45th Primetime Emmy Awards


The 45th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 19, 1993. The ceremony was broadcast on ABC and was hosted by Angela Lansbury, presenting 27 awards. MTV received its first major nomination at this ceremony.
For its fourth season, Seinfeld won its first, and only, Primetime [Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series]. Cheers was once again nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series. It was nominated for all eleven years that it ran and won four times. This tied the record set by M*A*S*H which also went 11/11, but only won once.
On the drama side, Northern Exposure was the defending champion and was seen heavily as the favourite coming into the ceremony being the most nominated show with nine major nominations—but in a major upset, Picket Fences took home Outstanding Drama Series. Northern Exposure set the dubious record for the largest shutout of all time, as it lost all 11 major nominations; including its Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations, the record increases to 0/16. This record would later be tied by The Larry Sanders Show in 1997, but both of these records were later broken by Mad Men in 2012, and again by The [Handmaid's Tale (TV series)|The Handmaid's Tale] in 2021.
With David Clennon's win for Outstanding Comedy Guest Actor, this was the first time HBO won an Acting Emmy.

Winners and nominees


Programs


  • Picket Fences
  • * Homefront
  • * I'll Fly Away
  • * Law & Order
  • * Northern Exposure
  • Saturday Night Live
  • * Late Night with David Letterman
  • * MTV Unplugged
  • * The [Tonight Show with Jay Leno]
  • Bob Hope: The First 90 Years
  • * The 46th Annual Tony Awards
  • * The 65th Annual Academy Awards
  • * The Search for Signs of [Intelligent Life in the Universe]
  • * Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
  • Barbarians at the Gate
  • Stalin
  • * Citizen Cohn
  • * The Positively [True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom]
  • * Tru
  • Prime Suspect II
  • * Alex Haley's Queen
  • * Family Pictures
  • * The Jacksons: An American Dream
  • * Sinatra

    • Most major nominations

    ProgramCategoryNetworkNo. of
    Nominations
    Northern ExposureDramaCBS9
    SeinfeldComedyNBC8
    Barbarians at the GateMovieHBO6
    The Larry Sanders ShowComedyHBO6
    CheersComedyNBC5
    Citizen CohnMovieHBO5
    I'll Fly AwayDramaNBC5
    The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering MomMovieHBO5
    StalinMovieHBO5
    Law & OrderDramaNBC4
    Picket FencesDramaCBS4
    RoseanneComedyABC4
    The 65th Annual Academy AwardsVarietyABC3
    Dream OnComedyHBO3
    Late Night with David LettermanVarietyNBC3
    Murphy BrownComedyCBS3
    Saturday Night LiveVarietyNBC3
    The 46th Annual Tony AwardsVarietyCBS2
    Alex Haley's QueenMiniseriesCBS2
    Family PicturesMiniseriesABC2
    Home ImprovementComedyABC2
    HomefrontDramaABC2
    Homicide: Life on the StreetDramaNBC2
    Life Goes OnDramaABC2
    Prime Suspect IIMiniseriesPBS2
    Quantum LeapDramaNBC2
    The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the UniverseVarietyShowtime2
    SinatraMiniseriesCBS2
    SistersDramaNBC2
    The Tonight Show with Jay LenoVarietyNBC2
    TruMoviePBS2

    Most major awards

    ProgramsCategoryNetworkNo. of
    Awards
    Picket FencesDramaCBS3
    The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering MomMovieHBO3
    SeinfeldComedyNBC3
    Homicide: Life on the StreetDramaNBC2
    RoseanneComedyABC2
    Saturday Night LiveVarietyNBC2

    ;Notes