The Television Academy is once again reshaping the Emmy landscape for late-night and variety programming, announcing major changes that could dramatically alter how these shows are recognized. Beginning with the 2026 Emmy Awards, the Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series categories will be merged into a single Outstanding Variety Series category, and a new voting system could result in multiple winners in the same year.
The decision, recently approved by the Academy’s Board of Governors, comes as submissions in both categories have steadily declined. Last year, only 13 shows were submitted in Outstanding Talk Series, resulting in a thin lineup dominated by “The Daily Show,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Meanwhile, the Scripted Variety category had largely become a two-horse race between “Saturday Night Live” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.” The two formats were previously grouped until 2015, when the Academy split them into separate categories. A decade later, dwindling participation has made a reunion feel inevitable.
Under the new structure, the merged category will be “tracked,” meaning nominees will be distributed proportionally based on the number of submissions each format receives. For example, if the system had been in place last year, Scripted Variety would have received two nominations and Talk Series three. According to Emmy rules, this tracking system also allows for an automatic split if both formats reach 20 submissions in a future year, without requiring another board vote. Given the ongoing decline in traditional late-night programming and the recent cancellation of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” such a resurgence remains uncertain.
More significantly, the Academy is reclassifying Outstanding Variety Series as an “area award,” a rarely used format that could fundamentally change how winners are determined. Instead of voters selecting a single winner, each nominee will be evaluated individually. Voters will answer a simple question for every contender: “Does this nominee merit an Emmy? Yes or No.” Any nominee that reaches a 90% “Yes” threshold will receive an Emmy. If multiple shows cross that threshold, multiple winners will be crowned. If none do, the nominee with the highest approval rating will win.
In practice, this could lead to an unprecedented scenario in which several of the genre’s biggest names take home trophies in the same year. With consistent performers like “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Daily Show,” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” all remaining major players, it is possible that more than one of them could qualify under the new system.
The changes are likely to benefit “Last Week Tonight” most of all. John Oliver’s HBO series has been one of the Television Academy’s most reliable winners for over a decade, and the new format may further strengthen its dominance. At the same time, the shift offers a rare opportunity for traditional network late-night shows to regain footing at the Emmys. With few exceptions, cable and streaming programs have controlled the category since the early 2000s. Until Stephen Colbert’s win last year, network talk shows had largely been shut out.
These reforms also continue a pattern of instability in how the Emmys treat late-night and variety programming. In 2022, showrunners successfully lobbied for a fifth nomination slot. In 2023, “Last Week Tonight” was moved into its own category to compete with “SNL.” Last year, the talk category was reduced again. Now, both formats are being folded together once more.
While the Academy has framed the move as a practical response to shrinking submissions, it also reflects a broader struggle to adapt to changing viewing habits and the declining influence of traditional late-night television. With fewer new sketch and talk shows launching each year, the Emmys are trying to maintain relevance while preserving competitive credibility.
How the area award format will play out on Emmy night remains unclear. If several major shows surpass the 90% threshold, the ceremony could see an unusual cluster of winners in a category that has traditionally crowned only one. If few or none qualify, the system may quickly come under scrutiny. Either way, the changes mark one of the most significant shifts in the late-night and variety Emmy race in years. As the genre continues to contract, the Academy is betting that flexibility, rather than rigid competition, is the best way forward. Whether that bet pays off will become clear when the new rules are put to the test at the 2026 Emmys.
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