmes could receive the prize.
Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are rival late-night hosts. After the cancellation was announced, Kimmel publicly backed Colbert’s programme, making their relationship part of the wider story around the awards campaign.