Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Awarded for	Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Country	United States
Presented by	Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
First awarded	1975
Currently held by	Lee Sung Jin, ; Beef (2023)
Website	emmys.com

This is a list of the winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Chronology of category names

Over the years, the scope of this award has evolved and the name with which it has been presented reflects those changes:

1975: Director of the Year – Special
1976: Outstanding Directing in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy
1977: Outstanding Directing in a Special Program
1978–1979: Outstanding Directing in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy
1980–1986: Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or Special
1987–1992: Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special
1993–1996: Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or Special
1997–1998: Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Special
1999–2000: Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie
2001–2002: Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special
2003–2015: Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special
2016–2020: Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
2021–present: Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Winners and nominations

1970s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama - A Single Program
1971 (23rd) ^[1]
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"The Price"	Fielder Cook	NBC
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Hamlet"	Peter Wood	NBC
	Movie of the Week on ABC	"Tribes"	Joseph Sargent	ABC
	World Premiere NBC Saturday Night Movie	"A Clear and Present Danger"	James Goldstone	NBC
1972 (24th) ^[2]
	The New CBS Friday Night Movies	"The Glass House"	Tom Gries	CBS
	CBS Playhouse 90	"Look Homeward, Angel"	Paul Bogart	CBS
	The Homecoming: A Christmas Story		Fielder Cook	CBS
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"The Snow Goose"	Patrick Garland	NBC
	Movie of the Week on ABC	"Brian's Song"	Buzz Kulik	ABC
1973 (25th) ^[3]
	The CBS Thursday Night Movie	"The Marcus-Nelson Murders"	Joseph Sargent	CBS
	The New CBS Tuesday Night Movies	"A War of Children"	George Schaefer	CBS
	Wednesday Movie of the Week on ABC	"That Certain Summer"	Lamont Johnson	ABC
Best Directing in Drama (A Single Program - Comedy or Drama)
1974 (26th) ^[4]
	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman		John Korty	CBS
	ABC Theater	"Pueblo"	Anthony Page	ABC
	CBS Playhouse 90	"The Migrants"	Tom Gries	CBS
	NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies	"A Case of Rape"	Boris Sagal	NBC
	NBC Wednesday Night at the Movies	"The Execution of Private Slovik"	Lamont Johnson	NBC
Outstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy
1975 (27th) ^[5]
	ABC Theater	"Love Among the Ruins"	George Cukor	ABC
	ABC Movie Special	"QB VII"	Tom Gries	ABC
	ABC Theater	"The Missiles of October"	Anthony Page	ABC
	NBC World Premiere Movie	"The Law"	John Badham	NBC
	Queen of the Stardust Ballroom		Sam O'Steen	CBS
Outstanding Directing in a Special Program
1976 (28th) ^[6]
	ABC Theater	"Eleanor and Franklin"	Daniel Petrie	ABC
	ABC Theater	"A Moon for the Misbegotten"	José Quintero and Gordon Rigsby	ABC
	Babe		Buzz Kulik	CBS
	Fear on Trial		Lamont Johnson	CBS
Outstanding Directing in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy
1977 (29th) ^[7]
	ABC Theater	"Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years"	Daniel Petrie	ABC
	The Big Event	"Raid on Entebbe"	Irvin Kershner	NBC
	The Big Event	"Tail Gunner Joe"	Jud Taylor	NBC
	Helter Skelter		Tom Gries	CBS
	NBC World Premiere Movie	"Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys"	Fielder Cook	NBC
1978 (30th) ^[8]
	The Defection of Simas Kudirka		David Lowell Rich	CBS
	Bell System Family Theatre	"Our Town"	George Schaefer	NBC
	Breaking Up		Delbert Mann	ABC
	The Gathering		Randal Kleiser	ABC
	Something for Joey		Lou Antonio	CBS
	Great Performances	"Verna: USO Girl"	Ronald F. Maxwell	PBS
Outstanding Directing in a Limited Seriea or Special
1979 (31st) ^[9]
	Friendly Fire		David Greene	ABC
	Les Misérables		Glenn Jordan	CBS
	Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story		Lou Antonio	CBS

