NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Variety – Series or Special

This article lists the winners and nominees for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Variety – Series or Special. Currently An Evening of Stars: Tribute to and Black Girls Rock! hold the record for most wins in this category with three each.

Winners and nominees

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

1980s

Year	Series / Special	Ref
1988
	An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.	[1]
1989
	It's Showtime at the Apollo	[2]
	Ebony-Jet Showcase
	Robert Townsend and his Partners in Crime: Part 2
	The Debbie Allen Special

1990s

Year	Series / Special	Ref
1990	—
1991
	It's Showtime at the Apollo	[3]
1992
	Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration	[4]
1993
	The Arsenio Hall Show	[5]
1994 – 95	—
1996
	The 1995 Essence Awards	[6]
	Aretha Franklin: Going Home
	Oprah Hangs at Q's Jook Joint
	Showtime at the Apollo
	Sinbad's Summer Jam
1997
	Celebrate the Dream: 50 Years of Ebony Magazine	[7]
	The 1996 Essence Awards
	Centennial Olympic Games: Opening Ceremonies
	Chris Rock: Bring the Pain
	Sinbad's Summer Jam II: '70s Soul Music Festival
1998
	Sinbad's Summer Jam III: '70s Soul Music Festival	[8]
	The 1997 Essence Awards
	The Chris Rock Show
	MTV Unplugged
	Showtime at the Apollo
1999
	Sinbad's Summer Jam IV: '70s Soul Music Festival	[9]
	The Chris Rock Show
	Savion Glover – Stomp, Slide & Swing
	Showtime at the Apollo
	The Velvet Rope Tour – Live in Concert

2000s

Year	Series / Special	Ref
2000
	The 1999 Essence Awards	[10]
	Chris Rock: Bigger & Blacker
	D. L. Hughley: Goin' Home
	Great Performances
	Soul Music Festival: Part 5
2001
	The 2000 Essence Awards	[11]
	BET's 6th Annual Walk of Fame: A Tribute to Luther Vandross
	BET 20th Anniversary Special
	The Chris Rock Show
	MADtv
2002
	Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration	[12]
	The 2001 Essence Awards
	Access Granted
	BET Testimony
	VH1 Divas Live: The One and Only Aretha Franklin
2003
	BET's 8th Annual Walk of Fame: A Tribute to Stevie Wonder	[13]
	The 2002 Essence Awards
	Behind the Music
	Cedric the Entertainer Presents
	Def Poetry Jam
2004
	The 2003 Essence Awards	[14]
	BET Awards 2003
	The 11th Annual Trumpet Awards
	Chappelle's Show
	Def Poetry Jam
2005
	Genius: A Night for Ray Charles	[15]
	American Idol
	Chris Rock: Never Scared
	Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth
	Def Poetry Jam
2006
	BET Awards 2005	[16]
	The 77th Annual Academy Awards
	The Black Movie Awards
	Def Poetry Jam
	Mo'Nique's Fat Chance
2007
	An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Stevie Wonder	[17]
	The 2006 Black Movie Awards
	BET Awards 2006
	Cedric the Entertainer: Taking You Higher
	Jamie Foxx: Unpredictable
2008
	Celebration of Gospel '07	[18]
	4th Annual VH1 Hip-Hop Honors
	BET Awards 2007
	An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Aretha Franklin
	Def Poetry Jam
2009
	An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Smokey Robinson	[19]
	BET Awards 2008
	American Idol
	Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger
	Def Poetry Jam

2010s

Year	Series / Special	Ref
2010
	Michael Jackson Memorial	[20]
	BET Awards 2009
	The Mark Twain Prize: Bill Cosby
	Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me
	We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial
2011
	An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Lionel Richie	[21]
	The BET Honors 2010
	Beyoncé: I Am... World Tour
	Black Girls Rock!
	TV One Night Only: Live from the Essence Music Festival
2012
	Oprah Presents: Master Class	[22]
	BET Awards 2011
	An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Chaka Khan
	Black Girls Rock!
	Prince! Behind the Symbol
2013
	Black Girls Rock!	[23]
	The First Graduating Class: Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
	Oprah's Master Class
	Oprah and the Legendary Cast of 'Roots' 35 Years Later
	Verses & Flow
2014
	Black Girls Rock!	[24]
	12 Years a Slave: A TV One Special with Cathy Hughes
	Key & Peele
	Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth
	Oprah's Master Class
2015
	Oprah's Master Class	[25]
	BET Awards 2014
	Family Feud
	On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z
	UNCF An Evening of Stars
2016
	Family Feud	[26]
	Black Girls Rock!
	The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
	The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore
	Oprah's Master Class
2017
	Black Girls Rock!	[27]
	Celebrity Family Feud
	The Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards 2016
	Beyoncé: Lemonade
	Lip Sync Battle
2018
	Lip Sync Battle
	Black Girls Rock!
	Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin & Deep in the Heart of Texas
	Def Comedy Jam 25
	Saturday Night Live
2019
	Black Girls Rock!
	2 Dope Queens
	Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo
	Saturday Night Live
	Trevor Noah: Son of Patricia

2020s

Year	Series / Special	Ref
2020
	Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
	Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones
	Black Girls Rock!
	Saturday Night Live
	Wanda Sykes: Not Normal
2021
	Verzuz	[28]
	8:46
	Black Is King
	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion
	Yvonne Orji: Mommma I Made It!

Multiple wins and nominations

Wins

3 wins An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Black Girls Rock!

2 wins It's Showtime at the Apollo Oprah's Master Class

Nominations

6 nominations Def Poetry Jam 5 nominations An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Black Girls Rock! Oprah's Master Class Showtime at the Apollo 4 nominations Sinbad's Summer Jam

3 nominations The Chris Rock Show Saturday Night Live 2 nominations American Idol BET's Annual Walk of Fame Family Feud