Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program is awarded to one program each year. The category was created in 2018.^[1] Between 2003 and 2017, reality and documentary/nonfiction programs competed in a combined category.

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program
Awarded for	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Currently held by	Cian O'Clery, Love on the Spectrum U.S. (2024)
Website	emmys.com

In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place:

Winners and nominations

2000s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
2003 [2]	Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming
	American Experience	"The Murder of Emmett Till"	Stanley Nelson Jr.	PBS
	American Idol	"Finale"	Bruce Gowers	Fox
	Da Ali G Show	"Politics"	James Bobin	HBO
	Expedition: Bismarck		Andrew Wight and James Cameron	Discovery
	Journeys with George		Alexandra Pelosi and Aaron Lubarsky	HBO
	Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives		Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon
2004 [3]
	Jockey		Kate Davis	HBO
	American Experience	"Tupperware!"	Laurie Kahn	PBS
	American Masters	"Judy Garland: By Myself"	Susan Lacy
	Born Rich		Jamie Johnson	HBO
	Queer Eye for the Straight Guy	"Richard Miller"	Becky Smith	Bravo
2005 [4]
	Death in Gaza		James Miller (posthumously)	HBO
	American Idol	"Finale"	Bruce Gowers	Fox
	The Apprentice	"Finale"	Glenn Weiss	NBC
	Extreme Makeover: Home Edition	"The Dore Family"	Patrick Higgins	ABC
	Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson		Ken Burns	PBS
2006 [5]
	Baghdad ER		Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill	HBO
	All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise		Shari Cookson	HBO
	American Masters	"John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend"	Samuel D. Pollard	PBS
		"No Direction Home: Bob Dylan"	Martin Scorsese
	Children of Beslan		Ewa Ewart and Leslie Woodhead	HBO
2007 [6]	When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts		Spike Lee	HBO
	Ghosts of Abu Ghraib		Rory Kennedy	HBO
	Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed		Kevin Burns	History
	Thin		Lauren Greenfield	HBO
	This American Life	"God's Close-Up"	Christopher Wilcha	Showtime
2008 [7]	This American Life	"Escape"	Adam Beckman and Christopher Wilcha	Showtime
	The Amazing Race	"Honestly, They Have Witch Powers or Something"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	Autism: The Musical		Tricia Regan	HBO
	Project Runway	"En Garde!"	Tony Sacco	Bravo
	The War	"Pride of Our Nation (June–August 1944)"	Ken Burns and Lynn Novick	PBS
2009 [8]	Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired		Marina Zenovich	HBO
	The Amazing Race	"Don't Let a Cheese Hit Me"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	Project Runway	"Finale, Part 1"	Paul Starkman	Bravo
	This American Life	"John Smith"	Adam Beckman and Christopher Wilcha	Showtime
	Top Chef	"The Last Supper"	Steve Hryniewicz	Bravo

2010s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
2010 [9]	American Experience	"My Lai"	Barak Goodman	PBS
	The Amazing Race	"I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right?"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	By the People: The Election of Barack Obama		Amy Rice and Alicia Sams	HBO
	Monty Python: Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut)	"Lust for Glory"	Bill Jones and Ben Timlett	IFC
	Terror in Mumbai		Dan Reed	HBO
2011 [10]	Gasland		Josh Fox	HBO
	The Amazing Race	"You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	American Masters	"A Letter to Elia/Reflecting on Kazan"	Kent Jones and Martin Scorsese	PBS
	Becoming Chaz		Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato	OWN
	Top Chef	"Give Me Your Huddled Masses"	Paul Starkman	Bravo
2012 [11]	George Harrison: Living in the Material World		Martin Scorsese	HBO
	The Amazing Race	"Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	American Masters	"Woody Allen: A Documentary"	Robert B. Weide	PBS
	Project Runway	"Finale, Part 2"	Craig Spirko	Lifetime
	Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory		Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky	HBO
2013 [12]	American Masters	"Mel Brooks: Make a Noise"	Robert Trachtenberg	PBS
	Ethel		Rory Kennedy	HBO
	Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God		Alex Gibney
	Survivor	"Live Finale and Reunion (Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites)"	Glenn Weiss	CBS
		"Live Finale and Reunion (Philippines)"	Michael Simon
2014 [13]	The Square		Jehane Noujaim	Netflix
	The Amazing Race	"Part Like the Red Sea"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey	"Standing Up in the Milky Way"	Brannon Braga	Fox
	Project Runway	"Sky's the Limit"	Craig Spirko	Lifetime
	Shark Tank	"Episode 501"	Ken Fuchs	ABC
2015 [14]	Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief		Alex Gibney	HBO
	Citizenfour		Laura Poitras	HBO
	Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways	"Washington D.C."	Dave Grohl
	The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst	"Chapter 2: Poor Little Rich Boy"	Andrew Jarecki
	Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck		Brett Morgen
2016 [15]	Making a Murderer	"Fighting for Their Lives"	Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi	Netflix
	Cartel Land		Matthew Heineman	A&E
	Chef's Table	"Gaggan Anand"	David Gelb	Netflix
	He Named Me Malala		Davis Guggenheim	Nat Geo
	What Happened, Miss Simone?		Liz Garbus	Netflix
2017 [16]	O.J.: Made in America	"Part 3"	Ezra Edelman	ESPN
	Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds		Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens	HBO
	Planet Earth II	"Cities"	Fredi Devas	BBC America
		"Islands"	Elizabeth White
	13th		Ava DuVernay	Netflix
2018 [17]	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"10s Across the Board"	Nick Murray	VH1
	The Amazing Race	"It's Just a Million Dollars, No Pressure"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	American Ninja Warrior	"Daytona Beach Qualifiers"	Patrick McManus	NBC
	Shark Tank	"Episode 903"	Ken Fuchs	ABC
	The Voice	"Live Top 11 Performances"	Alan Carter	NBC
2019 [18]
	Queer Eye	"Black Girl Magic"	Hisham Abed	Netflix
	The Amazing Race	"Who Wants a Rolex?"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	American Ninja Warrior	"Minneapolis City Qualifiers"	Patrick McManus	NBC
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"Whatcha Unpackin?"	Nick Murray	VH1
	Shark Tank	"Episode 1002"	Ken Fuchs	ABC

