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.
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
Programs
Murphy Brown
| L.A. Law |
| In Living Color | Sammy Davis Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration |
| Caroline? The Incident | Drug Wars: The Camarena Story ' |
Most major nominations
| Program | Category | Network | Number of Nominations |
| L.A. Law | Drama | NBC | 11 |
| Cheers | Comedy | NBC | 9 |
| Twin Peaks | Drama | ABC | 7 |
| Murphy Brown | Comedy | CBS | 6 |
| Thirtysomething | Drama | ABC | 6 |
| Billy Crystal: Midnight Train to Moscow | Variety | HBO | 4 |
| The Golden Girls | Comedy | NBC | 4 |
| The Kennedys of Massachusetts | Miniseries | ABC | 4 |
| A Killing in a Small Town | Special | CBS | 4 |
| The Wonder Years | Comedy | ABC | 4 |
| Caroline? | Special | CBS | 3 |
| China Beach | Drama | ABC | 3 |
| Designing Women | Comedy | CBS | 3 |
| The Famous Teddy Z | Comedy | CBS | 3 |
| The Final Days | Special | ABC | 3 |
| Quantum Leap | Drama | NBC | 3 |
| Saturday Night Live | Variety | NBC | 3 |
| The Tracey Ullman Show | Variety | Fox | 3 |
| The 43rd Annual Tony Awards | Variety | CBS | 2 |
| The 62nd Academy Awards | Variety | ABC | 2 |
| Age-Old Friends | Special | HBO | 2 |
| The Best of 'The Tracey Ullman Show' | Variety | Fox | 2 |
| Coach | Comedy | ABC | 2 |
| Family of Spies | Miniseries | CBS | 2 |
| The Image | Special | HBO | 2 |
| In Living Color | Variety | Fox | 2 |
| The Incident | Special | CBS | 2 |
| Murder in Mississippi | Special | NBC | 2 |
| Newhart | Comedy | CBS | 2 |
| Sammy Davis Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration | Variety | ABC | 2 |
| Small Sacrifices | Miniseries | ABC | 2 |
Most major awards
| Program | Category | Network | Number of Awards |
| L.A. Law | Drama | NBC | 3 |
| Age-Old Friends | Special | HBO | 2 |
| Caroline? | Special | CBS | 2 |
| Cheers | Comedy | NBC | 2 |
| Murphy Brown | Comedy | CBS | 2 |
| Thirtysomething | Drama | ABC | 2 |
| The Wonder Years | Comedy | ABC | 2 |
;Notes