39th Primetime Emmy Awards


The 39th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 20, 1987. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox for the first time, as the network premiered a year earlier from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
For the second straight year, The Golden Girls won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series. The winner for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series was L.A. Law, which, for its first season, won four major awards, and led all shows, with 13 major nominations. The winner for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, Promise, set a new record, with five major wins. This record was tied by Temple Grandin in 2010, but still stands for TV movies. The Tracey Ullman Show received three major nominations on the night, making it the first ceremony in which the network Fox received a major nomination. This was the only time that Hill Street Blues wasn't nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, in its seventh and last season; also, no male actors of Hill Street Blues were nominated. Only Betty Thomas for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series was nominated, and did not win, making her the only one in the cast to be nominated in all seasons.
NBC continued its dominance of the field, becoming the first network to gain over eighty major nominations. Its résumé was highlighted by gaining all five nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series. This had been done only once before, and has not been matched in either field since.

Winners and nominees

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Guest performances

Individual performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

ProgramCategoryNetworkNumber of
Nominations
L.A. LawDramaNBC11
The Golden GirlsComedyNBC10
St. ElsewhereDramaNBC10
CheersComedyNBC8
MoonlightingDramaABC7
Cagney & LaceyDramaCBS6
Nutcracker: Money, Madness and MurderMiniseriesNBC6
PromiseSpecialCBS6
Family TiesComedyNBC5
NewhartComedyCBS5
The 41st Annual Tony AwardsVarietyCBS4
Escape from SobiborSpecialCBS4
The Tracey Ullman ShowVarietyFox4
The Two Mrs. GrenvillesMiniseriesNBC4
LBJ: The Early YearsSpecialNBC3
Night CourtComedyNBC3
Pack of LiesSpecialCBS3
Unnatural CausesSpecialNBC3
Anastasia: The Mystery of AnnaMiniseriesNBC2
The Cosby ShowComedyNBC2
The Days and Nights of Molly DoddComedyNBC2
Hill Street BluesDramaNBC2
Late Night with David Letterman Fifth Anniversary SpecialVarietyNBC2
Liberty WeekendVarietyABC2
Murder, She WroteDramaCBS2
Saturday Night LiveVarietyNBC2
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonVarietyNBC2
A Year in the LifeMiniseriesNBC2

Most major awards

ProgramCategoryNetworkNumber of
Awards
PromiseSpecialCBS5
L.A. LawDramaNBC3
The Golden GirlsComedyNBC3
Family TiesComedyNBC2

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