Primetime Emmy Award

Primetime Emmy Award
63rd Primetime Emmy Awards
Awarded for	Excellence in primetime television
Presented by	ATAS
Country	United States
First awarded	1949
Official website	http://www.emmys.com/
Television coverage
Network	ABC CBS Fox NBC

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 distinguish between the two.

The Primetime Emmys generally air in mid-September, on the Sunday before the official start of the fall television season. They are currently seen in rotation among the four major networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox). Because of NBC's coverage of Sunday Night NFL Football beginning in September, when NBC has had the rotation in 2006 and again in 2010, the Emmys move to late August for those years only.

Emmys are considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards (for film), Grammy Awards (for music), and Tony Awards (for stage), and Annie Awards for Animation.^[1][2]

Rules

Among the Primetime Emmy rules, a show must originally air on American television during the eligibility period between June 1 and May 31. In order to be considered a national primetime show, the program must air between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m., and to at least 50 percent of the country.^[3] A show that enters into the Primetime Emmys 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 Emmys (provided they still reach the 50 percent national reach), but not in both.^[3] For game shows that reach the 50 percent threshold, they can be entered into the Daytime Emmys if they normally air before 8 p.m (including the former "access hour" from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.); otherwise, they are only eligible for the Primetime Emmys.^[4]

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.^[3]

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 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.^[3]

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):

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
• Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)

_{† 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 a Television Program

• Saturday Night Live: 142 nominations
• ER: 124 nominations
• Cheers: 117 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a Comedy Series in a single year

• 30 Rock (2009): 22 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a Drama Series in a single year

• NYPD Blue (1994): 27 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for an Animated Series in a single year

• The Simpsons (1992): 7 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a Miniseries

• Roots (1977): 37 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a Made for Television Movie

• Eleanor and Franklin (1976): 17 nominations
• Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977): 17 nominations
• Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007): 17 nominations
• Grey Gardens (2009): 17 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a Variety Series in a single year

• Saturday Night Live (2011): 16 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for an Individual without a win

• Angela Lansbury (1983–2005): 18 nominations

Leading winners

Most Emmy wins by an Individual

• Sheila Nevins: 22

Most Emmy wins for a Television Program

• Frasier: 37

Most Emmy wins for a Comedy Series

• Frasier: 37

Most Emmy wins for a Drama Series

• The West Wing: 26^[5]
• Hill Street Blues: 26^[5]

Most Emmy wins for a series in its first season

• The West Wing: 9

Most Emmy wins for a series in a single season

• The West Wing: 9

Most Emmy wins in the Comedy Series category

• Frasier: 5

Most Emmy wins in the Drama Series category

• Hill Street Blues: 4^[5]
• L.A. Law: 4^[5]
• Mad Men: 4^[6]
• The West Wing: 4^[5]