1980s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or Special
1980 (32nd) ^[10]
	Attica		Marvin J. Chomsky	ABC
	Amber Waves		Joseph Sargent	ABC
	Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones		William Graham	CBS
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"All Quiet on the Western Front"	Delbert Mann	ABC
	Moviola	"The Scarlett O'Hara War"	John Erman	NBC
1981 (33rd) ^[11]
	Kent State		James Goldstone	NBC
	Bitter Harvest		Roger Young	NBC
	Masada	"Part 4"	Boris Sagal (posthumously)	ABC
	The Shadow Box		Paul Newman	ABC
	Shōgun	"Part 5"	Jerry London	NBC
1982 (34th) ^[12]
	Inside the Third Reich		Marvin J. Chomsky	ABC
	Brideshead Revisited	"Et in Arcadia Ego"	Michael Lindsay-Hogg and Charles Sturridge	PBS
	Mae West		Lee Philips	ABC
	Skokie		Herbert Wise	CBS
1983 (35th) ^[13]
	Who Will Love My Children?		John Erman	ABC
	Smiley's People	"Part 6"	Simon Langton	Syndicated
	Special Bulletin		Edward Zwick	NBC
	The Thorn Birds	"Part 2"	Daryl Duke	ABC
	The Winds of War	"Into the Maelstrom"	Dan Curtis	ABC
1984 (36th) ^[14]
	American Playhouse	"Concealed Enemies"	Jeff Bleckner	PBS
	ABC Theater	"The Day After"	Nicholas Meyer	ABC
		"Something About Amelia"	Randa Haines
		"A Streetcar Named Desire"	John Erman
	Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter		Lamont Johnson
1985 (37th) ^[15]
	Wallenberg: A Hero's Story		Lamont Johnson	NBC
	ABC Theater	"Consenting Adult"	Gilbert Cates	ABC
	The Burning Bed		Robert Greenwald	NBC
	Do You Remember Love		Jeff Bleckner	CBS
	Fatal Vision		David Greene	NBC
	The Jewel in the Crown	"Crossing the River"	Christopher Morahan and Jim O'Brien	PBS
Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special
1986 (38th) ^[16]
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Love Is Never Silent"	Joseph Sargent	NBC
	ABC Theater	"The Execution of Raymond Graham"	Daniel Petrie	ABC
	Death of a Salesman		Volker Schlöndorff	CBS
	An Early Frost		John Erman	NBC
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Resting Place"	John Korty	CBS
1987 (39th) ^[17]
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Promise"	Glenn Jordan	CBS
	Escape from Sobibor		Jack Gold	CBS
	LBJ: The Early Years		Peter Werner	NBC
	Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder	"Part 1"	Paul Bogart
	Unnatural Causes		Lamont Johnson
1988 (40th) ^[18]
	Lincoln		Lamont Johnson	NBC
	The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank		John Erman	CBS
	Billionaire Boys Club		Marvin J. Chomsky	NBC
	Echoes in the Darkness		Glenn Jordan	CBS
	The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story		Paul Wendkos	NBC
1989 (41st) ^[19]
	Lonesome Dove	"Part 1" & "Part 4"	Simon Wincer	CBS
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"My Name Is Bill W."	Daniel Petrie	ABC
	I Know My First Name is Steven		Larry Elikann	NBC
	Roe vs. Wade		Gregory Hoblit	NBC
	War and Remembrance	"Part 6" & "Part 7"	Dan Curtis	ABC

