49th Primetime Emmy Awards
The 49th Primetime Emmy Awards were held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, in 1997. They were presented in two ceremonies hosted by Bryant Gumbel, one on Saturday, September 13 and another on Sunday, September 14. The September 14th ceremony was televised on CBS and presented 27 awards.
Frasier became the first series to win Primetime [Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series|Outstanding Comedy Series] four consecutive years, it joined Hill Street Blues which won Outstanding Drama Series four straight years a decade earlier. For the first time since 31st [Primetime Emmy Awards|1979], James Burrows did not receive a Directing nomination, ending his run at 17 consecutive years. Beginning the following year, Burrows would begin a new streak that lasted another six years. In the drama field perennial nominee Law & Order won for its seventh season, the first time a show had won for this specific season. In winning Law & Order became the first drama series that did not have serialized story arcs since Hill Street Blues perfected the formula. Law & Order remains the only non-serialized winner since 1981.
For the first time, not only did [Fox Broadcasting Company|the Fox Network] win the Lead Actress, Drama award, with Gillian Anderson, for The X-Files, but hers was also the network's first win in any of the Major Acting categories.
This ceremony marked the end of a 20-year residency for the Primetime Emmy Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium dating back to the 29th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1977 ceremony.
This is the most recent year in which the Big Four Networks took home the top 14 Emmys.
The Larry Sanders Show had 16 nominations and zero wins, tying the record with Northern Exposure in 1993 and becoming the first comedy series to set the record. These records would later be broken by Mad Men in 2012 with 17 nominations and without a single win and The [Handmaid's Tale (TV series)|The Handmaid's Tale] in 2021 with 21 nominations and without a single win.
Winners and nominees
Programs
Most major nominations
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Nominations |
| ER | Drama | NBC | 14 |
| The Larry Sanders Show | Comedy | HBO | 10 |
| NYPD Blue | Drama | ABC | 8 |
| Miss Evers' Boys | Movie | HBO | 6 |
| Seinfeld | Comedy | NBC | 6 |
| The X-Files | Drama | Fox | 5 |
| Chicago Hope | Drama | CBS | 4 |
| Frasier | Comedy | NBC | 4 |
| Gotti | Movie | HBO | 4 |
| In the Gloaming | Movie | HBO | 4 |
| Tracey Takes On... | Variety | HBO | 4 |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Comedy | NBC | 3 |
| The 69th Annual Academy Awards | Variety | ABC | 3 |
| Bastard Out of Carolina | Movie | Showtime | 3 |
| Bette Midler: Diva Las Vegas | Variety | HBO | 3 |
| Ellen | Comedy | ABC | 3 |
| The Last Don | Miniseries | CBS | 3 |
| Mad About You | Comedy | NBC | 3 |
| Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher | Variety | ABC | 3 |
| Chris Rock: Bring the Pain | Variety | HBO | 2 |
| Cybill | Comedy | CBS | 2 |
| Dennis Miller Live | Variety | HBO | 2 |
| George Carlin: 40 Years of Comedy | Variety | HBO | 2 |
| Hidden in America | Movie | Showtime | 2 |
| Late Show with David Letterman | Variety | CBS | 2 |
| Law & Order | Drama | NBC | 2 |
| Mandela and de Klerk | Movie | Showtime | 2 |
| The Odyssey | Miniseries | NBC | 2 |
| Prime Suspect V: Errors of Judgement | Miniseries | PBS | 2 |
| The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Variety | NBC | 2 |
| Touched by an Angel | Drama | CBS | 2 |
Most major awards
| Program | Category | Network | No. of Awards |
| NYPD Blue | Drama | ABC | 4 |
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | Comedy | NBC | 2 |
| Chris Rock: Bring the Pain | Variety | HBO | 2 |
| Frasier | Comedy | NBC | 2 |
| Miss Evers' Boys | Movie | HBO | 2 |
;Notes