Emmys 2016: HBO's 'Last Week Tonight' Wins Best Variety Series

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

Cable kept the Emmy for best Variety talk series in house with HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver’s big win.

Comedy Central’s The Daily Show With Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report had dominated the category wins for the 13 straight years before Last Week Tonight's win. Other shows nominated in the category included Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee (Crackle), Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC), Real Time With Bill Maher (HBO), The Late, Late Show With James Corden (CBS) and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (NBC).

 Also, Comedy Central’s Key & Peele won the Emmy for best Variety Sketch Series in its last year of eligibility.  

Key & Peele bested IFC’s Documentary Now! and Portlandia, Comedy Central’s Drunk History and Inside Amy Schumer, and NBC’s Saturday Night Live for the award.  

R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.