Read CNN’s Fast Facts about the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Facts
Emmys are presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Louis McManus, a television engineer, created the Emmy statuette, using his wife’s image as a model.
Emmy Awards are named after « Immy, » an abbreviation for the image orthicon tube, an early camera. It was later changed to « Emmy. »
The first Emmy Awards were presented on January 25,1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club and were for Los Angeles programming only. Six awards were given. Tickets to the event were $5.
The first award ever given was for outstanding personality and went to ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale, for the children’s show, « Judy Splinters. »
Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are tied for the most Emmys ever by a performer (8). Ed Asner has won the most Emmys ever by a male performer (7), as of 2020.
« The Handmaid’s Tale, » which premiered on Hulu in 2017, was the first online streaming service series to win an Emmy for outstanding drama.
In 2018, the Amazon Prime Video series « The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel » won an Emmy for outstanding comedy. It was the first time a streaming network show won the comedy award.
2020 Nominees (in selected categories):
Outstanding comedy series:
« Curb Your Enthusiasm »
« Dead to Me »
« The Good Place »
« Insecure »
« The Kominsky Method »
« The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel »
« Schitt’s Creek »
« What We Do in the Shadows »
Outstanding lead actor – comedy series:
Anthony Anderson, « Black-ish »
Don Cheadle, « Black Monday »
Ted Danson, « The Good Place »
Michael Douglas, « The Kominsky Method »
Eugene Levy, « Schitt’s Creek »
Ramy Youssef, « Ramy »
Outstanding lead actress – comedy series:
Christina Applegate, « Dead to Me »
Rachel Brosnahan, « The Marvelous Mrs.
