# Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Programming

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program is awarded to one television documentary or nonfiction series each year.
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place:

## Winners and nominations
### 1970s

| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
| 1979 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1979 | Scared Straight! | Scared Straight! | Arnold Shapiro | Syndicated |

### 1980s

| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
| 1980 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1980 | The Body Human: The Body Beautiful | The Body Human: The Body Beautiful | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS |
| 1983 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1983 | The Body Human: The Living Code | The Body Human: The Living Code | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS |
| 1983 | I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind | I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind | Chandler Cowles | CBS |
| 1984 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1984 | A Walk Through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers | "Marshall, Texas" | Bill Moyers | PBS |
| 1985 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing |
| 1985 | Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "The Crucible of Europe" | Howard Enders, John G. Fox, Michael Joseloff and Marc Siegel | PBS |
| 1985 | Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "Out of the Ashes" | Brian Winston | PBS |
| 1985 | Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "Roads from the Ghetto" | John G. Fox and Eugene Marner | PBS |
| 1985 | The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth | The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth | David Attenborough | PBS |
| 1987 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing |
| 1987 | The Story of English | "A Muse of Fire" | Robert MacNeil and Robert McCrum | PBS |
| 1987 | American Masters | "Billie Holiday: The Long Night of Lady Day" | John Jeremy | PBS |
| 1988 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1988 | American Masters | "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" | Kevin Brownlow and David Gill | PBS |
| 1988 | Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Bill Couturié and Richard Dewhurst | HBO |
| 1988 | American Masters | "The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit and Legend of the Algonquin Round Table" | Peter Foges and Mary Jo Kaplan | PBS |
| 1989 | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming |
| 1989 | The Mind | "Search for the Mind" | John Heminway | PBS |

### 1990s

| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
| 1990 | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming |
| 1990 | American Masters | "Broadway Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater" | Steve Lawson | PBS |
| 1991 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | PBS |
| 1991 | American Masters | "Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer" | Todd McCarthy | PBS |
| 1991 | The Civil War | "The Better Angels of Our Nature" | Ric Burns, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 1992 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1992 | Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper | Showtime |
| 1992 | Losing It All: The Reality of Alzheimer's Disease | Losing It All: The Reality of Alzheimer's Disease | Michael Mierendorf | HBO |
| 1993 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1993 | Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory | "America's Folk Religion" | Randall Balmer | PBS |
| 1994 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming |
| 1994 | The Legend of Billy the Kid | The Legend of Billy the Kid | Todd Robinson | Disney |
| 1994 | Reflections on Elephants | Reflections on Elephants | Dereck Joubert | PBS |
| 1994 | The Untold West | "The Black West" | Dennis Watlington | TBS |

### 2000s

| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
| 2003 | American Experience | "Seabiscuit" | Michelle Ferrari | PBS |
| 2003 | American Experience | "The Murder of Emmett Till" | Marcia A. Smith | PBS |
| 2003 | Da Ali G Show | Da Ali G Show | Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Anthony Hines, Jamie Glassman and James Bobin | HBO |
| 2003 | Journeys with George | Journeys with George | Alexandra Pelosi | HBO |
| 2003 | Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Mark Jonathan Harris | HBO |
| 2004 | American Masters | "Judy Garland: By Myself" | Susan Lacy and Stephen Stept | PBS |
| 2004 | Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor | Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor | Rick Sebak | PBS |
| 2004 | JFK: A Presidency Revealed | JFK: A Presidency Revealed | David C. Taylor | History |
| 2004 | Pandemic: Facing AIDS | "Uganda/Thailand" | Mark Bailey | HBO |
| 2004 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "War on Drugs" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Emma Webster, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime |
| 2004 | Terry Jones' Medieval Lives | "The Peasant" | Terry Jones | History |
| 2005 | Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson | Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2005 | Beyond the Da Vinci Code | Beyond the Da Vinci Code | Thomas Quinn and Rob Blumenstein | History |
| 2005 | Broadway: The American Musical | "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" | JoAnn Young | PBS |
| 2005 | Death in Gaza | Death in Gaza | Saira Shah | HBO |
| 2005 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Profanity" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Jon Hotchkiss, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime |
| 2006 | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Peter Jones | TCM |
| 2006 | American Masters | "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend" | Kenneth Bowser | PBS |
| 2006 | American Masters | "Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea" | DeWitt Sage | PBS |
| 2006 | How William Shatner Changed the World | How William Shatner Changed the World | Alan Handel and Julian Jones | History |
| 2006 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Prostitution" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Cliff Schoenberg, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau and Star Price | Showtime |
| 2007 | American Masters | "Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film" | James Sanders and Ric Burns | PBS |
| 2007 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Wal-Mart" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Sheryl Zohn, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau, Star Price, Cliff Schoenberg and David Weiss | Showtime |
| 2007 | Planet Earth | "Mountains" | Vanessa Berlowitz and Gary Parker | Discovery |
| 2007 | Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed | Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed | Steven Smith, David Comtois and Kevin Burns | History |
| 2007 | This American Life | "God's Close-Up" | Nancy Updike | Showtime |
| 2008 | The War | "Pride of Our Nation (June–August 1944)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2008 | American Experience | "Walt Whitman" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS |
| 2008 | Intervention | "Caylee" | Jeff Grogan | A&E |
| 2008 | Life After People | Life After People | David de Vries | History |
| 2008 | This American Life | "Escape" | Ira Glass | Showtime |
| 2009 | Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired | Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired | Joe Bini, P. G. Morgan and Marina Zenovich | HBO |
| 2009 | American Experience | "The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer" | David Grubin | PBS |
| 2009 | American Masters | "Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About" | Amanda Vaill | PBS |
| 2009 | Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America | "When I'm Bad, I'm Better — The Groundbreakers" | Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon | PBS |
| 2009 | Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "New Age Medicine" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Star Price, Rich Nathanson, Michael Goudeau, David Wechter, Cliff Schoenberg and Sheryl Zohn | Showtime |

