59th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards
The 59th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards honored the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2006, until May 31, 2007, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The awards were presented on September 8, 2007, in a ceremony hosted by Carlos Mencia at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony was broadcast by E! on September 15, preceding the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards on September 16. A total of 80 Creative Arts Emmys were presented across 66 categories.
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee received five wins from 11 nominations, leading all programs in both wins and nominations. Planet Earth and Tony Bennett: An American Classic tied for the second-most awards with four each, followed by Jane Eyre, Rome, and When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts with three each. The 60th Annual Tony Awards, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List, A Lion in the House, Nick News with Linda Ellerbee, Planet Earth, South Park, When the Levees Broke, and Where's Lazlo? won Emmys in their respective overall program fields. HBO was the most-recognized network, receiving 15 awards from 53 nominations.
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger. Sections are based upon the categories listed in the 2006–2007 Emmy rules and procedures. Area awards and juried awards are denoted next to the category names as applicable. For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards have been omitted.Commercial
Picture Editing
Special awards
Governors Award
The Governors Award, recognizing an individual or group "whose works stand out with the immediacy of current achievement", was presented to two programs:American Idols "Idol Gives Back" was recognized for raising "more than $75 million to benefit relief programs for children and young people in extreme poverty in America and Africa".- The Addiction Project was "an unprecedented multi-platform and outreach campaign aimed at helping Americans understand addiction as a chronic but treatable brain disease".
Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development
One Emmy Award, four plaques, and one certificate of recognition were presented to recognize engineering achievements:- The Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Howard A. Anderson for his visual effects work.
- Plaques for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development went to TM Systems' QC Station, Osram Sylvania Products' OSRAM HMI Metal Halide Lamp Technology, Digital Vision's DVNR Image Processing Hardware-DVO Image Process Software, and Silicon Optix's Teranex Video Computer.
- A Certificate of Achievement, recognizing a historic contribution to television technology, was presented to Sycom for its work on the varicap.
Syd Cassyd Founders Award
The Syd Cassyd Founders Award was presented to Rich Frank, former television executive and president of the Television Academy, for his "significant positive impact on the Academy through efforts and service over many years of involvement".Nominations and wins by program
For the purposes of the lists below, any wins in juried categories are assumed to have a prior nomination.Nominations and wins by network
| Nominations | Network |
| 53 | HBO |
| 48 | ABC |
| 42 | NBC |
| 31 | CBS |
| 24 | Fox |
| 17 | PBS |
| 15 | Discovery Channel |
| 15 | Showtime |
| 12 | AMC |
| 11 | Cartoon Network |
| 7 | Bravo |
| 7 | The History Channel |
| 7 | TNT |
| 6 | USA |
| 5 | Sci Fi Channel |
| 4 | Disney Channel |
| 4 | Nickelodeon |
| 3 | Comedy Central |
| 2 | A&E |
| 2 | Animal Planet |
| Wins | Network |
| 15 | HBO |
| 12 | NBC |
| 9 | CBS |
| 8 | Cartoon Network |
| 7 | Fox |
| 6 | PBS |
| 4 | ABC |
| 4 | Discovery Channel |
| 4 | Showtime |
| 2 | Bravo |
| 2 | Nickelodeon |
| 2 | TNT |
Presenters
The following individuals presented awards at the ceremony:- Kristen Bell
- David Boreanaz
- Billy Ray Cyrus
- Miley Cyrus
- Tim Daly
- Josh Duhamel
- Omar Epps
- America Ferrera
- Tom Green
- Seth Green
- Greg Grunberg
- Marcia Gay Harden
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Bob Iger
- Rex Lee
- Mekhi Phifer
- Jennifer Morrison
- Rob Morrow
- Emily Procter
- Yeardley Smith
- Maura Tierney
- Stanley Tucci
- Blair Underwood
- Michael Urie
- Rainn Wilson
Ceremony information
The 59th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were executive produced by Lee Miller and John Moffitt, produced by Spike Jones Jr. through his company SJ2 Entertainment, and directed by Chris Donovan. Comedian Carlos Mencia was announced as the host in August. Nominations were announced on July 19, a week later than usual due to changes in voting rules. The awards were presented on September 8 in a four-hour ceremony at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, which was then edited into a two-hour broadcast shown on E! on September 15, the day before the main ceremony on Fox.Major rule changes for this year's Creative Arts categories included:
- Public performances taped for television were moved from Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special to Outstanding Special Class Program.
- Broadband programs were allowed to compete in categories alongside cable and broadcast programs.
- Episodes of an eligible program airing outside of the eligibility window became qualified for awards in the same year that the program was competing. Previously, such episodes were ineligible for any awards.