The Primetime Emmy Award is an American award bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. The award categories are divided into three classes: the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards to honor technical and other similar behind-the-scenes achievements, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for recognizing significant contributions to the engineering and technological aspects of television. First given out in 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Award" until the International Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award were created in the early 1970s to expand the Emmy to other sectors of the television industry.
The Primetime Emmy Awards generally air every September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season. Since 1995, the Emmys have been broadcast in rotation among the four major networks (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC), each network taking turns to air the ceremony every four years. The ceremony is typically moved to late-August if it is broadcast by NBC (such as in 2006, 2010, and 2014), so that it does not conflict with NBC's commitment to broadcasting Sunday-night NFL games (due to another conflict, this time with the MTV Video Music Awards, the 2014 ceremony was also shifted to a Monday). The 2018 ceremony, broadcast by NBC, was moved back to September and aired on a Monday.
The name "Emmy" comes from the nickname "Immy," used to describe the image-orthicon camera tube that was a significant 1940s technical breakthrough in capturing images for television. Because the statue features a female figure holding an electron, the name "Immy" was feminized to "Emmy."
The Emmys are considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), Grammy Awards (for music), and Tony Awards (for stage).
Rules[]
Among the Primetime Emmy Award rules, a show must originally air on American television during the eligibility period between June 1 and May 31 of any given year. In order to be considered a national primetime show, the program must air between 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., and to at least 50 percent of the country. A show that enters into the Primetime Emmy Awards cannot also be entered into the Daytime Emmy Awards or any other national Emmy competition. For shows in syndication, whose air times vary between media markets, they can either be entered in the Daytime or Primetime Emmy Awards (provided they still reach the 50 percent national reach), but not in both. For game shows that reach the 50 percent threshold, they can be entered into the Daytime Emmy Awards if they normally air before 8 p.m (including the former "access hour" from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.); otherwise, they are only eligible for the Primetime Emmy Awards. For web television programs, they must be available for downloading or streaming to more than 50 percent of the country, and like shows in syndication they can only enter in one of the national Emmy competitions.
Shows that are offered for pre-sale to consumers, whether on home video devices or via the Web, are ineligible if the pre-sale period starts more than 7 days before the show's initial airing. Also, a show that receives what the Academy calls a "general theatrical release" before its first airing (either via television or the Internet) is ineligible. The definition of this phrase excludes limited releases for the specific purpose of award qualification, such as screenings at film festivals or the one-week releases in Los Angeles (and, for documentaries, New York City as well) required for Oscar eligibility.
Entries must be submitted by the end of April, even if a show is not scheduled to originally air until the following month when the eligibility period ends in May. Most award categories also require entries to include DVDs or tape masters of the show. For most series categories, any six episodes that originally aired during the eligibility period must be submitted (programs that were cancelled before airing their sixth episode are thus ineligible). For most individual achievement categories, only one episode is required to be submitted; if an episode is a two-parter, both parts may be included on the submitted DVD.
Ballots to select the nominations are sent to Academy members in June. For most categories, members from each of the branches vote to determine the nominees only in their respective categories. All members can however vote for nominations in the best program categories. The final voting poll to determine the winners is held in August, and is done by judging panels. In June, the Academy solicits volunteers among its active members to serve on these panels. All active members may serve on the program panels; otherwise they are restricted to those categories within their own branch.
