42nd Primetime Emmy Awards

The 42nd Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 16, 1990. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California. Two networks, The Family Channel and The Disney Channel, received their first major nominations.

42nd Primetime Emmy Awards
Date
  • September 16, 1990
    (Ceremony)
  • September 15, 1990
    (Creative Arts Awards)
LocationPasadena Civic Auditorium, Pasadena, California
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted byCandice Bergen
Jay Leno
Jane Pauley
Highlights
Most awardsL.A. Law (3)
Most nominationsL.A. Law (11)
Outstanding Comedy SeriesMurphy Brown
Outstanding Drama SeriesL.A. Law
Outstanding MiniseriesDrug Wars: The Camarena Story
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy SeriesIn Living Color
Television/radio coverage
NetworkFox

For its second season, Murphy Brown won Outstanding Comedy Series and one other major award. Defending champion Cheers received the most major nominations for a comedy series with 9 and Newhart finished its series run with 21 major nominations, but not a single win. On the drama side, L.A. Law won Outstanding Drama Series for the third time in four years and also won three major awards, receiving the most major nominations for a drama series with 11. This became the first year that every cast member of The Golden Girls wasn't nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

This ceremony was remembered for the circumstance that three major categories resulted in ties, the most ever for one ceremony.

A clip of The Simpsons presenting the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series can be seen on the DVD boxset of the second season as a special feature.

Winners and nominees

[1]

Programs

Programs
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
  • Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration (ABC)
  • Caroline? (CBS)
  • The Incident (CBS)
    • The Final Days (ABC)
    • A Killing in a Small Town (CBS)
    • Murder in Mississippi (NBC)

Lead performances

Acting

Supporting performances

  • Alex Rocco as Al Floss in The Famous Teddy Z (CBS) (Episodes: "Pilot" + "Teddy Sells His House" + "Agent of the Year")
    • Kelsey Grammer as Dr. Frasier Crane in Cheers (NBC) (Episodes: "The Stork Brings a Crane" + "Severe Crane Damage" + "The Ghost and Mrs. Lebec")
    • Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd in Cheers (NBC) (Episodes: "Woody or Won't He" + "50–50 Carla" + "Loverboyd")
    • Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial in Murphy Brown (CBS) (Episodes: "Anchors Away" + "Roasted" + "On the Road Again")
    • Jerry Van Dyke as Luther Van Dam in Coach (ABC) (Episodes: "If a Coach Falls in the Woods" + "Coaches Conference" + "Homewreckers")
  • Bebe Neuwirth as Lilith Crane in Cheers (NBC) (Episodes: "The Stork Brings a Crane" + "Severe Crane Damage" + "The Ghost and Mrs. Lebec")
    • Julia Duffy as Stephanie Vanderkellen in Newhart (CBS) (Episodes: "Cupcake in a Cage" + "Lights, Camera, Contractions!" + "Seein' Double")
    • Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood in Murphy Brown (CBS) (Episodes: "And the Whiner Is..." + "Bad Girls" + "Going to the Chapel")
    • Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo in The Golden Girls (NBC) (Episodes: "Sick and Tired" + "Not Another Monday" + "Clinton Avenue Memoirs")
    • Rhea Perlman as Carla Tortelli in Cheers (NBC) (Episodes: "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" + "50–50 Carla" + "The Ghost and Mrs. Lebec")
  • Marg Helgenberger as KC Kolowski in China Beach (ABC) (Episodes: "The Unquiet Earth" + "Skin Deep" + "Nightfall")
    • Sherilyn Fenn as Audrey Horne in Twin Peaks (ABC) (Episodes: "Pilot" + "Episode 2" + "Episode 6")
    • Melanie Mayron as Melissa Steadman in Thirtysomething (ABC) (Episodes: "Mr. Right" + "Strangers" + "Good Sex, Bad Sex, What Sex, No Sex")
    • Diana Muldaur as Rosalind Shays in L.A. Law (NBC) (Episodes: "The Pay's Lousy, But the Tips Are Great" + "Whatever Happened to Hannah?" + "Watts a Matter?")
    • Susan Ruttan as Roxanne Melman in L.A. Law (NBC) (Episodes: "The Good Human Bar" + "Bang... Zoom... Zap" + "Forgive Me Father, For I Have Sued")