1990s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directing in a Miniseries or Special
1990 (42nd) ^[20]
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Caroline?"	Joseph Sargent	CBS
	AT&T Presents	"The Final Days"	Richard Pearce	ABC
	Do You Know the Muffin Man?		Gilbert Cates	CBS
	The Kennedys of Massachusetts		Lamont Johnson	ABC
	A Killing in a Small Town		Stephen Gyllenhaal	CBS
1991 (43rd) ^[21]
	The Josephine Baker Story		Brian Gibson	HBO
	Absolute Strangers		Gilbert Cates	CBS
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Decoration Day"	Robert Markowitz	NBC
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Sarah, Plain and Tall"	Glenn Jordan	CBS
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Directing for a Miniseries or Special
1992 (44th) ^[22]
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"Miss Rose White"	Joseph Sargent	NBC
	Broadway Bound		Paul Bogart	ABC
	Crash Landing: The Rescue of Flight 232		Lamont Johnson
	Homefront	"Pilot"	Ron Lagomarsino
	I'll Fly Away	"Pilot"	Joshua Brand	NBC
	Mark Twain and Me		Daniel Petrie	Disney
1993 (45th) ^[23]
	Sinatra		James Steven Sadwith	CBS
	Barbarians at the Gate		Glenn Jordan	HBO
	Citizen Cohn		Frank Pierson
	The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom		Michael Ritchie
	A Town Torn Apart		Daniel Petrie	NBC
1994 (46th) ^[24]
	Against the Wall		John Frankenheimer	HBO
	And the Band Played On		Roger Spottiswoode	HBO
	Gypsy		Emile Ardolino	CBS
	My Breast		Betty Thomas
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"To Dance with the White Dog"	Glenn Jordan
1995 (47th) ^[25]
	The Burning Season		John Frankenheimer	HBO
	Citizen X		Chris Gerolmo	HBO
	Hallmark Hall of Fame	"The Piano Lesson"	Lloyd Richards	CBS
	Indictment: The McMartin Trial		Mick Jackson	HBO
	Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story		Jeff Bleckner	NBC
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Special
1996 (48th) ^[26]
	Andersonville		John Frankenheimer	TNT
	Almost Golden: The Jessica Savitch Story		Peter Werner	Lifetime
	Gulliver's Travels		Charles Sturridge	NBC
	The Heidi Chronicles		Paul Bogart	TNT
	The Late Shift		Betty Thomas	HBO
1997 (49th) ^[27]
	The Odyssey		Andrei Konchalovsky	NBC
	Bastard out of Carolina		Anjelica Huston	Showtime
	Crime of the Century		Mark Rydell	HBO
	Gotti		Robert Harmon
	In the Gloaming		Christopher Reeve
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries or Movie
1998 (50th) ^[28]
	George Wallace		John Frankenheimer	TNT
	12 Angry Men		William Friedkin	Showtime
	Don King: Only in America		John Herzfeld	HBO
	From the Earth to the Moon	"Can We Do This?"	Tom Hanks	HBO
	Merlin		Steve Barron	NBC
1999 (51st) ^[29]
	The Temptations		Allan Arkush	NBC
	The Baby Dance		Jane Anderson	Showtime
	Dash and Lilly		Kathy Bates	A&E
	Joan of Arc		Christian Duguay	CBS
	A Lesson Before Dying		Joseph Sargent	HBO

