Stephen Colbert Begins CBS's Emmys by inquiring, 'Is Anyone Recruiting?'

      Stephen Colbert received a standing ovation at the Emmys as he presented the first award of the night and humorously asked the audience, “Is anyone hiring?” Later, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series and was met with another round of applause.

      In his acceptance speech, he expressed, “Sometimes you only realize how much you love something when you sense you might be losing it.” He added that his love for America has never been stronger and quoted Prince’s famous song, “Let’s Go Crazy.”

      While Colbert may have been apprehensive about the future of the country, he was clearly acknowledging the end of his show: CBS, which broadcast this year’s Emmys, canceled The Late Show With Stephen Colbert shortly after he criticized Paramount, the owner of CBS, and the Trump Administration.

      This year’s Emmys took place under heightened security following the recent murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Many presenters were cautious with their words, considering that several individuals had been fired for comments deemed inappropriate after Kirk’s death.

      However, not everyone refrained from speaking openly: Hacks actress Hannah Eisbender boldly expressed her thoughts while accepting her Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series by stating, “f— ICE, free Palestine.”

      Regarding Stephen Colbert and CBS at the Emmys, no one commented on the choice to have Colbert be the first to address the audience that night, and there was no need to—his presence early in the show made a statement on its own.

      After posing the question about job opportunities, Colbert referred to himself and his team: “I have 200 very qualified candidates with me here tonight who will be available in June,” he remarked, indicating when his late-night show will conclude.

      He humorously shared an old headshot and asked Harrison Ford, who was in the audience, to pass it along to Steven Spielberg.

      In July, Paramount agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit involving Trump. Colbert called it “a big fat bribe” since the payment occurred while Paramount was trying to finalize a $1.5 billion sale and hoped to evade federal involvement.

      Days later, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was canceled.

      Trump later claimed on Truth Social that he was not responsible for Colbert’s cancellation. “Everyone is saying that I was solely responsible for the firing of Stephen Colbert from CBS, Late Night,” Trump wrote. “That is not true! The reason he was fired was pure lack of TALENT, and the fact that this deficiency was costing CBS $50 Million a year in losses — And it was only going to get WORSE!”

      Nate Bargatze Provides Apolitical Jokes at the Emmys

      At the beginning of the show, it appeared to be a night without political commentary.

      Host Nate Bargatze, known for his clean humor and avoidance of political topics, opted for a funny live skit instead of a traditional monologue, which centered on Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television.

      The skit resembled “Washington’s Dream,” which he performed while hosting Saturday Night Live, where George Washington discusses a futuristic system of weights and measures that we still use today.

      The Emmy night skit saw guest appearances from SNL’s Mikey Day, Bowen Yang, and James Austin Johnson, who asked questions as Bargatze's character Farnsworth envisioned the future of television decades ago.

      “One day there will be a channel for every interest,” he predicted. “The Travel Channel for travel. The Food Channel for food. And the History Channel…”

      “For history?” Mikey Day’s character interjected.

      “No,” Bargatze’s Farnsworth replied. “Aliens.”

      He also predicted there would eventually be a network called BET for Black audiences.

      “Will there be a network for white people?” he was asked.

      “Why CBS, of course,” Bargatze responded.

      Then Colbert—now an 11-time Emmy winner—took the stage, joking about his job loss before presenting the first award of the night, which went to Seth Rogen for his role as Matt Remnick, the head of Continental Studios in Apple TV+’s acclaimed The Studio.

      Bargatze returned to the stage to share that, instead of a monologue, he would be donating $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, adjusting the amount based on whether winners adhered to a 45-second speech time limit. This became a recurring joke throughout the evening.

      Later, Television Academy chair Cris Abrego urged the industry to progress rather than regress, advocating for inclusion and societal uplift while referencing the significant history of groundbreaking television shows, from All in the Family to South Park. (Throughout its current 27th season, South Park has notably parodied both the Trump Administration and Paramount, the owner of Comedy Central, which airs South Park.)

      Ultimately, the Emmy winners exceeded their allocated speech time significantly. Nevertheless, Bargatze committed $250