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| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for Variety Series | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Writing for Variety Special |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Currently held by | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2023) |
| Website | emmys |
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series debuted in 1966, and has been annually awarded most years since the mid-1960s. It has had a large number of name changes, mostly involving the addition or subtraction of the word comedy. Generally, the category has recognized the writers of variety and sketch comedy shows. However, in 1969, 1970 and 1979, it was the main category for writers of situation comedies. Prior to 1966, variety series were eligible in Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series where The Red Skelton Show and other variety programs were occasionally nominated.
For most of the 1970s, the category was effectively split into two branches. From 1971 to 1978, one-off specials were awarded separately from ongoing series. The divide was reinstated in 2009 as Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. The writers of one-off variety specials competed against series writers in the interim, and occasionally won, as in 1991 and 2000. This has led to some anomalies, such as when a special edition of Late Night with David Letterman beat out regular editions of The Tracey Ullman Show and Saturday Night Live in 1987, despite the fact that typical episodes of Late Night were not nominated that year.
The category eventually found greater stability with its name in 1982, when it settled on Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program for almost two decades. In 2000, it added the word comedy. Of all the writing Emmy categories, it has recently become the one most dominated by cable networks. Since 1996 it has been won by a major terrestrial broadcaster only twice, with the overwhelming majority of winners coming from HBO and Comedy Central.
The category has seen many name changes, including variety, musical and comedy series. The current name dates from 2012. Since 2003, and with the exception of 2007, three series have shared the awards: The Daily Show and its spin-off, The Colbert Report, both broadcast on Comedy Central, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, himself a Daily Show alumnus.
The following list of winners is organized both by year and the name being used by the category in that year:
Winners and nominations
1950s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominee(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Written Comedy Material | ||||
| The George Gobel Show | James B. Allardice, Jack Douglas, Hal Kanter and Harry Winkler | NBC | ||
| I Love Lucy | Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr. | CBS | ||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Milt Josefsberg, Sam Perrin and John Tackaberry | |||
| The Jackie Gleason Show | Jackie Gleason and staff writers | |||
| Make Room for Daddy | Danny Thomas and staff writers | ABC | ||
| Mister Peepers | Jim Fritzell and Everett Greenbaum | NBC | ||
| Best Comedy Writing | ||||
| The Phil Silvers Show | Arnold M. Auerbach, Barry Blitzer, Vincent Bogert, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Harvey Orkin, Arnold Rosen, Terry Ryan and Tony Webster | CBS | ||
| Caesar's Hour | Mel Brooks, Selma Diamond, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller and Mel Tolkin | NBC | ||
| The George Gobel Show | Everett Greenbaum, Hal Kanter, Howard Leeds and Harry Winkler | |||
| I Love Lucy | Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, Bob Carroll Jr., Bob Schiller and Bob Weiskopf | CBS | ||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin | |||
| Best Comedy Writing - Variety or Situation Comedy | ||||
| The Phil Silvers Show | Billy Friedberg, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Arnold Rosen, Leonard B. Stern and Tony Webster | CBS | ||
| Caesar's Hour | Gary Belkin, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller, Neil Simon and Michael Stewart and Mel Tolkin | NBC | ||
| The Ernie Kovacs Show | Louis M. Heyward, Ernie Kovacs, Rex Lardner and Mike Marmer | |||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin | CBS | ||
| The Perry Como Show | Goodman Ace, Jay Burton, George Foster and Mort Green | NBC | ||
| Best Comedy Writing | ||||
| The Phil Silvers Show | Billy Friedberg, Nat Hiken, Coleman Jacoby, Arnold Rosen, A.J. Russell, Terry Ryan, Phil Sharp, Tony Webster and Sydney Zelinka | CBS | ||
| Caesar's Hour | Gary Belkin, Mel Brooks, Larry Gelbart, Sheldon Keller, Neil Simon and Michael Stewart and Mel Tolkin | NBC | ||
| The Ernie Kovacs Show | "No Dialogue Show" | Ernie Kovacs | ||
| Father Knows Best | Roswell Rogers and Paul West | |||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin | CBS | ||
| Best Writing of a Single Musical or Variety Program | ||||
| An Evening with Fred Astaire | Herbert Baker and Bud Yorkin | NBC | ||
| Art Carney Meets "Peter and the Wolf" | A.J. Russell | ABC | ||
| The Perry Como Show | "Pier Angeli, Andy Griffith and Helen O'Connell" | Goodman Ace, Jay Burton, George Foster and Mort Green | NBC | |
| Sid Caesar's Chevy Show | Woody Allen and Larry Gelbart | |||