2000s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Special
2000 (52nd) ^[30]
	The Corner		Charles S. Dutton	HBO
	Annie		Rob Marshall	ABC
	Fail Safe		Stephen Frears and Martin Pasetta	CBS
	Introducing Dorothy Dandridge		Martha Coolidge	HBO
	RKO 281		Benjamin Ross	HBO
2001 (53rd) ^[31]
	Wit		Mike Nichols	HBO
	61*		Billy Crystal	HBO
	Anne Frank: The Whole Story		Robert Dornhelm	ABC
	Conspiracy		Frank Pierson	HBO
	Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows		Robert Allan Ackerman	ABC
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special
2002 (54th) ^[32]
	Band of Brothers		David Frankel, Tom Hanks, David Leland, Richard Loncraine, David Nutter, Phil Alden Robinson, Mikael Salomon, and Tony To	HBO
	The Gathering Storm		Richard Loncraine	HBO
	James Dean		Mark Rydell	TNT
	The Laramie Project		Moisés Kaufman	HBO
	Path to War		John Frankenheimer	HBO
2003 (55th) ^[33]
	Door to Door		Steven Schachter	TNT
	Live from Baghdad		Mick Jackson	HBO
	My House in Umbria		Richard Loncraine	HBO
	The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone		Robert Allan Ackerman	Showtime
	Soldier's Girl		Frank Pierson	Showtime
2004 (56th) ^[34]
	Angels in America		Mike Nichols	HBO
	Ike: Countdown to D-Day		Robert Harmon	A&E
	The Lion in Winter		Andrei Konchalovsky	Showtime
	Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness		Tom Hooper	PBS
	Something the Lord Made		Joseph Sargent	HBO
2005 (57th) ^[35]
	The Life and Death of Peter Sellers		Stephen Hopkins	HBO
	Empire Falls		Fred Schepisi	HBO
	Lackawanna Blues		George C. Wolfe
	Warm Springs		Joseph Sargent
2006 (58th) ^[36]
	Elizabeth I		Tom Hooper	HBO
	Bleak House		Justin Chadwick	PBS
	Flight 93		Peter Markle	A&E
	The Girl in the Café		David Yates	HBO
	High School Musical		Kenny Ortega	Disney
	Mrs. Harris		Phyllis Nagy	HBO
2007 (59th) ^[37]
	Prime Suspect: The Final Act		Philip Martin	PBS
	Broken Trail		Walter Hill	AMC
	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee		Yves Simoneau	HBO
	Jane Eyre		Susanna White	PBS
	Tsunami: The Aftermath		Bharat Nalluri	HBO
2008 (60th) ^[38]
	Recount		Jay Roach	HBO
	Bernard and Doris		Bob Balaban	HBO
	The Company		Mikael Salomon	TNT
	Extras	"The Extra Special Series Finale"	Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant	HBO
	John Adams		Tom Hooper	HBO
2009 (61st) ^[39]
	Little Dorrit	"Part 1"	Dearbhla Walsh	PBS
	Generation Kill	"Bomb in the Garden"	Susanna White	HBO
	Grey Gardens		Michael Sucsy
	Into the Storm		Thaddeus O'Sullivan
	Taking Chance		Ross Katz
	Wallander: One Step Behind		Philip Martin	PBS