Individual performances

Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program

Directing

Directing
  • The Wonder Years (ABC): "Good-bye" — Michael Dinner
    • Cheers (NBC): "The Improbable Dream, Part I" — James Burrows
    • Designing Women (CBS): "They Shoot Fat Women, Don't They?" — Harry Thomason
    • The Famous Teddy Z (CBS): "Pilot" — Hugh Wilson
    • The Golden Girls (NBC): "Triple Play" — Terry Hughes
    • Murphy Brown (CBS): "Brown Like Me" — Barnet Kellman
Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series
  • Equal Justice (ABC): "Promises to Keep" — Thomas Carter
  • Thirtysomething (ABC): "The Go-Between" — Scott Winant
    • L.A. Law (NBC): "The Last Gasp" — Rick Wallace
    • L.A. Law (NBC): "Noah's Bark" — Win Phelps
    • Twin Peaks (ABC): "Pilot" — David Lynch
Outstanding Directing in a Variety or Music Program
Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or a Special
  • Caroline? (CBS) — Joseph Sargent
    • Do You Know the Muffin Man? (CBS) — Gilbert Cates
    • The Final Days (ABC) — Richard Pearce
    • The Kennedys of Massachusetts (ABC) — Lamont Johnson
    • A Killing in a Small Town (CBS) — Stephen Gyllenhaal

Writing

Writing
  • The Wonder Years (ABC): "Good-bye" — Bob Brush
    • Cheers (NBC): "Death Takes a Holiday on Ice" — Ken Levine and David Isaacs
    • The Famous Teddy Z (CBS): "Pilot" — Hugh Wilson
    • Murphy Brown (CBS): "Brown Like Me" — Diane English
    • Newhart (CBS): "The Last Newhart" — Mark Egan, Mark Solomon and Bob Bendetson
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series
  • L.A. Law (NBC): "Blood, Sweat and Fears" — David E. Kelley
    • L.A. Law (NBC): "Bang... Zoom... Zap" — David E. Kelley and William M. Finkelstein
    • Thirtysomething (ABC): "The Go-Between" — Joseph Dougherty
    • Twin Peaks (ABC): "Pilot" — Mark Frost and David Lynch
    • Twin Peaks (ABC): "Episode 3" — Harley Peyton
Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program
  • Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow (HBO)
  • The Tracey Ullman Show (Fox): "I Hate Paris"
    • In Living Color (Fox): "Pilot"
    • Late Night with David Letterman: "8th Anniversary Special" (NBC)
    • Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding Writing in a Miniseries or a Special

Most major nominations

Networks with multiple major nominations[note 1]
NetworkNumber of
Nominations
NBC47
ABC
CBS 35
HBO 11
Programs with multiple major nominations
ProgramCategoryNetworkNumber of
Nominations
L.A. LawDramaNBC11
CheersComedy9
Twin PeaksDramaABC7
Murphy BrownComedyCBS6
ThirtysomethingDramaABC
Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to MoscowVarietyHBO4
The Golden GirlsComedyNBC
The Kennedys of MassachusettsMiniseriesABC
A Killing in a Small TownSpecialCBS
The Wonder YearsComedyABC
Caroline?SpecialCBS3
China BeachDramaABC
Designing WomenComedyCBS
The Famous Teddy Z
The Final DaysSpecialABC
Quantum LeapDramaNBC
Saturday Night LiveVariety
The Tracey Ullman ShowFox
The 43rd Annual Tony AwardsCBS2
The 62nd Academy AwardsABC
Age-Old FriendsSpecialHBO
The Best of 'The Tracey Ullman Show'VarietyFox
CoachComedyABC
Family of SpiesMiniseriesCBS
The ImageSpecialHBO
In Living ColorVarietyFox
The IncidentSpecialCBS
Murder in MississippiNBC
NewhartComedyCBS
Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary CelebrationVarietyABC
Small SacrificesMiniseries

Most major awards

Networks with multiple major awards[note 1]
NetworkNumber of
Awards
ABC10
CBS9
NBC8
HBO3
Fox2
Programs with multiple major awards
ProgramCategoryNetworkNumber of
Awards
L.A. LawDramaNBC3
Age-Old FriendsSpecialHBO2
Caroline?CBS
CheersComedyNBC
Murphy BrownCBS
ThirtysomethingDramaABC
The Wonder YearsComedy
Notes
  1. "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

References

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