Primetime Emmy Awards

The Primetime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American primetime television programming. First awarded in 1949, they were originally referred to as just the "Emmy Awards" until the first Daytime Emmy Award ceremonies were held in the 1970s, and the word "primetime" was added to disambiguate between the two.

Award categories

Primetime Emmys are currently awarded in the following categories:

Creative Arts Primetime Emmys

The Creative Arts Emmy Award are awarded in the following categories (some of which separately recognize work based on whether a single-camera and multi-camera setup was used):

  • Music
  • Nonfiction
    • Nonfiction Series
    • Nonfiction Special
  • Picture Editing
  • Sound Editing
    • Sound Editing for a Series
    • Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
    • Sound Editing For Nonfiction Programming
  • Sound Mixing
    • Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series
    • Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie
    • Multi-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series or Special
    • Sound Mixing for a Variety or Music Series or Special
    • Sound Mixing For Nonfiction Programming
  • Stunt Coordination
  • Technical Direction
    • Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Series
    • Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
  • Variety, Music or Comedy Special
  • Visual Effects
  • Writing for Nonfiction Programming

Retired awards

A number of awards have been retired throughout the years, including some that have been replaced by similar award categories in the Daytime Emmys, Sports Emmys, and other areas of recognition.

  • Actor of the Year
  • Actress of the Year
  • Best Kinescope Show
  • Best Live Show
  • Best New Program
  • Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality
  • Most Outstanding Live Personality
  • Outstanding Live Sports Special †
  • Outstanding Sports Personality †
  • Outstanding Program Achievement by Individuals in Daytime Drama ‡
  • Outstanding Program Achievement in Daytime Drama ‡
  • Program of the Year
  • Best Sports Coverage†
  • Best Western Series (1958-1959 only)
  • Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
† Replaced by a similar category in the Sports Emmy Awards
‡ Replaced by a similar category in the Daytime Emmy Awards

Leading nominees

Most Emmy nominations for an individual
Most Emmy nominations for a television program
Most Emmy nominations for a comedy series in a single year
Most Emmy nominations for a drama series in a single year
Most Emmy nominations for an animated series in a single year
Most Emmy nominations for a miniseries
  • Roots (1977): 37 nominations
Most Emmy nominations for a television movie
Most Emmy nominations for a variety series in a single year
Most Emmy nominations for an individual without a win

Leading winners

Most Emmy wins by a individual
Most Emmy wins for a television program
Most Emmy wins in the comedy series category
Most Emmy wins in the drama series category
Most Emmy wins for an animated series
Most Emmy wins for a miniseries
Most Emmy wins for a television movie
Most Emmy wins in a single year for a network
Most performing Emmys wins
Most Emmy wins for the same character in the same series
Most Emmy wins for the same character in different series

Related pages

Other websites