39th Primetime Emmy Awards


The 39th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 20, 1987. The ceremony was broadcast on Fox for the first time as the network premiered a year earlier from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California.
For the second straight year, The Golden Girls won Outstanding Comedy Series. The winner for Outstanding Drama Series was L.A. Law, which, for its first season, won four major awards, and led all shows with 13 major nominations. The winner for Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special, Promise, set a new record with five major wins. This record still stands for TV movies, though it was tied by Temple Grandin in 2010. The Tracey Ullman Show received three major nominations on the night, making it the first ceremony in which the network Fox received a major nomination. This was the only time that Hill Street Blues wasn't nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in its seventh and last season, also no males actors of Hill Street Blues were nominated, only Betty Thomas for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series was nominated and did not win, making her the only one in the cast to be nominated in all seasons.
NBC continued its dominance of the field, becoming the first network to gain over eighty major nominations. Its résumé was highlighted by gaining all five nominations for Outstanding Comedy Series, this had been done only once before and has not been matched in either field since.

Winners and nominees

Programs

Outstanding Comedy SeriesOutstanding Drama Series

  • The Golden Girls,
  • * Cheers,
  • * The Cosby Show,
  • * Family Ties,
  • * Night Court,
  • L.A. Law,
  • * Cagney & Lacey,
  • * Moonlighting,
  • * Murder, She Wrote,
  • * St. Elsewhere,
    • Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy ProgramOutstanding Drama/Comedy Special
  • The 41st Annual Tony Awards,
  • * Late Night with David Letterman,
  • * Liberty Weekend,
  • * The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,
  • * The Tracey Ullman Show,
  • Promise,
  • * Escape from Sobibor,
  • * ',
  • * Pack of Lies,
  • * Unnatural Causes,
    • Outstanding Miniseries
  • A Year in the Life,
  • * ',
  • * ,
  • * Out on a Limb,
  • * The Two Mrs. Grenvilles,

    • Acting

    Lead performances

    Supporting performances

    Guest performances

    Directing

    Writing

    Most major nominations

    ;By network
    ;By program
    ;By network
    ;By program
    ;Notes