Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Programming
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program | |
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Awarded for | Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program |
Country | United States |
Presented by | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
Currently held by | The U.S. and the Holocaust (2023) |
Website | emmys |
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[1][note 1] | |||
Scared Straight! | Arnold Shapiro | Syndicated |
1980s
Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1980 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[2][note 2] | |||
The Body Human: The Body Beautiful | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS | ||
1983 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[3][note 3] | |||
The Body Human: The Living Code | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS | ||
I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind | Chandler Cowles | CBS | ||
1984 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[4][note 4] | |||
A Walk Through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers | "Marshall, Texas" | Bill Moyers | PBS | |
1985 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing[5][note 5] | |||
Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "The Crucible of Europe" | Howard Enders, John G. Fox, Michael Joseloff and Marc Siegel | PBS | |
"Out of the Ashes" | Brian Winston | |||
Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "Roads from the Ghetto" | John G. Fox and Eugene Marner | PBS | |
The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth | David Attenborough | |||
1987 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing[6][note 6] | |||
The Story of English | "A Muse of Fire" | Robert MacNeil and Robert McCrum | PBS | |
American Masters | "Billie Holiday: The Long Night of Lady Day" | John Jeremy | PBS | |
1988 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[7][note 7] | |||
American Masters | "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" | Kevin Brownlow and David Gill | PBS | |
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam | Bill Couturié and Richard Dewhurst | HBO | ||
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[8][note 8] | |||
The Mind | "Search for the Mind" | John Heminway | PBS |
1990s
Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming[9][note 9] | |||
American Masters | "Broadway Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater" | Steve Lawson | PBS | |
1991 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[10][note 10] | |||
American Masters | "Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer" | Todd McCarthy | PBS | |
The Civil War | "The Better Angels of Our Nature" | Ric Burns, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward | ||
1992 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[11][note 11] | |||
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse | Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper | Showtime | ||
Losing It All: The Reality of Alzheimer's Disease | Michael Mierendorf | HBO | ||
1993 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[12][note 12] | |||
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory | "America's Folk Religion" | Randall Balmer | PBS | |
1994 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[note 13][note 14][13][14] | |||
The Legend of Billy the Kid | Todd Robinson | Disney | ||
Reflections on Elephants | Dereck Joubert | PBS | ||
The Untold West | "The Black West" | Dennis Watlington | TBS |
2000s
Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
---|---|---|---|---|
2003 [15] | American Experience | "Seabiscuit" | Michelle Ferrari | PBS |
American Experience | "The Murder of Emmett Till" | Marcia A. Smith | PBS | |
Da Ali G Show | Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Anthony Hines, Jamie Glassman and James Bobin | HBO | ||
Journeys with George | Alexandra Pelosi | |||
Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Mark Jonathan Harris | |||
2004 [16] | American Masters | "Judy Garland: By Myself" | Susan Lacy and Stephen Stept | PBS |
Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor | Rick Sebak | PBS | ||
JFK: A Presidency Revealed | David C. Taylor | History | ||
Pandemic: Facing AIDS | "Uganda/Thailand" | Mark Bailey | HBO | |
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "War on Drugs" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Emma Webster, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime | |
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives | "The Peasant" | Terry Jones | History | |
2005 [17] | Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | |
Beyond the Da Vinci Code | Thomas Quinn and Rob Blumenstein | History | ||
Broadway: The American Musical | "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" | JoAnn Young | PBS | |
Death in Gaza | Saira Shah | HBO | ||
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Profanity" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Jon Hotchkiss, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime | |
2006 [18] | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Peter Jones | TCM | |
American Masters | "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend" | Kenneth Bowser | PBS | |
"Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea" | DeWitt Sage | |||
How William Shatner Changed the World | Alan Handel and Julian Jones | History | ||
