The Late Show With Stephen Colbert secured two surprise wins on the opening night of the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies, boosting the cancelled CBS programme's momentum ahead of the main late-night Emmy award later this month. Its digital spin-off, Colbert Before Air, took Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama Or Variety Series, while The Late Show itself won Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series, ending a ten-year winning streak for Last Week Tonight With John Oliver in that category. The results are notable given the show's cancellation and suggest strong support within the industry as Colbert competes against Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight and Saturday Night Live for the top late-night prize on 14 September.

Elsewhere, The Daily Show also had reason to celebrate. Jordan Klepper Fingers The Pulse: Give The Man A Prize won Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, while Desi Lydic claimed Outstanding Performer in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for the second year running, beating Randy Rainbow and Big Law's Kim Estes. Colbert Before Air's win was seen as particularly surprising given it has produced only around ten short episodes over the past year, while The Late Show's writing win came at the expense of strong contenders including SubwayTakes With Kareem Rahma, which had built considerable buzz this awards season.