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A visual history · Emmys

The winners who defined Variety Series.

43 ceremonies on record, 1951–2014. 22 different winners. The longest run belongs to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, with 10 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
The Colbert Report in 2014.
Who has won the most?
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, 10 wins (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
  1. The Colbert ReportComedy Central
  2. The Colbert ReportComedy Central
  3. The Daily Show with Jon StewartComedy Central
  4. The Daily Show with Jon StewartComedy Central
  5. The Daily Show with Jon StewartComedy Central
  6. The Daily Show with Jon StewartComedy Central
Years explored
1951–2014
Different winners
22
Category leader
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart · 10
About this record

It was awarded for the last time in 2014.

It was previously known as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series.

In 2015 it was split into Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, and talk shows and sketch shows stopped competing against each other.

We are still missing 21 years in that window, so treat the totals below as what is on record rather than the complete history.

From 2015 the Emmys awarded Outstanding Talk Series instead.

2000–2014

15 ceremonies

19512014

01 / The reigns

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart set the longest run.

The timeline turns the 2000–2014 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited network.

  1. 01
    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart10 wins
  2. 02
    Late Show with David Letterman3 wins
  3. 03
    The Colbert Report2 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by network; hover for details.
Late Show with David Letterman'00–'02×3
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'03–'12×10
The Colbert Report'13–'14×2

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

Comedy Central leads the recorded network credits with 12 wins, 2000–2014. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

Comedy Central12 wins
CBS3 wins
Wins by network
  1. Comedy Central1280%
  2. CBS320%

03 / The near misses

The names that kept coming back without the ending they wanted.

Counting nominations in this category only, 2000–2014.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Saturday Night Live
    11 noms
  2. 02
    Real Time with Bill Maher
    10 noms
  3. 03
    Late Night with Conan O'Brien
    5 noms
  4. 04
    Jimmy Kimmel Live!
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
    3 noms
  6. 06
    Politically Incorrect
    3 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Saturday Night Live
    11L · 0W
  2. 02
    Real Time with Bill Maher
    10L · 0W
  3. 03
    Late Show with David Letterman
    7L · 3W
  4. 04
    The Colbert Report
    7L · 2W
  5. 05
    Late Night with Conan O'Brien
    5L · 0W
  6. 06
    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
    4L · 10W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2000–2014. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerNetwork
2014The Colbert Reportrepeat
beat 5 others
  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Comedy Central
2013The Colbert Report
beat 5 others
  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2012The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 5 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2011The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 5 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Conan
  • Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2010The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
  • The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
Comedy Central
2009The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2008The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2007The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
Comedy Central
2006The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
Comedy Central
2005The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • Da Ali G Show
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
Comedy Central
2004The Daily Show with Jon Stewartrepeat
beat 4 others
  • Chappelle's Show
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Saturday Night Live
Comedy Central
2003The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
beat 4 others
  • Late Night with Conan O'Brien
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • Saturday Night Live
  • The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Comedy Central
2002Late Show with David Lettermanrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  • Politically Incorrect
  • Saturday Night Live
  • The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
CBS
2001Late Show with David Lettermanrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Chris Rock Show
  • The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  • Politically Incorrect
  • Saturday Night Live
CBS
2000Late Show with David Lettermanrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Chris Rock Show
  • Dennis Miller Live
  • Politically Incorrect
  • The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
CBS