2020s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
2020 [19]
	Cheer	"Daytona"	Greg Whiteley	Netflix
	LEGO Masters	"Mega City Block"	Rich Kim	Fox
	Queer Eye	"Disabled But Not Really"	Hisham Abed	Netflix
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"I'm That Bitch"	Nick Murray	VH1
	Top Chef	"The Jonathan Gold Standard"	Ariel Boles	Bravo
2021 [20]
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"Gettin' Lucky"	Nick Murray	VH1
	The Amazing Race	"Give Me a Beard Bump"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	Queer Eye	"Preaching Out Loud"	Mark Perez	Netflix
	Top Chef	"Pan African Portland"	Ariel Boles	Bravo
	The Voice	"The Blind Auditions Premiere"	Alan Carter	NBC
2022 [21]
	Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls	"Naked"	Nneka Onuorah	Prime Video
	Cheer	"Daytona Pt. 2: If the Judges Disagree"	Greg Whiteley	Netflix
	Queer Eye	"Angel Gets Her Wings"	Aaron Krummel
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"Moulin Ru: The Rusical"	Nick Murray	VH1
	Top Chef	"Freedmen's Town"	Ariel Boles	Bravo
2023 [22]
	Welcome to Wrexham	"Wide World of Wales"	Bryan Rowland	FX
	The Amazing Race	"Patience, Is the New Me"	Bertram van Munster	CBS
	Queer Eye	"Speedy for Life"	Ali Moghadas	Netflix
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"Wigloose: The Rusical!"	Nick Murray	MTV
	Top Chef	"London Calling"	Ariel Boles	Bravo
2024 [23]
	Love on the Spectrum U.S.	"Episode 7"	Cian O'Clery	Netflix
	RuPaul's Drag Race	"Grand Finale"	Nick Murray	MTV
	Squid Game: The Challenge	"Red Light, Green Light"	Diccon Ramsay	Netflix
	The Traitors	"Betrayers, Fakes and Fraudsters"	Ben Archard	Peacock
	Welcome to Wrexham	"Shaun's Vacation"	Bryan Rowland	FX

Programs with multiple wins

2 wins

• RuPaul's Drag Race

Programs with multiple nominations

10 nominations The Amazing Race 7 nominations RuPaul's Drag Race 6 nominations Top Chef

5 nominations Queer Eye 4 nominations Project Runway 3 nominations Shark Tank

2 nominations American Idol American Ninja Warrior Cheer Survivor The Voice Welcome to Wrexham

Individuals with multiple wins

2 wins

• Nick Murray

Individuals with multiple nominations

10 nominations Bertram van Munster 7 nominations Nick Murray 4 nominations Ariel Boles 3 nominations Ken Fuchs

2 nominations Hisham Abed Alan Carter Bruce Gowers Patrick McManus Bryan Rowland Craig Spirko Paul Starkman Glenn Weiss Greg Whiteley