Emmy Awards Update: Changes to Outstanding Variety Series Category for 2026 Competition
The Television Academy has announced a significant change for the 2026 Emmy Awards competition by merging the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series and Outstanding Talk Series categories into one Outstanding Variety Series category. This decision, made by the Academy’s Board of Governors, comes as submissions for both categories have decreased in recent years. The merged category will now have nominees proportional to the number of submissions received for each format: Scripted Variety and Talk.
Emmy rules state that a tracked category allows for an automatic split of the awards category when there is a resurgence in the number of variety programs. The categories would split without needing review or a vote from the board when both formats reach 20 submissions in any given year. Additionally, the Outstanding Variety Series category has been reclassified as an area award, potentially resulting in multiple Emmy winners. Nominees will be judged individually on their own merits, with voters determining if each nominee merits an Emmy with a "Yes" or "No" response.
This change offers hope for traditional late-night talk shows on network TV to receive more Emmy recognition. Until last year, when "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" won the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series, the category had been dominated by cable series since 2003. The new system aims to provide a fairer evaluation process and the opportunity for multiple winners in the Outstanding Variety Series category.