46th Primetime Emmy Awards

The 46th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 11, 1994. The ceremony was hosted by Patricia Richardson and Ellen DeGeneres. It was broadcast on ABC and presented 27 awards. Comedy Central received its first major nomination at this ceremony.
For its first season, the Cheers spin-off Frasier won Primetime [Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series] and four total major awards. For the second straight year Picket Fences won Outstanding Drama Series, it too won four major awards, but the more impressive drama series was newcomer NYPD Blue, which took home three major awards.
NYPD Blue came into the ceremony with 17 major nominations. This broke Hill Street Blues record for most nominations by a drama or comedy series of 16 set in 1982, and put it in second place all time behind Roots which gained 21 major nominations in 1977. NYPD Blue set another milestone when it received every nomination for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series, this marked only the ninth time that a show had received every nomination in a category. This feat has not been accomplished since.
The television film And [the Band Played On (film)|And the Band Played On] also made Emmy history. It set a new record when it received nine major nominations, the most ever for a television movie. The record was maintained for twenty years, until The Normal Heart received nine major nominations in 2014. Both films won the top prize, but each lost all six of their acting nominations, directing, and writing to other projects.

Winners and nominees

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Individual performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

Program	Category	Network	No. of Nominations
NYPD Blue	Drama	ABC	17
And the Band Played On	Movie	HBO	9
Seinfeld	Comedy	NBC	8
Frasier	Comedy	NBC	6
Picket Fences	Drama	CBS	6
Mad About You	Comedy	NBC	5
Breathing Lessons	Movie	CBS	4
The Larry Sanders Show	Comedy	HBO	4
Roseanne	Comedy	ABC	4
Saturday Night Live	Variety	NBC	4
To Dance with the White Dog	Movie	CBS	4
Tracey Ullman Takes on New York	Variety	HBO	4
The 66th Annual Academy Awards	Variety	ABC	3
David's Mother	Movie	CBS	3
Gypsy	Movie	CBS	3
The John Larroquette Show	Comedy	NBC	3
Late Show with David Letterman	Variety	CBS	3
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All	Miniseries	CBS	3
Prime Suspect III	Miniseries	PBS	3
The 47th Annual Tony Awards	Variety	CBS	2
Coach	Comedy	ABC	2
Dennis Miller Live	Variety	HBO	2
Home Improvement	Comedy	ABC	2
Law & Order	Drama	NBC	2
Murphy Brown	Comedy	CBS	2
Northern Exposure	Drama	CBS	2
Sisters	Drama	NBC	2
Tales of the City	Miniseries	PBS	2
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno	Variety	NBC	2
World War II: When Lions Roared	Miniseries	NBC	2

Most major awards

Program	Category	Network	No. of Awards
Frasier	Comedy	NBC	4
David's Mother	Movie	CBS	3
NYPD Blue	Drama	ABC	3
Picket Fences	Drama	CBS	3

;Notes