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A visual history · Emmys

The winners who defined Talk Series.

11 ceremonies, 2015–2025. 5 different winners. The longest run belongs to Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, with 7 straight wins.

Who won most recently?
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in 2025.
Who has won the most?
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, 7 wins (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022).
  1. The Late Show with Stephen ColbertCBS
  2. The Daily ShowComedy Central
  3. The Daily Show with Trevor NoahComedy Central
  4. Last Week Tonight with John OliverHBO
  5. Last Week Tonight with John OliverHBO
  6. Last Week Tonight with John OliverHBO
Years explored
2015–2025
Different winners
5
Category leader
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver · 7
About this record

Outstanding Talk Series was first awarded in 2015, so it does not run the full 1951–2025 window.

It was previously known as Outstanding Variety Talk Series.

It took the talk half of Outstanding Variety Series when that award was split, and was renamed in 2023.

It took over from Outstanding Variety Series.

2015–2025

11 ceremonies

20152025

01 / The reigns

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver set the longest run.

The timeline turns the 2015–2025 record into a sequence of reigns. Longer bands reveal sustained runs; color shows the credited network.

  1. 01
    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver7 wins
Each band is one winner’s reign. Wider means a longer run. Colored by network; hover for details.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'15
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'16–'22×7
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah'23
The Daily Show'24
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'25

02 / The power map

Who stood behind the winners?

HBO leads the recorded network credits with 7 wins, 2015–2025. The full distribution shows whether power was concentrated or shared.

HBO7 wins
Comedy Central3 wins
CBS1 win
Wins by network
  1. HBO764%
  2. Comedy Central327%
  3. CBS19%

03 / The near misses

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

Counting nominations in this category only, 2015–2025.

Most nominated, never won this award

  1. 01
    Jimmy Kimmel Live!
    11 noms
  2. 02
    Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
    4 noms
  3. 03
    The Late Late Show with James Corden
    4 noms
  4. 04
    Late Night with Seth Meyers
    3 noms
  5. 05
    Real Time with Bill Maher
    2 noms
  6. 06
    The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
    2 noms

Most losses in this category

  1. 01
    Jimmy Kimmel Live!
    11L · 0W
  2. 02
    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
    8L · 1W
  3. 03
    The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
    5L · 1W
  4. 04
    Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
    4L · 0W
  5. 05
    The Late Late Show with James Corden
    4L · 0W
  6. 06
    Late Night with Seth Meyers
    3L · 0W

04 / The archive

Every year.
Every winner.

The complete reference behind the story, showing 2015–2025. Open any year to see the rest of the field when nominee records are available.

YearWinnerNetwork
2025The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
beat 2 others
  • The Daily Show
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
CBS
2024The Daily Show
beat 3 others
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Comedy Central
2023The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
beat 4 others
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
  • The Problem with Jon Stewart
Comedy Central
2022Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Late Night with Seth Meyers
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
HBO
2021Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 4 others
  • Conan
  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
HBO
2020Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 4 others
  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
HBO
2019Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 5 others
  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
HBO
2018Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 5 others
  • The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
HBO
2017Last Week Tonight with John Oliverrepeat
beat 5 others
  • Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden
  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
HBO
2016Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
beat 5 others
  • Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • The Late Late Show with James Corden
  • Real Time with Bill Maher
  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
HBO
2015The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
beat 5 others
  • The Colbert Report
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!
  • Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
  • Late Show with David Letterman
  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Comedy Central