Most Emmy wins for an Animated Series

• The Simpsons: 27

Most Emmy wins for a Miniseries

• John Adams (2008): 13

Most Emmy wins for a Made for Television Movie

• Eleanor and Franklin (1976): 11

Most Emmy wins in a single year for a network

• CBS (1974): 44

Most performing Emmys wins

• Cloris Leachman: 8
• Ed Asner: 7
• Mary Tyler Moore: 7

Most Emmy wins for the same character in the same series

• Don Knotts of The Andy Griffith Show: 5
• Candice Bergen of Murphy Brown: 5

Most Emmy wins for the same character in different series

• Ed Asner of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant: 5

Performers with the most Primetime Emmys

• Carl Reiner won a total of nine Primetime Emmy Awards, five of which were for his work on The Dick Van Dyke Show (Outstanding Comedy Series, Program Achievement, Writing in a Comedy series and Writing in a Comedy/Variety/Music series). He also won the award for Outstanding Guest Actor for his performance on Mad About You, and two Emmys for his performance on Caesar's Hour. In 1967, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy/Variety/Music series, for The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special.
• Cloris Leachman's eighth Emmy made her the "winningest" female performer in Emmy history. Previously, she had been tied with Mary Tyler Moore and Tracey Ullman (although not all of Ullman's Emmys are for performance categories).
• Edward Asner won five Emmys for the same character (Lou Grant) but in two different series and genres. Asner won three in the Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and two more in the Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for Lou Grant. Asner also has two additional Emmys, making him the most awarded male performer in Emmy history with 7 wins.
• Tyne Daly has won six performing Emmy Awards; four Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Mary Beth Lacey in Cagney & Lacey in 1983–1985 and 1988. Also, two wins in the Supporting Actress in a Drama Series category for Christy in 1996 and Judging Amy in 2003.
• Don Knotts and Candice Bergen share the distinction of being the only actors to have won five Emmy Awards for their respective performances on their respective series. Knotts won for his role as Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show (1961–1963, 1966–1967). Bergen won for her portrayal of Murphy Brown on Murphy Brown (1989–1990, 1992, 1994–1995).
• Kelsey Grammer has won five Emmy Awards: four for his portrayal of Frasier Crane on Frasier (1994–1995, 1998, 2004) and one for voicing the character Sideshow Bob on the series The Simpsons (2006). He has several other nominations as Frasier on that series as well as on Cheers and Wings (for a 1992 guest appearance). This makes him the only actor to earn Emmy nominations for portraying the same character on three different programs.
• John Larroquette also won five Emmy Awards; four (in a row) for his portrayal of Dan Fielding on Night Court and one for his guest role on The Practice.
• Peter Falk won five Primetime Emmy Awards, including four for his iconic work on Columbo - 3 as Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series (1972, 1976, 1990) and 1 as Best Lead Actor in a Limited Series (1975). Fifth win was chronologically the first for his performance on The Dick Powell Show.
• Carroll O'Connor of All in the Family, Nancy Marchand of Lou Grant, Rhea Perlman of Cheers, Dennis Franz of NYPD Blue, Helen Hunt of Mad About You, David Hyde Pierce of Frasier, Allison Janney of The West Wing, and Doris Roberts of Everybody Loves Raymond have all won four Emmys for playing their respective characters on their respective TV shows. Valerie Harper also has four Emmys for the same character, Rhoda, but on two different shows. Harper has three Emmys for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and one for Rhoda.
• Kathy Baker of Picket Fences, Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad, James Gandolfini of The Sopranos, Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond, John Lithgow of 3rd Rock from the Sun, Jeremy Piven of Entourage, Michael Richards of Seinfeld, Tony Shalhoub of Monk, James Spader of The Practice and Boston Legal, and Patricia Wettig of thirtysomething have all won three Emmys for playing their respective characters on their respective TV shows.
• Carroll O'Connor and Edie Falco are the only actors to have won the lead category in both the comedy and drama series category. O'Connor has four Emmys for his comedic turn in All in the Family and one dramatic Emmy for In the Heat of the Night. Falco has three Emmys for her dramatic turn in The Sopranos and one comedic Emmy for Nurse Jackie. Others have won in a variety of both the comedy and drama categories including lead, supporting, and guest performances such as Alan Alda for M*A*S*H and The West Wing, Bruce Willis for Moonlighting and Friends, John Lithgow for Amazing Stories, 3rd Rock from the Sun and Dexter, Doris Roberts for St. Elsewhere and Everybody Loves Raymond, Ed Asner for The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Lou Grant, John Larroquette for Night Court and The Practice, Christopher Lloyd for Taxi and Avonlea, Cynthia Nixon for Sex and the City and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Elaine Stritch for 30 Rock and Law & Order, and Cloris Leachman for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Promised Land and Malcolm in the Middle.
• Alan Alda is the only person to have won Emmys in the comedy series categories for writing, directing, and acting in the same series, M*A*S*H. Alda has a total of six wins including his most recent Emmy for supporting actor in a drama series for The West Wing.
• Michael J. Fox has won five Emmy awards: four for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his shows Family Ties (1986–1988) and Spin City (2000), and one for Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role on Rescue Me (2009).
• Betty White is the only female to have an Emmy in all female performing comedic categories including two in Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Life with Elizabeth and The Golden Girls, two in Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and two for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for The John Larroquette Show and Saturday Night Live. White also holds the record for longest gap between performing Emmy nominations - her first was in 1951 and her most recent was in 2011, a gap of 60 years. White also holds the record for the oldest recipient of a competitive, non-honorary performing Primetime Emmy, winning in 2010 at the age of 88 - and used to hold the record for the oldest nominee, nominated in 2011 at the age of 89. She has since been surpassed by June Foray, who in 2012 was nominated in the category of Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program at the age of 94.

See also

• Emmy Award
• Daytime Emmy Award
• List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
• List of Primetime Emmy Awards ceremonies
• Golden Globe Awards
• Screen Actors Guild Awards
• Directors Guild of America Awards
• Writers Guild of America Award
• TCA Awards
• British Academy Television Awards
• Gemini Award—television broadcasting industry awards in Canada.
• Logie Award—television broadcasting industry awards in Australia.

Notes

External links

• Primetime Emmy Awards
• Emmy Gift Bags
• emmys.com - Advanced Primetime Awards Search
• Emmy Awards coverage on DigitalHit.com
• Mystery solved: How Emmy voting works to choose winners at GoldDerby.