Talk Show Buzz - - Emmy Editioin

The red carpet rolls out for the celebrities and creators of television, both broadcast and cable, as the 58th Annual Emmy Awards unfold from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. The festivities begin at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on NBC. Our stalwart hero, Conan O’Brien, is set to host.

For those of us living in the chatty world we call the Yada Nation – talk show fans far and wide – there’s really only one award we’re interested in, and that’s the Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy program. In recent years, this category has become a clever way of saying “Best Talk Show,” since, almost inevitably, the top series are talkies.

This year is no exception. Tonight’s nominees are: The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Late Show with David Letterman, and Real Time with Bill Maher. All great talk shows hosted by sharp and funny comedians.

So who’s going to walk away with the Emmy?

I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that The Colbert Report will snatch the award out from under the rest. Let me tell you why.

In any normal year, the award comes down to either David Letterman or Jon Stewart. Letterman because he is the reigning king of late night – ratings be damned – and Stewart because his show is hilarious and politically relevant. Not an easy thing to pull off.

Conan and Maher come up a close second to those two, almost canceling one another out. Conan is poised to take over Letterman’s throne someday, and when that occurs, rest assured he’ll start collecting Emmy’s like Matthew Moses rookie cards (the joke? they’re cheap, so you can get a lot of ‘em). Maher, on the other hand, is still a bit off-putting to the Academy.

Which leads us to The Colbert Report.

Why will this little half-hour Daily Show spin-off, hosted by a relatively unknown comedian, swoop in and scoop up the Emmy in its sharp, eagle-like talons, whisking it off to the purple mountains of America, to chew it up and regurgitate its tiny golden bits into the mewling mouths of the young, politically relevant comedians its nurturing in its oval-shaped nest?

Sorry, channeling Stephen there for a minute.

Why – then – will it win?

Because the show has made gargantuan waves in the ocean of American politics this year. And Stephen has proven to have the biggest – well, I guess I’ll say round orbs of courage – of anyone skewering the political arena today. His brazen – and hilarious – send up of President George Bush at the White House Correspondents Dinner made international news.

And then there’s Florida Congressman Robert Wexler, someone who got the joke, and was willing to repeat phrases Colbert said “would surely make him lose (his uncontested) election.” Phrases like, “I love cocaine because it’s fun.” NBC's The Today Show and ABC's Good Morning Americaboth took the quotes out of context when reporting.

Maybe he’s just in the zeitgeist. But that’s what wins you an Emmy.

Outstanding Achievement in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program

• The Colbert Report, Comedy Central
  
• The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
  
• Late Night With Conan O’Brien
  
• Late Show With David Letterman
  
• Real Time With Bill Mahert
  

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program

• Barry Manilow: Music And Passion, PBS, Stiletto Television in association with Serpent Productions and PJM Productions
  Barry Manilow, Performer
  
• The Colbert Report, Comedy Central, Central Productions with Busboy Productions and Spartina Productions
  Stephen Colbert, Host
  
• The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, CBS, Worldwide Pants Incorporated
  Craig Ferguson, Host
  
• Late Show With David Letterman, CBS, Worldwide Pants Incorporated
  David Letterman, Host
  
• The 59th Annual Tony Awards (2005), CBS, White Cherry Entertainment
  Hugh Jackman, Host
  

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program

• 78th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
• American Idol, Finale, FOX, FremantleMedia N.A., Inc. & 19TV Ltd.
  
• The Colbert Report, Episode #110, Comedy Central, Central Productions with Busboy Productions and Spartina Productions
  
• The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Episode #10140, Comedy Central, Central Productions LLC and Hello Doggie, Inc.
  
• Saturday Night Live, Host: Steve Martin, NBC, SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video

Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program

• The Colbert Report, Comedy Central, Central Productions with Busboy Productions and Spartina Productions
  
• The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, Comedy Central, Central Productions LLC and Hello Doggie, Inc.
  
• Late Night With Conan O’Brien, NBC, Broadway Video, NBC Studios, Conaco
  
• Late Show With David Letterman, CBS, Worldwide Pants Incorporated
  
• Real Time With Bill Maher, HBO, Kid Love Productions and Brad Grey Television in association with HBO Entertainment