68th Primetime Emmy Awards

68th Primetime Emmy Awards
Promotional poster
Date
LocationMicrosoft Theater,
Los Angeles, California
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts and Sciences
Hosted byJimmy Kimmel
Highlights
Most awards
Most nominationsThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (13)
Outstanding Comedy SeriesVeep
Outstanding Drama SeriesGame of Thrones
Outstanding Limited SeriesThe People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Websitehttp://www.emmys.com/ Edit this on Wikidata
Television/radio coverage
NetworkABC[1]
Produced byDon Mischer
Directed byGlenn Weiss
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The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in US prime time television programming from June 1, 2015, until May 31, 2016, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 18, 2016, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast in the U.S. by ABC. The ceremony was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.[1][2] It was preceded by the 68th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which took place over two nights, September 10 and 11, at the Microsoft Theater.[1][3]

The nominations were announced by Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham on July 14, 2016.[4][5] The crime anthology limited series The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story was the most nominated program at the ceremony with 13, and 22 overall,[6] although Game of Thrones received the most overall nominations that year with 23 as the most nominated drama series.[7]

With five awards, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story won the most awards of the night, while the fantasy drama series Game of Thrones won three, including Outstanding Drama Series and surpassed Frasier (37) as the fictional television program with the most Primetime Emmy Awards with 38 wins in six seasons.[8] Game of Thrones' win was also the second time a sixth season of any show had won the Outstanding Drama Series award after fellow HBO show, The Sopranos' Sixth season had won it in 2007.

Additionally, the political satire series Veep won Outstanding Comedy Series for the second time in a row, while its producer and lead star Julia Louis-Dreyfus established a new record of wins for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series; it was her fifth consecutive win for the series, sixth overall in the category and her seventh overall win as an actor.[9]

For the first time, none of the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series were from the four major American broadcasting TV networks. In addition, Ben Mendelsohn became the first actor to win Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for a series from a streaming service network; he won for Bloodline from Netflix.

This is the first and, as of 2020, the only ceremony where no network received more than one nomination in the Drama Series category. That feat occurred for the first in the Comedy Series category in 2023.

  1. ^ a b c d e Khatchatourian, Maane (March 7, 2016). "Jimmy Kimmel to Host 2016 Emmy Awards". Variety. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "68th Emmy Awards Show Date and Host Announced". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  3. ^ Hammond, Pete (July 26, 2016). "Television Academy Unveils Emmy Categories For All Three Shows". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  4. ^ "Anthony Anderson and Lauren Graham to Announce Emmy Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. June 21, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Lewis, Dave (July 14, 2016). "Nominations for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  6. ^ Stack, Tim (July 14, 2016). "'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story nabs a whopping 22 Emmy nominations". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  7. ^ Dietz, Jason (July 14, 2016). "Hold the door: Game of Thrones is coming back in". Metacritic. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
  8. ^ "Emmy Awards 2016: Game of Thrones breaks record". BBC News. September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  9. ^ Whipp, Glenn (September 18, 2016). "Julia Louis-Dreyfus makes Emmy history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2016.