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Prostitution" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Cliff Schoenberg, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau and Star Price | Showtime | |
2007 [19] | American Masters | "Andy Warhol: A Documentary Film" | James Sanders and Ric Burns | PBS |
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! | "Wal-Mart" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Sheryl Zohn, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau, Star Price, Cliff Schoenberg and David Weiss | Showtime | |
Planet Earth | "Mountains" | Vanessa Berlowitz and Gary Parker | Discovery | |
Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed | Steven Smith, David Comtois and Kevin Burns | History | ||
This American Life | "God's Close-Up" | Nancy Updike | Showtime | |
2008 [20] | The War | "Pride of Our Nation (June–August 1944)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
American Experience | "Walt Whitman" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS | |
Intervention | "Caylee" | Jeff Grogan | A&E | |
Life After People | David de Vries | History | ||
This American Life | "Escape" | Ira Glass | Showtime | |
2009 [21] | Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired | Joe Bini, P. G. Morgan and Marina Zenovich | HBO | |
American Experience | "The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer" | David Grubin | PBS | |
American Masters | "Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About" | Amanda Vaill | ||
Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America | "When I'm Bad, I'm Better — The Groundbreakers" | Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon | ||
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 [22] | The National Parks: America's Best Idea | "The Last Refuge (1890–1915)" | Dayton Duncan | PBS |
America: The Story of Us | "Division" | Jenny Ash and Ed Fields | History | |
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Prague" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | |
The Buddha | David Grubin | PBS | ||
Life | "Challenges of Life" | Paul Spillenger | Discovery | |
2011 [23] | American Experience | "Freedom Riders" | Stanley Nelson Jr. | PBS |
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Haiti" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | |
Gasland | Josh Fox | HBO | ||
Gettysburg | Richard Bedser and Ed Fields | History | ||
Moguls & Movie Stars | "The Birth of Hollywood" | Jon Wilkman | TCM | |
2012 [24] | Prohibition | "A Nation of Hypocrites" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
American Experience | "Clinton" | Barak Goodman | PBS | |
American Masters | "Johnny Carson: King of Late Night" | Peter Jones | ||
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations | "Cuba" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | |
Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger | Christine Ferraro | PBS | ||
2013 [25] | Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God | Alex Gibney | HBO | |
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Libya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
The Dust Bowl | "The Great Plow-Up" | Dayton Duncan | PBS | |
Ethel | Mark Bailey | HBO | ||
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 [26] | Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Ann Druyan and Steven Soter | Fox |
American Experience | "JFK" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS | |
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Congo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
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 | |
Years of Living Dangerously | "The Surge" | Adam Bolt | Showtime | |
2015 [27] | Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Alex Gibney | HBO | |
American Experience | "Last Days in Vietnam" | Keven McAlester and Mark Bailey | PBS | |
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Iran" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck | Brett Morgen | HBO | ||
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | "The Rising Road (1933–1939)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | |
2016 [28] | Making a Murderer | "Eighteen Years Lost" | Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos | Netflix |
American Experience | "Walt Disney" | Mark Zwonitzer, Sarah Colt and Tom Jennings | PBS | |
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Borneo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
Everything Is Copy — Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted | Jacob Bernstein | HBO | ||
Jackie Robinson | David McMahon and Sarah Burns | PBS | ||
2017 [29] | ||||
13th | Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick | Netflix | ||
Amanda Knox | Matthew Hamachek and Brian McGinn | Netflix | ||
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Houston" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years | Mark Monroe | Hulu | ||
Bill Nye Saves the World | "The Sexual Spectrum" | Prashanth Venkataramanujam, CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker and Flora Lichtman | Netflix | |
2018 [30] | ||||
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Southern Italy" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
The Defiant Ones | "Episode 1" | Allen Hughes, Lasse Järvi and Doug Pray | HBO | |
Icarus | Bryan Fogel, Mark Monroe and Jon Bertain | Netflix | ||
Jane | Brett Morgen | Nat Geo | ||
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | JoAnn Young | PBS | ||
The Vietnam War | "Episode 8: The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | ||
