50th Primetime Emmy Awards


The 50th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 13, 1998. It was broadcast on NBC.
When Frasier was announced as the winner of Outstanding Comedy Series, Emmy history was made. The NBC sitcom became the first show to win one of the two main series prizes five consecutive years. This record has since been passed by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, whose winning streak was ten years, but for the main two genres, it was not matched until 2014, when the ABC sitcom Modern Family won its fifth consecutive award for Outstanding Comedy Series.
The Practice won Outstanding Drama Series and tied for the most major wins overall with three. For the second straight year, medical drama ER came into the night as the most nominated program, but once again walked away empty handed, going 0/9 in major categories.
Ally McBeal became the first hour-long series to be nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series since Love, American Style in 1971.
This year saw the Emmys move to a new venue, the Shrine Auditorium, marking the return of the award ceremony to Los Angeles for the first time since the 1976 Emmy Awards, following a 20-year residency at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium outside L.A. in Pasadena.
As of the 2018 Emmy ceremony, this is the last year where all the nominees for Best Drama Series were from the broadcast networks.

Winners and nominees

Programs

Outstanding Comedy SeriesOutstanding Drama Series

  • The Practice,
  • * ER,
  • * Law & Order,
  • * NYPD Blue,
  • * The X-Files,
    • Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy SeriesOutstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special
  • Late Show with David Letterman,
  • * Dennis Miller Live,
  • * Politically Incorrect,
  • * The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,
  • * Tracey Takes On...,
  • The 51st Annual Tony Awards,
  • * The 70th Annual Academy Awards,
  • * Christopher Reeve: A Celebration of Hope,
  • * Cinderella,
  • * Garth Live from Central Park,
    • Outstanding Made for Television MovieOutstanding Miniseries
  • ,
  • * 12 Angry Men,
  • * A Bright Shining Lie,
  • * Gia,
  • * What the Deaf Man Heard,
  • From the Earth to the Moon,
  • * George Wallace,
  • * Merlin,
  • * Moby Dick,
  • * More Tales of the City,

    • Acting

    Lead performances

    Supporting performances

    Guest performances

    Directing

    Writing

    Most major nominations

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

    In Memoriam

    presented a clip tribute to the TV actors who had died: Red Skelton, Shari Lewis, Lloyd Bridges, Roy Rogers, singer John Denver, Robert Young, dancer Jerome Robbins, sports narrator Harry Caray, Frank Sinatra, singer Buffalo Bob, E. G. Marshall, J. T. Walsh, Sonny Bono, Phil Hartman, and Chris Farley. As an interesting note, Gary Sinise won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his portrayal of George Wallace on the day that the latter died.