Ceremonies[]
Edition | Date | Venue | Host(s) | Network | Most awards |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | January 25, 1949 | Hollywood Athletic Club, Los Angeles, California | Walter O'Keefe | KFI | Pantomine Quiz (1) |
2nd | January 27, 1950 | Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Bill Welsh | Crusade in Europe, The Ed Wynn Show, Texaco Star Theatre and Time for Beany (1 each) | |
3rd | January 23, 1951 | Earl Warren | KLAC (DuMont) | The Alan Young Show, Campus Chorus and Orchestra, City at Night, KFI-TV University, KTLA Newsreel, Los Angeles Rams Football, Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Time for Beany and Truth or Consequences (1 each) | |
4th | February 18, 1952 | Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles, California | Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz | KECA (ABC) | The Red Skeleton Show, Studio One and Your Show of Shows (1 each) |
5th | February 5, 1953 | Hotel Statler, Los Angeles, California | Art Linkletter | KLAC (DuMont) | Dragnet, I Love Lucy, Robert Montgomery Presents, See It Now, Time for Beany, What's My Line and Your Show of Shows (1 each) |
6th | February 11, 1954 | Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California | Ed Sullivan | KHJ | I Love Lucy and The United States Steel Hour (2 each) |
7th | March 7, 1955 | Moulin Rouge Nightclub, Los Angeles, California | Steve Allen and Dave Garroway | NBC | Studio One (3) |
8th | March 17, 1956 | Pan-Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Art Linkletter and Danny Thomas | The Phil Silvers Show and Producers' Showcase (4 each) | |
9th | March 16, 1957 | NBC Studios, Burbank, California | Desi Arnaz | Caesar's Hour and Playhouse 90 (5 each) | |
10th | April 15, 1958 | Cocoanut Grove, Los Angeles, California | Phil Silvers and Danny Thomas | Playhouse 90 (4) | |
11th | May 6, 1959 | Moulin Rouge Nightclub, Los Angeles, California | Raymond Burr | An Evening with Fred Astaire (5) | |
12th | June 20, 1960 | NBC Studios, Burbank, California | Fred Astaire | The Jack Benny Program and The Moon and Sixpence (2 each) | |
13th | May 16, 1961 | Moulin Rouge Nightclub, Los Angeles, California | Joey Bishop and Dick Powell | Hallmark Hall of Fame (5) | |
14th | May 22, 1962 | Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California | Bob Newhart | The Defenders (4) | |
15th | May 26, 1963 | Annette Funicello and Don Knotts | |||
16th | May 25, 1964 | Joey Bishop and E.G. Marshall | The Dick Van Dyke Show (5) | ||
17th | September 12, 1965 | Sammy Davis Jr. and Danny Thomas | Hallmark Hall of Fame (3) | ||
18th | May 22, 1966 | Bill Cosby and Danny Kaye | CBS | The Dick Van Dyke Show (5) | |
19th | June 4, 1967 | The Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, California | Joey Bishop and Hugh Downs | ABC | Mission: Impossible (3) |
20th | May 19, 1968 | Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California | Frank Sinatra and Dick Van Dyke | NBC | CBS Playhouse and Get Smart (3 each) |
21st | June 8, 1969 | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California | Bill Cosby and Merv Griffin | CBS | CBS Playhouse, Get Smart and Male of the Species (2 each) |
22nd | June 7, 1970 | The Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, California | David Frost and Danny Thomas | ABC | Marcus Welby, M.D. and Room 222 (3 each) |
23rd | May 9, 1971 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Johnny Carson | NBC | The Bold Ones: The Senator, Hallmark Hall of Fame and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (4 each) |
24th | May 14, 1972 | CBS | All in The Family (6) | ||
25th | May 20, 1973 | Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles, California | ABC | The Waltons (5) | |
26th | May 28, 1974 | Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, California | NBC | The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (5 each) | |
27th | May 19, 1975 | Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California | none | CBS | The Mary Tyler Moore Show (5) |
28th | May 17, 1976 | Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles, California | John Denver and Mary Tyler Moore | ABC | |
29th | September 11, 1977 | Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California | Robert Blake and Angie Dickinson | NBC | Roots (6) |
30th | September 17, 1978 | Alan Alda | CBS | All in the Family and Holocaust (6 each) | |
31st | September 9, 1979 | Cheryl Ladd and Henry Winkler | ABC | All in The Family, Friendly Fire, The Jericho Mile, Lou Grant, Roots: The Next Generations and Taxi (2 each) | |
32nd | September 7, 1980 | Steve Allen and Dick Clark | NBC | Lou Grant (5) | |
33rd | September 13, 1981 | Ed Asner and Shirley MacLaine | CBS | Hill Street Blues (6) | |
