Five of television's biggest late-night programs will face off in a single Emmy category this year, after the Television Academy merged the Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series categories into one: Outstanding Variety Series.
The nominees are The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live. The nominations were announced at 5:20 a.m. PT on the Today show, three hours before the wider slate of 78th Emmy nominees was revealed.
The consolidation creates what Deadline described as a bumper late-night category, and it introduces an unusual wrinkle: the Television Academy reclassified the category as an area award, meaning more than one show could win. Any nominee receiving a threshold score of 90% will merit an Emmy, making multiple winners a real possibility.
John Oliver enters as the favorite. Last Week Tonight has won ten consecutive Emmys, including seven in the Outstanding Variety Talk Series category and three in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category since that category was introduced in 2023. After the show was moved into the new merged category, The Daily Show won two straight Emmys in the Outstanding Talk Series category, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won last year.
Colbert's win last year came under notable circumstances. CBS canceled his show, a decision widely viewed as a response to political pressure. The Late Show ended for good in May. According to The Wrap, there was no way TV Academy voters were going to overlook Colbert's swan song. Colbert's final year was also marked by his on-air description of his parent company's lawsuit settlement with President Trump's administration as a "bigfatbribe."
Jimmy Kimmel has also drawn attention for how he handled political pressure, including a period when he was taken off the air by ABC after conservatives criticized his comments following the death of Charlie Kirk. Last year, Kimmel publicly backed Colbert, installing billboards across Los Angeles saying he would vote for Stephen.
SNL carries significant weight in the category as well. The show won six consecutive Emmys between 2017 and 2022 in the sketch variety categories, and its 50th anniversary special won Outstanding Variety Special last year. SNL is the winningest show in Emmy history with 113 trophies overall.
The reality competition category also saw its nominees announced. The Traitors, which has won Outstanding Reality Competition Program for the past two years, returns alongside RuPaul's Drag Race, Survivor, Top Chef, and Dancing With the Stars. The Amazing Race, which many predicted would reclaim a spot, did not make the cut. Mariska Hargitay is set to host the 2026 Emmys on NBC.
