CBS fired Stephen Colbert and The Late Show crew when it canceled the talk show. It went off the air for good in May 2026. Stephen Colbert is still dealing with the loss. However, his staff is ready to move on. They landed a huge gig teaming up with Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay. Keep reading for all the exciting details.
Stephen Colbert’s Fired Late Show Staff Team Up With Mariska Hargitay
CBS made the shocking announcement in 2025 that they were ending The Late Show after over 30 years. Stephen Colbert replaced David Letterman as the host in 2015. The show actually did really well in the ratings, so its cancellation didn’t make a lot of sense. The network claimed financial reasons, but the general belief is that CBS was pressured by President Trump to silence one of his biggest critics.
Bryon Allen’s Comics Unleashed comedy fest took over the timeslot. Stephen Colbert’s daughter left 60 Minutes months after his firing. Stephen Colbert has the luxury of taking his time before deciding on his next move. However, his staff doesn’t. Luckily, they just landed a huge new gig.
Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay revealed to Deadline that the fired Late Show writers are working with her on the 2026 Primetime Emmys. “I’m working with an incredible team of writers — the writers from Colbert… We’ve been meeting a lot and discussing a lot and pitching a lot of ideas. We’re pitching so many ideas,” she said.
Mariska Hargitay is the first woman hosting the Primetime Emmys alone since Jane Lynch in 2011. It’s also one of her rare jobs outside of the popular NBC crime show.
She Teases What To Expect At Primetime Emmys
Mariska Hargitay has played Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU for over 26 years. Season 28 of the beloved police drama premieres on Friday, October 8, 2026. In the meantime, the actress was tapped to host the 2026 Primetime Emmys on Monday, September 14. Stephen Colbert and The Late Show earned nine nominations this year despite the show’s cancellation.
After solving fictional crimes for nearly 30 years, Mariska Hargitay spilled to Deadline the odd request she gets from her famous friends. “I cannot tell you how many people — famous people — ask to be a dead body on the show. It’s a thing,” she said.
“It is so funny to me that that’s what they want out of all the things… just to be a dead body. It’s on their bucket list.” New York Knicks player Jalen Brunson successfully petitioned to be on the upcoming season in some capacity.
Mariska Hargitay teased that her celebrity friends wanting to play dead on the NBC show is “one of the ideas” the Colbert writers are working on for the Primetime Emmys. “I don’t know where it’s going to go. We have all these ideas and now it’s sort of picking the best and editing and cutting it and see what we’re going to do,” she said. “I’m going to do the Mariska Emmys.”
What an exciting job for the fired Late Show writers! Tell us in the comments if you’re excited to see another side of the actress as Emmys host.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger