Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Variety Special is awarded to one television special each year. After being grouped together, the category was initiated alongside Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series in 2009. From the 1980s to 2000s, specials competed alongside series for Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program.

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for Variety Special
Awarded for	Outstanding Directing for Variety Special
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Currently held by	Hamish Hamilton, The Oscars
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

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy-Variety or Music Special

1970s

Year	Program	Nominees	Network
1971 [1]
	Peggy Fleming at Sun Valley	Sterling Johnson	NBC
	The Anatomy of a Symphony Orchestra (New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts)	Roger Englander	CBS
	George M!	Martin Charnin and Walter C. Miller	NBC
1972 [2]
	Jack Lemmon in 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin	Martin Charnin and Walter C. Miller	NBC
	Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center	Dave Powers	CBS
	Liszt and the Devil (New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts)	Roger Englander
1973 [3]
	Liza with a Z	Bob Fosse	NBC
	Duke Ellington... We Love You Madly	Stan Harris	CBS
	Jack Lemmon: Get Happy	Martin Charnin and Dave Wilson	NBC
	Once Upon a Mattress	Ron Field and Dave Powers	CBS
	You're a Good Man Charlie Brown (Hallmark Hall of Fame)	Walter C. Miller	NBC
1974 [4]
	Barbra Streisand...and Other Musical Instruments	Dwight Hemion	CBS
	Magnavox Presents Frank Sinatra	Marty Pasetta	NBC
	Mitzi... A Tribute to the American Housewife	Tony Charmoli	CBS
	Peggy Fleming Visits the Soviet Union	Sterling Johnson	NBC
1975 [5]
	An Evening with John Denver	Bill Davis	ABC
	Ann-Margret Olsson	Dwight Hemion	NBC
	Shirley MacLaine: If They Could See Me Now	Tony Charmoli	ABC
1976 [6]
	Steve and Eydie: "Out Love Is Here to Stay"	Dwight Hemion	CBS
	John Denver: Rocky Mountain Christmas	Bill Davis	ABC
	Mitzi... Roarin' in the 20's"	Tony Charmoli	CBS
1977	Outstanding Directing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special[7]
	America Salutes Richard Rodgers: The Sound of His Music	Dwight Hemion	CBS
	The Barry Manilow Special	George Schaefer	ABC
	Doug Henning's World of Magic	Walter C. Miller	NBC
	Sills and Burnett at the Met	David Powers	CBS
	The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?	Tony Charmoli
	Outstanding Achievement in Coverage of Special Events - Individuals[8][note 1]
	The 28th Annual Emmy Awards	John Moffitt	ABC
	The 48th Annual Academy Awards	Marty Pasetta	ABC
1978	Outstanding Directing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Special[9]
	The Sentry Collection Presents Ben Vereen: His Roots	Dwight Hemion	ABC
	Doug Henning's World of Magic	Walter C. Miller	NBC
	Mitzi... Zings Into Springs	Tony Charmoli	CBS
	The Paul Simon Special	Dave Wilson	NBC
	The Second Barry Manilow Special	George Schaefer	ABC
	Outstanding Achievement in Coverage of Special Events - Individuals[10][note 2]
	Footlights: The 1978 Tony Awards	Clark Jones	CBS

1980s

Year	Program	Nominees	Network
1984	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming[11][note 3]
	Dance in America: A Song for Dead Warriors - San Francisco Ballet (Great Performances)	Merrill Brockway	PBS
	A Lincoln Center Special: New York City Ballet's Tribute to George Balanchine	Emile Ardolino	PBS
	Live from the Met Centennial Gala	Kirk Browning
1985	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Directing[12][note 4]
	Dance in America: Baryshnikov by Tharp with American Ballet Theatre (Great Performances)	Don Mischer and Twyla Tharp	PBS
	I Pagliacci (Great Performances)	Franco Zeffirelli
	Tosca (Live from the Met)	Kirk Browning	PBS
1986	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming[13][note 5]
	Cavalleria Rusticana (Great Performances)	Franco Zeffirelli	PBS
	Dance in America: Choreography by Jerome Robbins with the New York City Ballet (Great Performances)	Emile Ardolino	PBS
	The Verdi Requiem	Kirk Browning
1987	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical Music/Dance Programming - Directing[14][note 6]
	Goya with Plácido Domingo (Great Performances)	Kirk Browning	PBS
	Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic	Albert and David Maysles
	Dance in America: In Memory of... A Ballet by Jerome Robbins (Great Performances)	Emile Ardolino	PBS
1988	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Classical[15][note 7]
	The Metropolitan Opera Presents: Turandot	Kirk Browning	PBS
	Dance in America: David Gordon's Made in U.S.A. (Great Performances)	Don Mischer	PBS
	Outstanding Individual Achievement - Special Events[16][note 8]
	The 60th Annual Academy Awards	Marty Pasetta	ABC
1989	Outstanding Directing in Classical Music/Dance Programming[17][note 9]
	A Pavarotti Celebration: Scenes from La Bohème	Kirk Browning	PBS
	Outstanding Directing for Special Events[18][note 10]
	The 11th Annual Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts	Dwight Hemion	CBS

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special

2000s

Year	Program	Nominees	Network
2009 [19]	Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony	Bucky Gunts	NBC
	The 81st Annual Academy Awards	Roger Goodman	ABC
	Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Super Bowl Halftime Show	Don Mischer	NBC
	The Neighborhood Ball: An Inauguration Celebration	Glenn Weiss	ABC
	You're Welcome America. A Final Night with George W. Bush	Marty Callner	HBO

2010s

Year	Program	Nominees	Network
2010 [20]	Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Opening Ceremony	Bucky Gunts	NBC
	In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement	Ron de Moraes	PBS
	The Kennedy Center Honors	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	The 25th Anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Concert	Joel Gallen	HBO
	The 63rd Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
2011 [21]	Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (Great Performances)	Lonny Price	PBS
	The 83rd Annual Academy Awards	Don Mischer	ABC
	The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden	Laurieann Gibson	HBO
	The 64th Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
2012 [22]	The 65th Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
	The 84th Annual Academy Awards	Don Mischer	ABC
	The 54th Annual Grammy Awards	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	Louis C.K.: Live at the Beacon Theatre	Louis C.K.	FX
	New York City Ballet: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker (Live from Lincoln Center)	Alan Skog	PBS
2013 [23]	The Kennedy Center Honors	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	Louis C.K.: Oh My God	Louis C.K.	HBO
	The Oscars	Don Mischer	ABC
	London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony	Bucky Gunts and Hamish Hamilton	NBC
	12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief	Michael Dempsey	[note 11]
2014 [24]	The 67th Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
	The Beatles: The Night That Changed America	Gregg Gelfand	CBS
	The Kennedy Center Honors	Louis J. Horvitz
	The Oscars	Hamish Hamilton	ABC
	Six by Sondheim	James Lapine	HBO
	The Sound of Music Live!	Beth McCarthy-Miller and Rob Ashford	NBC
2015 [25]	Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special	Don Roy King	NBC
	Annie Lennox: Nostalgia Live in Concert	Natalie Johns	PBS
	The Kennedy Center Honors	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	The Oscars	Hamish Hamilton	ABC
	The 68th Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
2016 [26]
	Grease: Live	Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski	Fox
	Adele Live in New York City	Beth McCarthy-Miller	NBC
	Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo	Chris Rock	HBO
	The 58th Annual Grammy Awards	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	The Kennedy Center Honors	Glenn Weiss
	Lemonade	Kahlil Joseph and Beyoncé Knowles Carter	HBO
2017 [27]
	The Oscars	Glenn Weiss	ABC
	Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not the White House Correspondents' Dinner	Paul Pennolino	TBS
	Stephen Colbert's Live Election Night Democracy's Series Finale: Who's Going to Clean Up This Sh*t?	Jim Hoskinson	Showtime
Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come	Jerry Foley	NBC
2018 [28]
	The Oscars	Glenn Weiss	ABC
	Dave Chappelle: Equanimity	Stan Lathan	Netflix
	Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Before Seinfeld	Michael Bonfiglio
	Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life	Marcus Raboy
	Super Bowl LII Halftime Show Starring Justin Timberlake	Hamish Hamilton	NBC
2019 [29]
	Springsteen on Broadway	Thom Zimny	Netflix
	Carpool Karaoke: When Corden Met McCartney Live from Liverpool	Ben Winston	CBS
	Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé	Beyoncé Knowles Carter and Ed Burke	Netflix
	Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons'	James Burrows and Andy Fisher	ABC
	The Oscars	Glenn Weiss

2020s

Year	Program	Nominees	Network
2020 [30]
	Dave Chappelle: Sticks & Stones	Stan Lathan	Netflix
	The 62nd Grammy Awards	Louis J. Horvitz	CBS
	Live in Front of a Studio Audience: 'All in the Family' and 'Good Times'	Pamela Fryman and Andy Fisher	ABC
	Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show Starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira	Hamish Hamilton	Fox
	The 73rd Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
2021 [31]
	Bo Burnham: Inside	Bo Burnham	Netflix
	David Byrne's American Utopia	Spike Lee	HBO
	8:46 - Dave Chappelle	Dave Chappelle, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert	Netflix
	Friends: The Reunion	Ben Winston	HBO Max
	A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote	Thomas Schlamme
2022 [32]
	Adele: One Night Only	Paul Dugdale	CBS
	Dave Chappelle: The Closer	Stan Lathan	Netflix
	Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel	Bo Burnham	HBO
	Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special	Norm Macdonald (posthumous) and Jeff Tomsic	Netflix
	The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent	Hamish Hamilton	NBC
2023 [33]
	The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna	Hamish Hamilton and Shawn Carter	Fox
	Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love	Paul Miller	NBC
	Chris Rock: Selective Outrage	Joel Gallen	Netflix
	The Oscars	Glenn Weiss	ABC
	Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer	Linda Mendoza	Netflix
2024 [34]
	The Oscars	Hamish Hamilton	ABC
	Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer	Stan Lathan	Netflix
	Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic	Russell Norman	CBS
	Tig Notaro: Hello Again	Stephanie Allynne	Prime Video
	The 76th Annual Tony Awards	Glenn Weiss	CBS
	Trevor Noah: Where Was I	David Paul Meyer	Netflix

Notes

1. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
2. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
3. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
4. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
5. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
6. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
7. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
8. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
9. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award. The nominee did not meet the benchmark and no award was given.
10. As a juried award, nominees had to garner 50% approval to win the award.
11. 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief was simulcast live on 39 U.S. television stations and more than 25 websites. The Emmys listed no individual network with this nomination.