The 2025Emmysare shaking things up for the late-night category, offering only three nomination slots instead of the usual five. For years, the Outstanding Talk Series category has represented at least five nominations for a plethora of late-night talk shows. However, since the number of late-night talk shows has gone down significantly over the years, the race of who should be nominated in the category is tighter than ever.
According toDeadline, there will only be three Emmy nominations for the late-night talk show category,and hosts Jon Stewart,Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Sean Evans, and John Mulaney will be fighting for the three spots. Emmy voting is just around the corner, but since only 13 shows were submitted for this year, the academy couldn’t have more than three nominees, which is one less than last year and two less than the year before. This is a sign of how much the late-night scene has changed over the years.
What The Reduction In Emmy Nominations Means For Late-Night Talk Shows
Late-Night Talk Shows Aren’t As Popular
The lack of Emmy nominations for late-night talk showsproves the decline these shows have been on in the last few years. Last year,The Daily Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Late Night with Seth Meyers,andThe Late Show with Stephen Colbertwere nominated, withThe Daily Showtaking home the win, while the year before,The Daily Show with Trevor NoahandThe Problem with Jon Stewartwere nominated withThe Daily Showwinning again. Overall, it just seems like there isn’t enough variety in the late-night talk show category right now.
The number of talk shows has significantly decreased over the years, especially since several of them ended and were never replaced. They include shows likeThe Late Late Show with James Corden, Conan,andDesus & Mero. However, other late-night shows have been added to the nomination ballot, such asWatch Watch Happens Live With Andy CohenandMidnight Snack with Julie Chan, which are newer contenders, but they couldn’t get the submissions they needed to qualify for a fourth nomination. The lack of variety is what’s hurting the Outstanding Talk Series category.
Our Take On The Lack Of Late-Night Emmy Nominations
TV Habits Have Changed Late-Night Shows
The decline in the late-night talk showEmmynominations says a lot about the current state of the genre. With fewer shows currently airing, the competition is tighter, and it also highlights how much the landscape has changed. Now, with streaming and changing viewer habits,late-night talk shows are simply not the same as they were before.