2010s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special
2010 (62nd) ^[40]
	Temple Grandin		Mick Jackson	HBO
	Georgia O'Keeffe		Bob Balaban	Lifetime
	The Pacific	"Part 8"	David Nutter and Jeremy Podeswa	HBO
	The Pacific	"Part 9"	Tim Van Patten
	You Don't Know Jack		Barry Levinson
2011 (63rd) ^[41]
	Downton Abbey	"Episode One"	Brian Percival	PBS
	Carlos		Olivier Assayas	Sundance
	Cinema Verite		Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini	HBO
	Mildred Pierce		Todd Haynes
	Too Big to Fail		Curtis Hanson
2012 (64th) ^[42]
	Game Change		Jay Roach	HBO
	Hatfields & McCoys		Kevin Reynolds	History
	Hemingway & Gellhorn		Philip Kaufman	HBO
	Luther		Sam Miller	BBC America
	Sherlock: "A Scandal in Belgravia"	Paul McGuigan	PBS
2013 (65th) ^[43]
	Behind the Candelabra		Steven Soderbergh	HBO
	The Girl		Julian Jarrold	HBO
	Phil Spector		David Mamet	HBO
	Ring of Fire		Allison Anders	Lifetime
	Top of the Lake	"Part 5"	Jane Campion and Garth Davis	Sundance
2014 (66th) ^[44]
	Fargo	"Buridan's Ass"	Colin Bucksey	FX
	American Horror Story: Coven	"Bitchcraft"	Alfonso Gomez-Rejon	FX
	Fargo	"The Crocodile's Dilemma"	Adam Bernstein	FX
	Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight		Stephen Frears	HBO
	The Normal Heart		Ryan Murphy	HBO
	Sherlock: His Last Vow		Nick Hurran	PBS
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
2015 (67th) ^[45]
	Olive Kitteridge		Lisa Cholodenko	HBO
	American Horror Story: Freak Show	"Monsters Among Us"	Ryan Murphy	FX
	Bessie		Dee Rees	HBO
	The Honorable Woman		Hugo Blick	Sundance
	Houdini		Uli Edel	History
	The Missing		Tom Shankland	Starz
	Wolf Hall		Peter Kosminsky	PBS
2016 (68th) ^[46]
	The Night Manager		Susanne Bier	AMC
	All the Way		Jay Roach	HBO
	Fargo	"Before the Law"	Noah Hawley	FX
	The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story	"From the Ashes of Tragedy"	Ryan Murphy
		"Manna from Heaven"	Anthony Hemingway
		"The Race Card"	John Singleton
2017 (69th) ^[47]
	Big Little Lies		Jean-Marc Vallée	HBO
	Fargo	"The Law of Vacant Places"	Noah Hawley	FX
	Feud: Bette and Joan	"And the Winner Is... (The Oscars of 1963)"	Ryan Murphy	FX
	Genius	"Einstein: Chapter One"	Ron Howard	Nat Geo
	The Night Of	"The Art of War"	James Marsh	HBO
	The Night Of	"The Beach"	Steven Zaillian	HBO
2018 (70th) ^[48]
	The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story	"The Man Who Would Be Vogue"	Ryan Murphy	FX
	Godless		Scott Frank	Netflix
	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert		David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski	NBC
	The Looming Tower	"9/11"	Craig Zisk	Hulu
	Paterno		Barry Levinson	HBO
	Patrick Melrose		Edward Berger	Showtime
	Twin Peaks		David Lynch	Showtime
2019 (71st) ^[49]
	Chernobyl		Johan Renck	HBO
	Escape at Dannemora		Ben Stiller	Showtime
	Fosse/Verdon	"Glory"	Jessica Yu	FX
	Fosse/Verdon	"Who's Got the Pain?"	Thomas Kail	FX
	A Very English Scandal		Stephen Frears	Prime Video
	When They See Us		Ava DuVernay	Netflix

2020s

Year	Program	Episode	Nominee(s)	Network
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
2020 (72nd)
	Unorthodox		Maria Schrader	Netflix
	Little Fires Everywhere	"Find a Way"	Lynn Shelton (posthumous)	Hulu
	Normal People	"Episode 5"	Lenny Abrahamson	Hulu
	Watchmen	"It's Summer and We're Running Out of Ice"	Nicole Kassell	HBO
		"Little Fear of Lightning"	Steph Green
		"This Extraordinary Being"	Stephen Williams
Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
2021 (73rd)
	The Queen's Gambit		Scott Frank	Netflix
	Hamilton		Thomas Kail	Disney+
	I May Destroy You	"Ego Death"	Sam Miller and Michaela Coel	HBO
	I May Destroy You	"Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes"	Sam Miller
	Mare of Easttown		Craig Zobel
	The Underground Railroad		Barry Jenkins	Prime Video
	WandaVision		Matt Shakman	Disney+
2022 (74th)
	The White Lotus		Mike White	HBO
	Dopesick	"The People vs. Purdue Pharma"	Danny Strong	Hulu
	The Dropout	"Green Juice"	Michael Showalter
	The Dropout	"Iron Sisters"	Francesca Gregorini
	Maid	"Sky Blue"	John Wells	Netflix
	Station Eleven	"Wheel of Fire"	Hiro Murai	HBO Max
2023 (75th)
	Beef	"Figures of Light"	Lee Sung Jin	Netflix
	Beef	"The Great Fabricator"	Jake Schreier	Netflix
	Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story	"Bad Meat"	Carl Franklin
	Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story	"Silenced"	Paris Barclay
	Fleishman Is in Trouble	"Me-Time"	Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris	FX
	Prey		Dan Trachtenberg	Hulu

Directors with multiple wins

Directors with multiple nominations

Programs with multiple nominations

References

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