2019 [31] | ||||
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown | "Kenya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | |
The Case Against Adnan Syed | "Forbidden Love" | Amy J. Berg | HBO | |
Fyre Fraud | Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby | Hulu | ||
Hostile Planet | "Grasslands" | Bruce Kennedy | Nat Geo | |
Our Planet | "Jungles" | Huw Cordey, Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill and David Attenborough | Netflix | |
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 [32] | ||||
Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer | "Closing the Net" | Mark Lewis | Netflix | |
Beastie Boys Story | Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Spike Jonze | Apple TV+ | ||
The Cave | Alisar Hasan and Feras Fayyad | Nat Geo | ||
Circus of Books | Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson | Netflix | ||
McMillion$ | "Episode 1" | James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte | HBO | |
2021 [33] | ||||
The Social Dilemma | Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe and Jeff Orlowski | Netflix | ||
All In: The Fight for Democracy | Jack Youngelson | Prime Video | ||
Allen v. Farrow | "Episode 3" | Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Mikaela Shwer and Parker Laramie | HBO | |
The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart | Mark Monroe | |||
Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre | Maia Harris and Marco Williams | History | ||
2022 [34] | ||||
Lucy and Desi | Mark Monroe | Prime Video | ||
The Andy Warhol Diaries | "Shadows: Andy & Jed" | Andrew Rossi | Netflix | |
How To with John Wilson | "How To Appreciate Wine" | John Wilson, Michael Koman, Susan Orlean and Conner O'Malley | HBO | |
The Problem with Jon Stewart | "The Economy" | Chelsea Devantez, Jon Stewart and Kristen Acimovic | Apple TV+ | |
The Tinder Swindler | Felicity Morris | Netflix | ||
2023 [35] | ||||
The U.S. and the Holocaust | "Episode 2: Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | |
Dear Mama | "Panther Power" | Allen Hughes and Lasse Järvi | FX | |
Moonage Daydream | Brett Morgen | HBO | ||
100 Foot Wave | "Chapter V: Lost at Sea" | Zach Rothfeld | ||
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me | Alek Keshishian and Paul Marchand | Apple TV+ | ||
2024 [36] | ||||
Conan O'Brien Must Go | "Ireland" | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien and Mike Sweeney | Max | |
How To with John Wilson | "How To Watch the Game" | John Wilson, Michael Koman and Allie Viti | HBO | |
Jim Henson Idea Man | Mark Monroe | Disney+ | ||
The Jinx — Part Two | "Chapter 7: Why Are You Still Here?" | Andrew Jarecki, Sam Neave and Zac Stuart-Pontier | HBO | |
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy | "Scotland: My Mother's Country" | Alan Connor, David Reilly and Christine Rose | Apple TV+ |
Programs with multiple awards
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Individuals with multiple awards
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Programs with multiple nominations
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Notes
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. No nominee met the benchmark and no award was given.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
- ^ As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
- ^ In 2020, the TV Academy rescinded a win in this category for the Disney Channel special George Stevens: D-Day to Berlin, written by George Stevens Jr. The program was a re-edit of the 1985 BBC documentary D-Day to Berlin, in violation of a rule that "a program that is a foreign acquisition without benefit of a domestic co-production cannot be re-introduced into eligibility in a current awards year, even though it may have been modified with new footage, sound track, musical score, etc."
References
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Television Academy. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
- ^ Feinberg, Scott (March 12, 2020). "TV Academy Rescinds Several of George Stevens Jr.'s Emmy Noms, Awards (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "Nominees/Winners | Television Academy". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- v
- t
- e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming
- Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain (1983)
- Bill Moyers (1984)
- Howard Enders, John G. Fox, Michael Joseloff, and Marc Siegel / Brian Winston (1985)
- Robert MacNeil and Robert McCrum (1987)
- Kevin Brownlow and David Gill / Bill Couturié and Richard Dewhurst (1988)
- John Heminway (1989)
- Todd McCarthy / Ric Burns, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward (1991)
- Todd Robinson / Dereck Joubert / Dennis Watlington (1994)
- Michelle Ferrari (2003)
- Susan Lacy and Stephen Stept (2004)
- Geoffrey C. Ward (2005)
- Peter Jones (2006)
- James Sanders and Ric Burns (2007)
- Geoffrey C. Ward (2008)
- Joe Bini, P. G. Morgan, and Marina Zenovich (2009)
- Dayton Duncan (2010)
- Stanley Nelson Jr. (2011)
- Geoffrey C. Ward (2012)
- Alex Gibney (2013)
- Ann Druyan and Steven Soter (2014)
- Alex Gibney (2015)
- Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos (2016)
- Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick (2017)
- Anthony Bourdain (2018)
- Anthony Bourdain (2019)
- Mark Lewis (2020)
- Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe, and Jeff Orlowski (2021)
- Mark Monroe (2022)
- Geoffrey C. Ward (2023)
Between 1979–1994, the category was a juried award.