| The Steve Allen Show | "Peter Ustinov, Louis Armstrong and Van Cliburn" | Stan Burns, Bill Dana, Hal Goodman, Don Hinkley, Larry Klein, Herb Sargent and Leonard Stern | ||
1960s
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominee(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy | ||||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin | CBS | ||
| The Ballad of Louie the Louse | Nat Hiken | CBS | ||
| Father Knows Best | Dorothy Cooper and Roswell Rogers | |||
| The Red Skelton Show | Dave O'Brien, Martin Ragaway, Al Schwartz, Sherwood Schwartz and Red Skelton | CBS | ||
| The Danny Thomas Show | Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart | CBS | ||
| Hennesey | Richard Baer | |||
| The Dick Van Dyke Show | Carl Reiner | CBS | ||
| The Bob Newhart Show | Ernest Chambers, Dean Hargrove, Don Hinkley, Robert Kaufman, Roland Kibbee, Norm Liebman, Bob Newhart, Milt Rosen, Charles Sherman, Larry Siegel and Howard Snyder | NBC | ||
| Car 54, Where Are You? | Nat Hiken, Terry Ryan and Tony Webster | |||
| Chun King Chow Mein Hour | Stan Freberg | ABC | ||
| The Red Skelton Show | Dave O'Brien, Arthur Phillips, Martin Ragaway, Al Schwartz, Sherwood Schwartz, Ed Simmons and Red Skelton | CBS | ||
| The Dick Van Dyke Show | Carl Reiner | CBS | ||
| The Beverly Hillbillies | Paul Henning | CBS | ||
| Car 54, Where Are You? | Nat Hiken | NBC | ||
| The Jack Benny Program | George Balzer, Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sam Perrin | CBS | ||
| The Red Skelton Show | Mort Greene, Bruce Howard, Rick Mittleman, Dave O'Brien, Arthur Phillips, Martin A. Ragaway, Larry Rhine, Ed Simmons, Red Skelton and Hugh Wedlock | |||
| Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy or Variety | ||||
| The Dick Van Dyke Show | Carl Reiner, Bill Persky and Sam Denoff | CBS | ||
| The Danny Kaye Show | Herbert Baker, Gary Belkin, Ernest Chambers, Larry Gelbart, Saul Ilson, Sheldon Keller, Paul Mazursky, Mel Tolkin and Larry Tucker | CBS | ||
| The Farmer's Daughter | Steven Gethers, Jerry Davis, Lee Loeb and John McGreevey | ABC | ||
| That Was the Week That Was | Robert Emmett, Gerald Gardner, Thomas Meehan, David Panich, Ed Sherman, Saul Turteltaub and Tony Webster | NBC | ||
| Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Writers | ||||
| The Defenders | "The 700 Year Old Gang" | David Karp | CBS | |
| The Danny Thomas Hour | The Wonderful World of Burlesque | Coleman Jacoby and Arnie Rosen | NBC | |
| The Dick Van Dyke Show | "Never Bathe on Saturday" | Carl Reiner | CBS | |
| Hallmark Hall of Fame | "The Magnificent Yankee" | Robert Hartung | NBC | |
| That Was the Week That Was | William Boardman, Dee Caruso, Robert Emmett, David Frost, Gerald Gardner, Buck Henry, Joseph Hurley, Thomas Meehan, Herbert Sargent, Larry Siegel, Gloria Steinem, Jim Stevenson, Calvin Trillin and Saul Turteltaub | |||
| Outstanding Writing Achievement in Variety | ||||
| 1966 (18th) | ||||
| An Evening with Carol Channing | Hal Goldman, Al Gordon and Sheldon Keller | CBS | ||
| The Danny Kaye Show | Norman Barasch, Billie Barnes, Ernest Chambers, Ron Friedman, Paul Mazursky, Pat McCormick, Carroll Moore, Bernard Rothman and Larry Tucker | CBS | ||
| The Julie Andrews Show | Sam Denoff and Bill Persky | NBC | ||
| 1967 (19th) | ||||
| The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special | Mel Brooks, Sam Denoff, Bill Persky, Carl Reiner and Mel Tolkin | CBS | ||
| The Dean Martin Show | Harry Crane, Rich Eustis, Lee Hale, Paul Keyes and Al Rogers | NBC | ||
| The Jackie Gleason Show | Marvin Marx, Rod Parker and Walter Stone | CBS | ||
| Outstanding Writing Achievement in Music or Variety | ||||
| 1968 (20th) | ||||
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | Chris Bearde, Phil Hahn, Jack Hanrahan, Coslough Johnson, Paul Keyes, Marc London, Allan Manings, David Panich, Hugh Wedlock Jr. and Digby Wolfe | NBC | ||
| The Carol Burnett Show | Bill Angelos, Stan Burns, Don Hinkley, Buz Kohan, Mike Marmer, Gail Parent, Arnie Rosen, Kenny Solms and Saul Turteltaub | CBS | ||
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | "Pilot" | Larry Hovis, Paul Keyes, Jim Mulligan, David Panich, George Schlatter and Digby Wolfe | NBC | |
| The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | "Ronnie Schell, Kate Smith and Simon & Garfunkel" | Allan Blye, Bob Einstein, Carl Gottlieb, Cy Howard, Steve Martin, Lorenzo Music, Murray Roman, Cecil Tuck, Paul Wayne and Mason Williams | CBS | |
| Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music | ||||
| 1969 (21st) | ||||
| The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour | "David Frye and Liberace" | Allan Blye, Bob Einstein, Carl Gottlieb, Cy Howard, Steve Martin, Lorenzo Music, Murray Roman, Cecil Tuck, Paul Wayne and Mason Williams | CBS | |
| The Carol Burnett Show | "Nanette Fabray, Mel Tormé and Don Rickles" | Roger Beatty, Stan Hart, Don Hinkley, Arthur Julian, Woody Kling, Jack Mendelsohn, Gail Parent, Arnie Rosen, Larry Siegel and Kenny Solms | CBS | |
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | "Don Rickles" | Chris Bearde, Jim Carlson, David M. Cox, Phil Hahn, Jack Hanrahan, Coslough Johnson, Paul Keyes, Marc London, Allan Manings, Jack Mendelsohn, Lorne Michaels, James Mulligan, Hart Pomerantz, David Panich and Hugh Wedlock Jr. | NBC | |
