Mariska Hargitay Will Host Sept. 14 Emmy Awards as NBC Bets on a Noncomedian

Q: Will Colbert’s former writers script their own Emmy win or loss while shaping this year's highly anticipated telecast?

No. Colbert’s former writers are helping craft the 78th Emmy telecast with host Mariska Hargitay, but they will not determine or “script” whether *The Late Show* wins or loses its own Emmy race. Their role is creative, not adjudicative. Hargitay has said she is meeting regularly with the former *Late Show* writers and that they are in the early stages of pitching material for the broadcast. That gives them influence over the show’s tone, jokes and segments, but not over Emmy results. The outcome of *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert*’s nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series will be decided by Television Academy voting, not by telecast writers. In that category, *The Late Show* is nominated alongside *Jimmy Kimmel Live!* and *Last Week Tonight with John Oliver*. Final-round voting determines the winner. There is also a practical wrinkle: reporting indicates that Writing for a Variety Series has been shifted off the main Sept. 14 primetime broadcast to the earlier Emmy ceremonies. If that stands, Colbert’s former writers could learn the result before or outside the live NBC telecast they are helping shape. What they can script is the ceremony’s comedy and structure. What they cannot script is the Academy’s vote. Their unusual position this year is that they may both help write the Emmys and separately be Emmy contenders themselves.

Q: Beyond the Emmy gig, how many of Colbert’s 200 unemployed staff members actually secured jobs after his public advocacy?

There is no public, verified count showing how many of Stephen Colbert’s roughly 200 displaced staffers found new jobs after his on-air advocacy. What is clear is that at least some did. Mariska Hargitay said she is now working with former Late Show writers on the 78th Emmy Awards telecast, which is the clearest reported example of Colbert’s push translating into work. But the available reporting does not provide a broader tally for the full staff of about 200, which included writers, producers, crew and other employees. The sourced coverage repeatedly describes most of the team as still “looking for work” after the show ended, even while highlighting the Emmys assignment as a notable landing spot for part of the writing staff. None of the cited reports identifies how many writers joined the Emmy team, and none offers a comprehensive employment update across the full Late Show workforce. So the best-supported answer is that some former staffers, including members of the writing team, have secured work, but no reliable public number is available for how many of the 200 overall have landed jobs so far.

3 articles · Updated · Deadline · Aug 19

Sept. 14 will put Mariska Hargitay in a first-time role as host of the Primetime Emmy Awards, with the Law & Order: SVU star saying she plans to do the “Mariska Emmys” rather than imitate past comedians.
NBC’s choice reflects a deliberate shift: Hargitay said the network wanted to “switch it up,” breaking from recent hosts such as Nate Bargatze, Eugene and Dan Levy, and Kenan Thompson.
Colbert’s former writers are helping shape the telecast, and Hargitay said early ideas include an SVU-flavored comedy bit built around celebrities wanting to play dead bodies on the show.
Her confidence to take the job grew after a live Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing, while her documentary My Mom Jayne has 3 Emmy nominations ahead of the 78th ceremony in Los Angeles.