50th Primetime Emmy Awards

Last updated
50th Primetime Emmy Awards
Date
  • September 13, 1998
    (Ceremony)
  • August 29, 1998
    (Creative Arts Awards)
Location Shrine Auditorium,
Los Angeles, California
Presented by Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Highlights
Most awards
Most nominations
  • ER
  • NYPD Blue (8)
Outstanding Comedy Series Frasier
Outstanding Drama Series The Practice
Outstanding Miniseries From the Earth to the Moon
Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series Late Show with David Letterman
Television/radio coverage
Network NBC
Produced by Don Mischer
←  49th  · Primetime Emmy Awards ·  51st  →

The 50th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC.

Contents

When Frasier was announced as the winner of Outstanding Comedy Series, Emmy history was made. The NBC sitcom became the first show to win one of the two main series prizes five consecutive years. This record has since been passed by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart , whose winning streak was ten years, but for the main two genres, it was not matched until 2014, when the ABC sitcom Modern Family won its fifth consecutive award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Frasier tied for the most major wins overall with three.

The Practice won Outstanding Drama Series. For the second straight year, medical drama ER came into the night as the most nominated program, but once again walked away empty handed, going 0/8 in major categories.

Ally McBeal became the first hour-long series to be nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series since Love, American Style in 1971.

This year saw the Emmys move to a new venue, the Shrine Auditorium, marking the return of the award ceremony to Los Angeles for the first time since the 1976 Emmy Awards, following a 20-year residency at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium outside L.A. in Pasadena.

As of the 2023 Emmy Awards ceremony, this is the last year where all the nominees for Outstanding Drama Series were from the broadcast networks.

Winners and nominees

[1]

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Directing

Writing

  • The Larry Sanders Show (HBO): "Flip" – Peter Tolan and Garry Shandling
    • Ally McBeal (Fox): "Theme of Life" – David E. Kelley
    • Ellen (ABC): "Emma" – Lawrence Broch
    • Frasier (NBC): "The Ski Lodge" – Joe Keenan
    • The Larry Sanders Show (HBO): "Putting the 'Gay' Back in Litigation" – Richard Day, Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck
  • NYPD Blue (ABC): "Lost Israel", Part 2 – Story by : David Milch and Bill Clark
    Teleplay by : David Milch and Nicholas Wootton
    • Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC): "The Subway" – James Yoshimura
    • NYPD Blue (ABC): "Lost Israel", Part 1 – Story by : Ted Mann , Bill Clark and Meredith Stiehm
      Teleplay by : David Milch and Ted Mann
    • The Practice (ABC): "Betrayal" – David E. Kelley
    • The X-Files (Fox): "The Post-Modern Prometheus" – Chris Carter

Most major nominations

Networks with multiple major nominations [note 1]
NetworkNo. of
Nominations
NBC49
HBO29
ABC25
CBS19
Fox13
Programs with multiple major nominations
ProgramCategoryNetworkNo. of
Nominations
ERDramaNBC8
NYPD BlueABC
The Larry Sanders ShowComedyHBO7
MerlinMiniseriesNBC6
12 Angry MenMovieShowtime5
Ally McBealComedyFox
FrasierNBC
George WallaceMiniseriesTNT
The X-FilesDramaFox
3rd Rock from the SunComedyNBC4
Don King: Only in AmericaMovieHBO
The 70th Annual Academy AwardsVarietyABC3
Chicago HopeDramaCBS
From the Earth to the MoonMiniseriesHBO
Garth: Live from Central ParkVariety
GiaMovie
Late Show with David LettermanVarietyCBS
Moby DickMiniseriesUSA
More Tales of the CityShowtime
The PracticeDramaABC
SeinfeldComedyNBC
Tracey Takes On...VarietyHBO
CinderellaABC2
Dennis Miller LiveHBO
Dharma & GregComedyABC
Ellen
Homicide: Life on the StreetDramaNBC
Law & Order
Mad About YouComedy
The Tonight Show with Jay LenoVariety
Touched by an AngelDramaCBS
What the Deaf Man HeardMovie

Most major awards

Networks with multiple major awards [note 1]
NetworkNo. of
Awards
ABC8
HBO6
NBC
CBS4
TNT3
Programs with multiple major awards
ProgramCategoryNetworkNo. of
Awards
FrasierComedyNBC3
George WallaceMiniseriesTNT
NYPD BlueDramaABC
The 70th Annual Academy AwardsVariety2
Don King: Only in AmericaMovieHBO
The Larry Sanders ShowComedy
The PracticeDramaABC
Notes
  1. 1 2 "Major" constitutes the categories listed above: Program, Acting, Directing, and Writing. Does not include the technical categories.

In Memoriam

Patrick Stewart presented a clip tribute to the TV actors who had died: Red Skelton, Shari Lewis, Lloyd Bridges, Roy Rogers, singer John Denver, Robert Young, dancer Jerome Robbins, sports narrator Harry Caray, Frank Sinatra, singer Buffalo Bob, E. G. Marshall, J. T. Walsh, Sonny Bono, Phil Hartman, and Chris Farley. As an interesting note, Gary Sinise won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his portrayal of George Wallace on the day that the latter died.

References

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