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:

 Outstanding Comedy Series
 Outstanding Drama Series
 Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
 Outstanding Made For Television Movie
 Outstanding Miniseries
 Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking
 Directing
 Directing for a Comedy Series
 Directing for a Drama Series
 Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program
 Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special
 Writing
 Writing in a Comedy Series
 Writing in a Drama Series
 Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program
 Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special

 Outstanding Reality Program
 Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
 Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program
 Outstanding Informational Series
 Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special Lead role
 Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
 Lead Actor in a Drama Series
 Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
 Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
 Lead Actress in a Drama Series
 Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
 Supporting role
 Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
 Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
 Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie
 Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
 Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
 Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
 Guest role
 Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
 Guest Actor in a Drama Series
 Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
 Guest Actress in a Drama Series
 Outstanding Special Class Program

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):
 Animation
 Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour)
 Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More)
 Voice-Over Performance 
 Individual Achievement in Animation 
 Art Direction
 Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series
 Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series
 Art Direction for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program
 Casting
 Casting for a Comedy Series
 Casting for a Drama Series
 Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Children's Program
 Choreography
 Choreography
 Cinematography
 Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series
 Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series
 Cinematography for a One Hour Series
 Cinematography for a Half-Hour Series
 Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie
 Cinematography For Nonfiction Programming
 Commercial
 Costumes
 Costumes for a Series
 Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Directing for Nonfiction Programming
 Hairstyling
 Hairstyling for a Series
 Hairstyling for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Interactive Television
 Interactive Television, Program-Specific
 Interactive Television, Non-Program-Specific
 Lighting Direction
 Main Title Design
 Makeup
 Makeup for a Series, Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Prosthetic)
 Makeup for a Series (Non-Prosthetic)
 Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic) Music
 Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming
 Music Composition for a Series
 Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Music Direction
 Music And Lyrics
 Main Title Theme Music
 Nonfiction
 Nonfiction Series
 Nonfiction Special
 Picture Editing
 Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
 Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series
 Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Series
 Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 Picture Editing For Nonfiction Programming
 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
 Special Visual Effects for a Series
 Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special
 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
Jac Venza: 57 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a television program
Saturday Night Live: 126 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): 26 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 television movie
Eleanor and Franklin (1976);  Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977);  and Grey Gardens (2009): 17 nominations

Most Emmy nominations for a variety series in a single year
Saturday Night Live (2009 and 2010): 13 nominations
 
Most Emmy nominations for an individual without a win
Angela Lansbury (1983-2005): 18 nominations

Leading winners

Most Emmy wins by a individual 
Sheila Nevins: 21

Most Emmy wins for a television program
Frasier: 37

Most Emmy wins in the comedy series category
Frasier: 5

Most Emmy wins in the drama series category
Hill Street Blues: 4
L.A. Law: 4
The West Wing: 4

Most Emmy wins for an animated series
The Simpsons: 25

Most Emmy wins for a miniseries
John Adams (2008): 13

Most Emmy wins for a 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

Most Emmy wins for the same character in the same series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Veep: 5
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

Related pages
Emmy Award

Other websites
 Primetime Emmy Awards
 Emmy Gift Bags 
 emmys.org - Advanced Primetime Awards Search
 Emmy Awards coverage on DigitalHit.com
 Emmy Awards Online  with Emmy news, nominees and winners.

Primetime Emmy Awards