### 2010s

| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
| 2010 | The National Parks: America's Best Idea | "The Last Refuge (1890–1915)" | Dayton Duncan | PBS |
| 2010 | America: The Story of Us | "Division" | Jenny Ash and Ed Fields | History |
| 2010 | Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Prague" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel |
| 2010 | The Buddha | The Buddha | David Grubin | PBS |
| 2010 | Life | "Challenges of Life" | Paul Spillenger | Discovery |
| 2011 | American Experience | "Freedom Riders" | Stanley Nelson Jr. | PBS |
| 2011 | Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Haiti" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel |
| 2011 | Gasland | Gasland | Josh Fox | HBO |
| 2011 | Gettysburg | Gettysburg | Richard Bedser and Ed Fields | History |
| 2011 | Moguls & Movie Stars | "The Birth of Hollywood" | Jon Wilkman | TCM |
| 2012 | Prohibition | "A Nation of Hypocrites" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2012 | American Experience | "Clinton" | Barak Goodman | PBS |
| 2012 | American Masters | "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" | Peter Jones | PBS |
| 2012 | Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Cuba" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel |
| 2012 | Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger | Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger | Christine Ferraro | PBS |
| 2013 | Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God | Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God | Alex Gibney | HBO |
| 2013 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Libya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2013 | The Dust Bowl | "The Great Plow-Up" | Dayton Duncan | PBS |
| 2013 | Ethel | Ethel | Mark Bailey | HBO |
| 2013 | The Men Who Built America | "A New War Begins" | Stephen David, Patrick Reams, David C. White, Keith Palmer, Randy Counsman and Ed Fields | History |
| 2014 | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Ann Druyan and Steven Soter | Fox |
| 2014 | American Experience | "JFK" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS |
| 2014 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Congo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2014 | The World Wars | "Trial by Fire" | Stephen David, David C. White, John Ealer, Alec Michod, Chelsea Coates, Randy Counsman, Russ McCarroll, Jordan Rosenblum and David Schaye | History |
| 2014 | Years of Living Dangerously | "The Surge" | Adam Bolt | Showtime |
| 2015 | Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Alex Gibney | HBO |
| 2015 | American Experience | "Last Days in Vietnam" | Keven McAlester and Mark Bailey | PBS |
| 2015 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Iran" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2015 | Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck | Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck | Brett Morgen | HBO |
| 2015 | The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | "The Rising Road (1933–1939)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2016 | Making a Murderer | "Eighteen Years Lost" | Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos | Netflix |
| 2016 | American Experience | "Walt Disney" | Mark Zwonitzer, Sarah Colt and Tom Jennings | PBS |
| 2016 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Borneo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2016 | Everything Is Copy — Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted | Everything Is Copy — Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted | Jacob Bernstein | HBO |
| 2016 | Jackie Robinson | Jackie Robinson | David McMahon and Sarah Burns | PBS |
| 2017 |
| 2017 | 13th | 13th | Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick | Netflix |
| 2017 | Amanda Knox | Amanda Knox | Matthew Hamachek and Brian McGinn | Netflix |
| 2017 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Houston" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2017 | The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years | The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years | Mark Monroe | Hulu |
| 2017 | Bill Nye Saves the World | "The Sexual Spectrum" | Prashanth Venkataramanujam, CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker and Flora Lichtman | Netflix |
| 2018 | | | | Netflix |
| 2018 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Southern Italy" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2018 | The Defiant Ones | "Episode 1" | Allen Hughes, Lasse Järvi and Doug Pray | HBO |
| 2018 | Icarus | Icarus | Bryan Fogel, Mark Monroe and Jon Bertain | Netflix |
| 2018 | Jane | Jane | Brett Morgen | Nat Geo |
| 2018 | Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | JoAnn Young | PBS |
| 2018 | The Vietnam War | "Episode 8: The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2019 |
| 2019 | Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Kenya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN |
| 2019 | The Case Against Adnan Syed | "Forbidden Love" | Amy J. Berg | HBO |
| 2019 | Fyre Fraud | Fyre Fraud | Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby | Hulu |
| 2019 | Hostile Planet | "Grasslands" | Bruce Kennedy | Nat Geo |
| 2019 | Our Planet | "Jungles" | Huw Cordey, Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill and David Attenborough | Netflix |
| 2019 | Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men | "Episode 1" | Paul Greenhouse, Sacha Jenkins and Peter J. Scalettar | Showtime |

