With CBS not campaigning for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s writers this Emmy season, the show’s now-former writers room is working to write its own ending.
Released late last week, their homemade “DIY FYC ad” arrives just ahead of the close of nominations-round voting tonight. The show’s writers are campaigning for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series—a category in which The Late Show is vying for one of just three nomination slots.
The video, styled like the opening credits to an ’80s sitcom, is set to music by the show’s house band, Louis Cato and the Great Big Joy Machine. It opens with a title card reading: “From the writers who brought you The Late Show with Stephen Colbert this summer comes… ‘We’d Love an Emmy.’”
From there, the spot introduces the show’s writing staff one by one in short sitcom-style vignettes: Ariel Dumas, Gabe Gronli, Delmonte Bent, Steve Waltien, Caroline Lazar, Tom Purcell, Felipe Torres Medina, Michael Brumm, Matt Lappin, Aaron Nemo, Aaron Cohen, Paul Dinello, Pratima Mani, Opus Moreschi, Brian Stack, Kate Sidley, Asher Perlman, Carley Moseley, Jay Katsir, Eliana Kwartler, John Thibodeaux, Michael Cruz Kayne, and Barry Julien.
The ad ends on a vintage headshot of Colbert himself, credited as “and introducing Stephen T. Colbert as ‘Da Boss.’”
Late Show writer Felipe Torres Medina shared the homemade campaign on social media over the weekend, writing, “CBS is not doing an Emmys campaign for us, so ‘for strictly financial reasons’ the @colbertlateshow writers made our own For Your Consideration video.”
While the network has not run an Emmy FYC campaign on behalf of the show’s writers, it has run at least one FYC ad for The Late Show itself—an ad chock-full of clips from the show’s months-long goodbye was spotted last week airing on CBS’ owned-and-operated New York City affiliate WCBS.
The Late Show is one of 18 submitted programs in the Outstanding Variety Series category, with five nomination slots available. Also in that race: its CBS replacement, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which entered Emmy contention for the first time this year.
The writing field is considerably smaller. Just 11 series submitted for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series: The Daily Show, Have I Got News For You, Hot Ones, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Late Night With Seth Meyers, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Real Time With Bill Maher, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and The Traitors.
Yes, The Traitors. Emmy rules allow reality competition series with writers rooms to submit in the variety writing category, making Peacock’s murder-mystery competition series one of this year’s more unexpected ballot entries.
Still, the category’s conventional frontrunners look familiar. The Late Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver are expected to be among the strongest contenders for the three available slots.
We’ll find out for sure on July 8, when the TV Academy announces the nominees for the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. The ceremony is scheduled to air live Monday, September 14, 2026, on NBC and Peacock.
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