51st Primetime Emmy Awards


The 51st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 12, 1999. The ceremony show was hosted by Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce. It was broadcast on Fox. 27 awards were presented.
The comedy-drama Ally McBeal won Outstanding Comedy Series, which not only dethroned five-time defending champion Frasier but also became the first time Fox won that award. In the drama field The Practice won Outstanding Drama Series for the second straight year, and led all shows with three major wins on the night.
Freshman series The Sopranos led all shows with 10 major nominations. From that show, Edie Falco not only became the first actress from a Cable network to win Lead Actress, Drama series, she became the first person from any Cable TV show series to win a Major Acting award..
The real winner of the night was television writer David E. Kelley. Kelley was the creator and head writer for both series champions, Ally McBeal and The Practice. This accomplishment has not been matched since.

Most major nominations

ProgramCategoryNetworkNo. of
Nominations
The SopranosDramaHBO10
The PracticeDramaABC7
Ally McBealComedyFox6
Dash and LillyMovieA&E6
Everybody Loves RaymondComedyCBS6
Joan of ArcMiniseriesCBS6
Law & OrderDramaNBC6
NYPD BlueDramaABC6
FrasierComedyNBC5
A Lesson Before DyingMovieHBO5
The Baby DanceMovieShowtime4
FriendsComedyNBC4
The Rat PackMovieHBO4
Dennis Miller LiveVarietyHBO3
ERDramaNBC3
Just Shoot Me!ComedyNBC3
3rd Rock from the SunComedyNBC2
The 52nd Annual Tony AwardsVarietyCBS2
The Chris Rock ShowVarietyHBO2
FreakVarietyHBO2
George Carlin: You Are All DiseasedVarietyHBO2
Inherit the WindMovieShowtime2
Late Show with David LettermanVarietyCBS2
Mad About YouComedyNBC2
The Passion of Ayn RandMovieShowtime2
Pirates of Silicon ValleyMovieTNT2
Sex and the CityComedyHBO2
Sports NightComedyABC2
The TemptationsMiniseriesNBC2
The Tonight Show with Jay LenoVarietyNBC2
Tracey Takes On...VarietyHBO2

Most major awards

ProgramCategoryNetworkNo. of
Awards
The PracticeDramaABC3
3rd Rock from the SunComedyNBC2
The 52nd Annual Tony AwardsVarietyCBS2
FrasierComedyNBC2
A Lesson Before DyingMovieHBO2
NYPD BlueDramaABC2
The SopranosDramaHBO2

;Notes

In Memoriam