Before ‘The Late Show’ signs off, meet this Hoo behind the scenes

May 20, 2026
Em Newman posing at a late-night talk show studio set.

Em Newman wraps 11 years on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as the final episode airs Thursday. A UVA media studies trip to New York first brought her to “The Colbert Report,” where she later landed an internship, and launched a career that took her from “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” to field producer at “The Late Show.” (Photos by Kate Marshall)

When Em Newman arrived at the University of Virginia, she had a plan, the same one many high-achieving students arrive with: study biology or biochemistry and follow the well-worn path toward a career in medicine. 

Then a friend in her first-year dorm hall said something that changed everything: “You’re funny. Why do you want to be a doctor?”

That offhand comment eventually led Newman, a 2015 media studies graduate, to a job with “The Colbert Report,” then “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and ultimately to “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” where she’s currently wrapping up her 11-year tenure as a field producer before the show airs its final episode Thursday.

The transition from a pre-med track to media studies took time. She spent three years studying biology before learning that the Department of Media Studies – which had a small, selective cohort of about 60 majors – offered a trip to New York City as a part of a January term course, an opportunity made possible in part because Evie McGee, Colbert’s wife and a UVA alumna, had helped arrange a seminar at the “The Colbert Report” for the department. Newman was sold. She applied to the major and signed up for the trip.

Celebrating Our Shared History - VA250
Celebrating Our Shared History - VA250

“It was my first time in New York on my own,” she said. “I remember looking out the Amtrak window at the completely frozen Delaware River, and just feeling like, ‘I hope this is the start of something.’”

The itinerary took the group through NBC’s development offices and a taping of Katie Couric’s syndicated talk show “Katie,” but it was the final stop, at the studio that hosted “The Colbert Report,” that stuck with Newman. 

“I saw people in headsets, stressed, but working together,” she said. “I was like, ‘I don’t totally understand how this works yet, but I know I want to be a part of it.’”

Newman met the show’s internship coordinator and set out to secure a job. She called the office every week, got rejected twice, but kept calling. Finally, she landed what would be the very last internship “The Colbert Report” ever offered, just as the show was winding down.

“Tenacity pays off,” she said, “when done with a light touch.”

She took a semester off from UVA, moved to New York City and threw herself into the work, along with other side hustles.

When “The Colbert Report’s” finale brought in more than 150 guests for one legendary send-off, Newman was there wrangling talent and bonding with Cat Owens, then John Oliver’s assistant, who would soon bring her over to “Last Week Tonight.” She returned to Charlottesville to finish her degree, and roughly a week after graduating, she was back in New York as an intern on the show.

Em Newman meeting President Barack Obama indoors and standing outdoors in a snowy landscape.

Newman at two extremes of her field producing career: meeting former President Barack Obama at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago during an April visit – an interview that aired May 5 – and on a 48-hour assignment at Thule Air Base, a U.S. Space Force base on the northwest coast of Greenland, where she and the crew accompanied Colbert during the pandemic. (Contributed photos)

By October 2015, she had been brought on as a production assistant for the newly launched “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and she’s been there ever since. 

She’s worked in several different positions over the years. In the footage department, Newman and her team monitored up to five cable news channels simultaneously from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., pulling clips, transcribing press conferences and pitching first-draft jokes to the writers.

A proud moment from that period was helping develop the show’s live broadcast format, in which the team would react in real time to major events like the State of the Union and the Democratic National Convention.

As a field producer, the assignments became more outlandish and extraordinary. She coordinated a crew of around 30 people to the Thule Air Base in the Arctic Circle during the pandemic, where there’s 24-hour sunlight and strict military protocols. Colbert was there for only 24 hours, while Newman and the team were there for 48 hours.

Most recently, she produced and directed field pieces at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago – a full-circle moment, since her first field piece had also featured former President Barack Obama, shot in November 2020 with the whole crew masked and six feet apart. “It felt really gratifying,” she said.

Newman also produced “The Worst of the Late Show,” a full episode of previously rejected bits airing during the show’s final week. Highlights included a parody of “It’s Raining Men” called “It’s Raining Fish,” featuring original co-songwriter Paul Shaffer, and a farewell to show characters Shriekin’ Joe and Shriekin' Jane. 

Newman said the show’s cancellation, announced last summer, hit the staff hard. More than 200 people, many together since “The Colbert Report” days, absorbed the news all at once. “I was surprised at how similar it felt to losing someone in my life,” Newman said. “But grief is grief.”

The crew made a collective decision to end the show right. The final weeks, she said, feel like being strapped to a rocket. “We’re in it together, and we’re doing it 800%,” she said.

As for what comes next, Newman has no answer. She’s been at this crossroads before, but this time it’s different. Eleven years ago, she didn’t fully know what she was capable of. 

“This industry forces you to create your own path,” she said. “That used to scare me. Now I think it’s a benefit.”

Media Contacts

Renee Grutzik

University News Associate Office of University Communications

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