### 2020s

| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
| 2020 |
| 2020 | Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer | "Closing the Net" | Mark Lewis | Netflix |
| 2020 | Beastie Boys Story | Beastie Boys Story | Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Spike Jonze | Apple TV+ |
| 2020 | The Cave | The Cave | Alisar Hasan and Feras Fayyad | Nat Geo |
| 2020 | Circus of Books | Circus of Books | Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson | Netflix |
| 2020 | McMillion$ | "Episode 1" | James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte | HBO |
| 2021 |
| 2021 | The Social Dilemma | The Social Dilemma | Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe and Jeff Orlowski | Netflix |
| 2021 | All In: The Fight for Democracy | All In: The Fight for Democracy | Jack Youngelson | Prime Video |
| 2021 | Allen v. Farrow | "Episode 3" | Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Mikaela Shwer and Parker Laramie | HBO |
| 2021 | The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart | The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart | Mark Monroe | HBO |
| 2021 | Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre | Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre | Maia Harris and Marco Williams | History |
| 2022 |
| 2022 | Lucy and Desi | Lucy and Desi | Mark Monroe | Prime Video |
| 2022 | The Andy Warhol Diaries | "Shadows: Andy & Jed" | Andrew Rossi | Netflix |
| 2022 | How To with John Wilson | "How To Appreciate Wine" | John Wilson, Michael Koman, Susan Orlean and Conner O'Malley | HBO |
| 2022 | The Problem with Jon Stewart | "The Economy" | Chelsea Devantez, Jon Stewart and Kristen Acimovic | Apple TV+ |
| 2022 | The Tinder Swindler | The Tinder Swindler | Felicity Morris | Netflix |
| 2023 |
| 2023 | The U.S. and the Holocaust | "Episode 2: Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| 2023 | Dear Mama | "Panther Power" | Allen Hughes and Lasse Järvi | FX |
| 2023 | Moonage Daydream | Moonage Daydream | Brett Morgen | HBO |
| 2023 | 100 Foot Wave | "Chapter V: Lost at Sea" | Zach Rothfeld | HBO |
| 2023 | Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me | Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me | Alek Keshishian and Paul Marchand | Apple TV+ |
| 2024 |
| 2024 | Conan O'Brien Must Go | "Ireland" | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien and Mike Sweeney | Max |
| 2024 | How To with John Wilson | "How To Watch the Game" | John Wilson, Michael Koman and Allie Viti | HBO |
| 2024 | Jim Henson Idea Man | Jim Henson Idea Man | Mark Monroe | Disney+ |
| 2024 | The Jinx — Part Two | "Chapter 7: Why Are You Still Here?" | Andrew Jarecki, Sam Neave and Zac Stuart-Pontier | HBO |
| 2024 | The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy | "Scotland: My Mother's Country" | Alan Connor, David Reilly and Christine Rose | Apple TV+ |