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Colbert Wins Emmy 6 Weeks After CBS Cancels Late Show — SkimNews

By SkimNews · Summarized & edited by · 2026-09-20
Colbert Wins Emmy 6 Weeks After CBS Cancels Late Show

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Stephen Colbert won Best Variety Series at Sunday's 78th Emmys — six weeks after CBS pulled the plug on The Late Show — and used the moment to call late-night 'a fantastic incubator for young people' the industry 'has to look after.' The cancellation, the win, and Colbert's pointed speech made the ceremony into an inadvertent referendum on the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger Sally Field was already attacking from the stage after her Best Actress win for 'Incredibly Bright Creatures': 'We matter, our voices matter.' The Pitt repeated as Best Drama; Mariska Hargitay hosted, the first woman in 15 years. Off-stage, Bob Mackie died Monday at 87, closing the book on hand-built Hollywood costuming from Monroe's 1962 JFK birthday dress to Cher's 1974 Met Gala gown.

The stories behind this week

Bob Mackie Dies: Fashion Designer To The Stars Who Dressed Cher, Carol Burnett And Many More Was 87
Bob Mackie Dies: Fashion Designer To The Stars Who Dressed Cher, Carol Burnett And Many More Was 87Mackie's death removes the last living link to a vanishing era of hand-built Hollywood costuming — from Monroe's 1962 JFK moment to Cher's 1970s red-carpet reinventions. His QVC line and Mattel Barbie collaborations also marked one of the first times a celebrity couturier built a mass-market brand, predating today's designer-to-consumer pipelines.3 sources
Emmy Awards 2026: See the Complete Winners List
Emmy Awards 2026: See the Complete Winners ListThe Pitt enters as the defending drama champ with 25 nods but faces serious competition, while Hacks' record-setting 24 nominations and Jean Smart's bid for a fifth consecutive comedy actress win set up one of the night's most-watched races.3 sources
Cody Fern's 'Closing Night' Stars Paulson, Watts, Wiest
Cody Fern's 'Closing Night' Stars Paulson, Watts, WiestThe debut positions Fern — known from 'American Horror Story' — as a director capable of wringing layered performances from a powerhouse trio, and gives Watts and Paulson a matrilineal showcase built around memory, forgiveness, and performative femininity. Its tonal pivot from black comedy to unabashed melodrama will likely polarize audiences expecting one mode and getting another.2 sources
Chuck Norris, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon Among Those Skipped By Emmys In Memoriam
Chuck Norris, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon Among Those Skipped By Emmys In MemoriamThe Emmys face the same annual tension every awards show does: balancing broadcast length against the breadth of losses the industry suffered. With at least nine named omissions — including an eight-season TV star and voice actors behind iconic characters — this year's segment illustrates how the Television Academy's curation choices leave high-profile names out, driving media scrutiny even when viewer outrage is muted.2 sources
Jessica Chastain Stars in Netflix’s 'The Retrievals'
Jessica Chastain Stars in Netflix’s 'The Retrievals'This series brings national attention to a real legal case involving medical betrayal and patient harm, turning a hidden scandal into a high-profile narrative led by major creative and acting talent. The involvement of figures like Robbie and Chastain increases visibility for victims of systemic failures in reproductive healthcare.2 sources
Emmys 2026: Mulaney Bleeped, Colbert Wins After Cancellation
Emmys 2026: Mulaney Bleeped, Colbert Wins After CancellationStephen Colbert won Best Variety Series after what he called his "ridiculous cancellation," using the moment to publicly argue that late-night remains a "fantastic incubator for young people" the industry "has to look after." Sally Field turned her acting win into a direct critique of media consolidation, referencing the still-pending Paramount-Warner Bros. acquisition. Both speeches reframed the ceremony as a platform for industry politics rather than pure celebration.2 sources
Fox Greenlights Edie Falco Legal Drama 'Katie Greaves'
Fox Greenlights Edie Falco Legal Drama 'Katie Greaves'Fox is methodically converting its development slate into series by attaching A-list TV stars before committing — Best Medicine, Memory of a Killer, and now Falco's 'Katie Greaves' — while also shifting production in-house via Fox Entertainment Studios to own more of its scripted content rather than relying on outside studios.2 sources
Nakamura Yuri, Japanese-Korean Actor Known for ‘Romantics Anonymous’ and ‘Pacchigi! Love & Peace,’ Dies at 44
Nakamura Yuri, Japanese-Korean Actor Known for ‘Romantics Anonymous’ and ‘Pacchigi! Love & Peace,’ Dies at 44Nakamura worked through a 13-year private cancer battle — concealed from coworkers by mutual agreement with her agency — while building a filmography that spanned art-house directors like Kore-eda Hirokazu and mainstream disaster films. Her Zainichi Korean heritage gave personal weight to her breakout role as Kyonja in 'Pacchigi! Love & Peace,' and her late-career Netflix work bridged Japanese and Korean production teams.2 sources
Why it matters: Colbert winning the category his network just eliminated six weeks earlier turns the ceremony's loudest moment into an implicit indictment of the late-night contraction — one that Sally Field reinforced from the Best Actress podium with a pointed jab at the pending Paramount-Warner Bros. merger.

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