21st Primetime Emmy Awards

The 21st Emmy Awards—also known since 1974 as the 21st Primetime Emmy Awards—were handed out on June 8, 1969. The ceremony was co-hosted by Bill Cosby and Merv Griffin.
The top shows of the night were Get Smart, which won Primetime [Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series] for the second consecutive year, and Outstanding Dramatic Series winner NET Playhouse. NET Playhouse, from the PBS predecessor National Educational Television Network, became the first show outside the Big Three television networks to win a top series award.
Due to several categories being combined for the ceremony, no show received more than two major wins. The most drastic rule change was that all shows that had aired more than two seasons were ineligible. The cause of this change was due to the rise in repeat winners in recent years. There was no winner in the category of Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, because the judges felt that none of the nominees were worthy of an award.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.

Withdrawal of award

The category Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role did not receive a winner, as it was ruled by the judges that the person who garnered the most votes Billy Schulman, was unfit to receive the prize as there were concerns that Schulmann, who was neurodivergent, would be incapable of delivering a speech according to producers' standards.
According to George Gent for the New York Times:
Had Schulman been acknowledged as the winner, he would have been the youngest male actor to ever win a Primetime Emmy Award, a record instead currently held by Owen Cooper for ''Adolescence.''

Most major nominations

Network	Number of Nominations
NBC	36
CBS	22
ABC	14

Program	Category	Network	Number of Nominations
Mission: Impossible	Drama	CBS	6
Teacher, Teacher	Special	NBC	6
Julia	Comedy	NBC	4
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In	Variety	-	4
19th Summer Olympics	Sports	ABC	3
Bewitched	Comedy	ABC	3
Get Smart	Comedy	NBC	3
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir	Comedy	NBC	3
Ironside	Drama	NBC	3
Judd, for the Defense	Drama	ABC	3
The Name of the Game	Drama	NBC	3
The People Next Door	Special	CBS	3
The Admirable Crichton	Special	NBC	2
The Bill Cosby Special	Variety	-	2
The Carol Burnett Show	Variety	CBS	2
The Dean Martin Show	Variety	NBC	2
Family Affair	Comedy	CBS	2
Male of the Species	Special	NBC	2
NET Playhouse	Drama	NET	2
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour	Variety	CBS	2

Most major awards

Network	Number of Awards
NBC	11
CBS	5
ABC	4

Program	Category	Network	Number of Awards
19th Summer Olympics	Sports	ABC	2
Get Smart	Comedy	NBC	2
Male of the Species	Special	NBC	2
The People Next Door	Special	CBS	2

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