34th | September 19, 1982 | John Forsythe and Marlo Thomas | ABC | Hill Street Blues (4) | |
35th | September 25, 1983 | Eddie Murphy and Joan Rivers | NBC | Cheers (4) | |
36th | September 23, 1984 | Tom Selleck | CBS | Hill Street Blues (4) | |
37th | September 22, 1985 | John Forsythe | ABC | Cagney and Lacey (4) | |
38th | September 21, 1986 | David Letterman and Shelley Long | NBC | ||
39th | September 20, 1987 | Bruce Willis | Fox | Promise (5) | |
40th | August 28, 1988 | John Forsythe | Thirtysomething (4) | ||
41st | September 17, 1989 | John Larroquete | Cheers and Murphy Brown (3 each) | ||
42nd | September 16, 1990 | Candice Bergen, Jay Leno and Jane Pauley | L.A. Law and Murphy Brown (3 each) | ||
43rd | August 25, 1991 | Dennis Miller | Cheers (4) | ||
44th | August 30, 1992 | Tim Allen, Kirstie Alley and Dennis Miller | Miss Rose White, Murphy Brown and Northern Exposure (3 each) | ||
45th | September 19, 1993 | Angela Lansbury | ABC | Picket Fences, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom and Seinfeld (3 each) | |
46th | September 11, 1994 | Ellen DeGeneres and Patricia Richardson | Frasier and Picket Fences (4 each) | ||
47th | September 10, 1995 | Jason Alexander and Cybill Shepherd | Fox | Frasier (5) | |
48th | September 8, 1996 | Michael J. Fox, Paul Reiser and Oprah Winfrey | ABC | Dennis Miller Live, Frasier, Gulliver's Travels, The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts, Picket Fences, Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny and The X-Files (2 each) | |
49th | September 14, 1997 | Bryant Gumbel | CBS | NYPD Blue (4) | |
50th | September 13, 1998 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | none | NBC | Frasier, George Wallace, NYPD Blue and The Practice (3 each) |
51st | September 12, 1999 | Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce | Fox | The Practice (4) | |
52nd | September 10, 2000 | Garry Shandling | ABC | The West Wing (5) | |
53rd | November 4, 2001 | Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles, California | Ellen DeGeneres | CBS | The West Wing (4) |
54th | September 22, 2002 | Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California | Conan O'Brien | NBC | |
55th | September 21, 2003 | none | Fox | Door to Door, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Sopranos (4 each) | |
56th | September 19, 2004 | Garry Shandling | ABC | Angels in America (7) | |
57th | September 18, 2005 | Ellen DeGeneres | CBS | Desperate Housewives, Everybody Loves Raymond and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (3 each) | |
58th | August 27, 2006 | Conan O'Brien | NBC | Elizabeth I (4) | |
59th | September 16, 2007 | Ryan Seacrest | Fox | Broken Trail, Prime Suspect: The Final Act and The Sopranos (3 each) | |
60th | September 21, 2008 | Nokia Theatre/Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, California | Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst and Ryan Seacrest | ABC | 30 Rock and John Adams (5 each) |
61st | September 20, 2009 | Neil Patrick Harris | CBS | 30 Rock, Grey Gardens and Little Dorrit (3 each) | |
62nd | August 29, 2010 | Jimmy Fallon | NBC | Temple Grandin (5) | |
63rd | September 18, 2011 | Jane Lynch | Fox | Modern Family (5) | |
64th | September 23, 2012 | Jimmy Kimmel | ABC | Game Change, Homeland and Modern Family (4 each) | |
65th | September 22, 2013 | Neil Patrick Harris | CBS | Behind the Candelabra (3) | |
66th | August 25, 2014 | Seth Meyers | NBC | Breaking Bad (5) | |
67th | September 20, 2015 | Andy Samberg | Fox | Olive Kitteridge (6) | |
68th | September 18, 2016 | Jimmy Kimmel | ABC | The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (5) | |
69th | September 17, 2017 | Stephen Colbert | CBS | Big Little Lies and The Handmaid's Tale (5 each) | |
70th | September 17, 2018 | Michael Che and Colin Jost | NBC | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (5) | |
71st | September 22, 2019 | none | Fox | Fleabag (4) | |
72nd | September 20, 2020 | Staples Center, Los Angeles, California | Jimmy Kimmel | ABC | Schitt's Creek (7) |
73rd | September 19, 2021 | The Event Deck at L.A. Live, Los Angeles, California | Cedric the Entertainer | CBS, Paramount+ | The Crown (7) |
74th | September 12, 2022 | Microsoft Theater/Peacock Theater, Los Angeles, California | Kenan Thompson | NBC, Peacock | The White Lotus (5) |
75th | January 15, 2024 | Anthony Anderson | Fox | The Bear and Succession (6) |
Awards[]
Award category | Years active | Inaugural recipient | Current recipient (2023) |
---|---|---|---|
Outstanding Comedy Series | 1952-present | The Red Skelton Show | The Bear |
Outstanding Drama Series | 1951-present | Pulitzer Prize Playhouse | Succession |
