42nd Primetime Emmy Awards

The 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on September 16, 1990. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox, from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California.

Outstanding Comedy Series

• Murphy Brown
  • Cheers
  • Designing Women
  • The Golden Girls
  • The Wonder Years

Outstanding Drama Series

• L.A. Law
  • China Beach
  • Quantum Leap
  • thirtysomething
  • Twin Peaks

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Ted Danson as "Sam Malone" in Cheers
  • John Goodman as "Dan Conner" in Roseanne
  • Richard Mulligan as "Dr. Harry Weston" in Empty Nest
  • Craig T. Nelson as "Coach Hayden Fox" in Coach
  • Fred Savage as "Kevin Arnold" in The Wonder Years

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Peter Falk as "Lt. Columbo" in Columbo
  • Scott Bakula as "Sam Beckett" in Quantum Leap
  • Robert Loggia as "Nick Mancuso" in Mancuso, FBI
  • Kyle MacLachlan as "Special Agent Dale Cooper" in Twin Peaks
  • Edward Woodward as "Robert McCall in The Equalizer

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Candice Bergen as "Murphy Brown" in Murphy Brown
  • Kirstie Alley as "Rebecca Howe" in Cheers
  • Blair Brown as "Molly Dodd" in The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd
  • Delta Burke as "Suzanne Sugarbaker" in Designing Women
  • Betty White as "Rose Nylund" in The Golden Girls

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Patricia Wettig as "Nancy Krieger Weston" in thirtysomething
  • Dana Delany as "Nurse Colleen McMurphy" in China Beach
  • Jill Eikenberry as "Ann Kelsey" in L.A. Law
  • Angela Lansbury as "Jessica Fletcher" in Murder, She Wrote
  • Piper Laurie as "Catherine Martell" in Twin Peaks

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

• Alex Rocco as "Al Floss" in The Famous Teddy Z
  • Kelsey Grammer as "Dr. Frasier Crane" in Cheers
  • Woody Harrelson as "Woody Boyd" in Cheers
  • Charles Kimbrough as "Jim Dial" in Murphy Brown
  • Jerry Van Dyke as "Assistant Coach Luther Horatio Van Dam" in Coach

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

• Jimmy Smits as "Victor Sifuentes" in L.A. Law
  • Timothy Busfield as "Elliot Weston" in thirtysomething
  • Larry Drake as "Benny Stulwicz" in L.A. Law
  • Richard Dysart as "Leland McKenzie" in L.A. Law
  • Dean Stockwell as "Al the Observer" in Quantum Leap

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

• Bebe Neuwirth as "Lilith Crane" in Cheers
  • Julia Duffy as "Stephanie Vanderkellen" in Newhart
  • Faith Ford as "Corky Sherwood" in Murphy Brown
  • Estelle Getty as "Sophia Petrillo" in The Golden Girls
  • Rhea Perlman as "Carla Tortelli" in Cheers

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

• Marg Helgenberger as "K.C." in China Beach
  • Sherilyn Fenn as "Audrey Horne" in Twin Peaks
  • Melanie Mayron as "Melissa Steadman" in thirtysomething
  • Diana Muldaur as "Rosalind Shays" in L.A. Law
  • Susan Ruttan as "Roxanne Melman" in L.A. Law

Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series

• L.A. Law (David E. Kelley)
  • L.A. Law (William M. Finkelstein, David E. Kelley)
  • thirtysomething (Joseph Dougherty)
  • Twin Peaks (Mark Frost, David Lynch)
  • Twin Peaks (Harley Peyton)

Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series

• Equal Justice (Thomas Carter)
• thirtysomething (Scott Winant)
  • L.A. Law (Win Phelps)
  • L.A. Law (Rick Wallace)
  • Twin Peaks (David Lynch)

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series

• The Wonder Years (Bob Brush)
  • Cheers (David Isaacs, Ken Levine)
  • The Famous Teddy Z (Hugh Wilson)
  • Murphy Brown (Diane English)
  • Newhart (Bob Bendetson, Mark Egan, Mark Solomon)

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series

• The Wonder Years (Michael Dinner)
  • Cheers (James Burrows)
  • Designing Women (Harry Thomason)
  • The Famous Teddy Z (Hugh Wilson)
  • The Golden Girls (Terry Hughes)
  • Murphy Brown (Barnet Kellman)

References

• Emmy Awards on imdb