Colbert flies in from New Zealand to win Emmy and update Lord of the Rings film
Stephen Colbert flew from New Zealand to Los Angeles to collect an Emmy and give an update on his next job: co-writing a Lord of the Rings film.
He spoke backstage after he and his Late Show team won the variety series category, the Emmy for variety talk and sketch shows, at the 2026 Emmy Awards, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The ceremony, the 78th Emmys, was held on Monday, Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.
Colbert is the former host of The Late Show. The programme left the air in May, according to Variety, months before the Emmy night. He arrived on the red carpet sporting a goatee, according to People, and said backstage he had travelled from New Zealand for the event.
On the film, Colbert said he is writing alongside Philippa Boyens and Peter McGee. The project is slated to be the second of two upcoming films in the Lord of the Rings franchise, with his post-Late Show writing gig first announced in March, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It was a big night for the desk he has now left. In addition to the variety series win, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert took Emmys for picture editing for variety programming, lighting design and direction, technical direction and camerawork, directing for a variety series, and writing for a variety series.
The Monday ceremony was hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The Creative Arts Emmys, which cover technical and craft categories, were held on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 ahead of the main show, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
What makes this stand out is the switch. For more than a decade Colbert closed each weeknight from behind a desk. His next credit is planned for Middle-earth, built with two long-time architects of the screen franchise.