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series | 1973-present | Tom Brown's Schooldays | Beef |
Outstanding Reality Competition Program | 2003-present | The Amazing Race | RuPaul's Drag Race |
Outstanding Talk Series | 2015-present | The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | The Daily Show with Trevor Noah |
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series | 2015-present | Inside Amy Schumer | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver |
Outstanding Variety Special (Live) | 1977-present | American Ballet Theatre: Swan Lake (Live from Lincoln Center) | Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | 1954-present | Donald O'Connor - The Colgate Comedy Hour as himself | Jeremy Allen White - The Bear as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | 1954-present | Kieran Culkin - Succession as Roman Roy | |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | 1954-present | Eve Arden - Our Miss Brooks as Connie Brooks | Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary as Janine Teagues |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Seris | 1954-present | Sarah Snook - Succession as Shiv Roy | |
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series | 1955-present | Robert Cummings - Studio One as Juror #8 (for "Twelve Angry Men") | Steven Yeun - Beef as Danny Cho |
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series | 1955-present | Judith Anderson - Hallmark Hall of Fame as Lady Macbeth (for "Macbeth") | Ali Wong - Beef as Amy Lau |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | 1954-present | Art Carney - The Jackie Gleason Show as various characters | Ebon Moss-Bachrach - The Bear as Richard "Richie" Jerimovich |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | 1954-present | Matthew Macfadyen - Succession as Tom Wambsgans | |
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | 1954-present | Vivian Vance - I Love Lucy as Ethel Mertz | Ayo Edebiri - The Bear as Sydney Adamu |
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | 1954-present | Jennifer Coolidge - The White Lotus as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt | |
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series | 1975-present | Anthony Quayle - QB VII as Tom Banniester | Paul Walter Hauser - Black Bird as Larry Hall |
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series | 1975-present | Juliet Mills - QB VII as Samantha Cady | Niecy Nash-Betts - Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story as Glenda Cleveland |
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | 1955-present | Franklin Schaffner - Studio One (for "Twelve Angry Men") | Christopher Storer - The Bear (for "Review") |
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | 1955-present | Mark Mylod - Succession (for "Connor's Wedding") | |
Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series | 1971-present | Fielder Cook - The Price | Lee Sung Jin - Beef (for "Figures of Light") |
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | 1955-present | James B. Allardice, Jack Douglas, Hal Kanter and Harry Winkler - The George Gobel Show | Christopher Storer - The Bear (for "System") |
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | 1955-present | Reginald Rose - Studio One (for "Twelve Angry Men") | Jesse Armstrong - Succession (for "Connor's Wedding") |
Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series | 1971-present | Saul Levitt - The Andersonville Trial (Adaptation) | Lee Sung Jin - Beef (for "The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech in Pain") |
Marvin Schwarz and Tracy Keenan Wynn - Tribes (Original) | |||
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | 1955-present | James B. Allardice, Jack Douglas, Hal Kanter and Harry Winkler - The George Gobel Show | Daniel O'Brien, Owen Parsons, Charlie Redd, Joanna Rothkopf, Seena Vali, Johnathan Appel, Ali Barthwell, Tim Carvell, Liz Hynes, Ryan Ken, Mark Kramer, Sofia Manfredi, John Oliver, Taylor Kay Phillips and Chrissy Shackelford - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver |
International broadcasters[]
as of 2022
Country | Network(s) |
---|---|
Central Europe | AMC |
Latin America | TNT, TNT Series |
Middle East | OSN Showcase |
Sub-Saharan Africa | M-Net |
Australia | Fox Arena |
Belgium | Play More Cinema |
Canada | CTV |
Croatia | HRT 1, HRT 2 |
Denmark | TV 2 Zulu |
France | Série Club |
Germany | TNT Serie |
Greece | Cosmote Cinema 1HD |
India Malaysia Philippines |
Lionsgate Play |
Indonesia Taiwan |
Catchplay+ |
Israel | yes Comedy |
Italy | Sky Atlantic, Sky Serie, Now |
Japan | U-NEXT |
Netherlands | OutTV |
New Zealand | Vibe |
Portugal | SIC Caras |
Spain Andorra |
Movistar Seriesmanía |
United Kingdom Ireland |
Sky Showcase |