Plot Synopsis

THE PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS, traditionally held the weekend before the live Primetime Emmys telecast, are largely dedicated to key technical disciplines and behind-the-scenes crafts essential to television production: art direction, cinematography, hairstyling, makeup, music, picture editing, sound editing and mixing, special visual effects, stunts and more. Awards are also handed out for animation, commercials, reality series and other programming, as well as some acting categories and special honors. The Award ceremony has not yet been televised live, and it is typically shown on tape delay just days before the Primetime Emmy Awards. In 1999 and 2000, HBO Plus aired ceremony highlights on Thursday nights during primetime, showing a program that included "all the best lines from the show edited into a 50-minute highlight reel," according to producer Spike Jones Jr. The following year, the televised awards program switched to E!, where it aired as a two-hour special each year from 2001 - 2010, inclusive. Initially, E! aired the awards ceremony as a primetime program, mostly on Saturday nights, but scheduled the special on Friday afternoons in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 and 2012, ReelzChannel showed the tape-delayed, two-hour ceremony the night before the Primetime Emmys telecast, a tradition that FXX and FXM continued when they started to show the event in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Originally, this awards ceremony had a host, or multiple hosts, each year, but since 2010 the show has been guided by presenting pairs/groups, often made up of stars and executive producers/showrunners from current television programs.

The 2013 ceremony was held on Sunday, September 15th at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Downtown Los Angeles, and was televised one week later by FXX on Saturday, September 21st from 9-11pm ET/PT.

On Sunday, August 24, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT, FXM aired an edited two-hour version of the 2014 PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS, an event which took place one week earlier on Saturday, August 16 at 4pm PT at the NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE in Downtown Los Angeles. Presenters for 2014 included Aisha Tyler, Tony Goldwyn, Jane Lynch, Tony Hale, Amy Schumer, Allison Janney, Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum, Key & Peele, Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, Morgan Freeman, Joe Manganiello and Carrie Preston. Plus, Jon Voight made a moving posthumous presentation of the Academy's Governors Award to casting icon Marion Dougherty, who had discovered Voight and many others.

FXX premiered the 67th PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS on Saturday, September 19, 2015 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT, one week after the event was held at the Microsoft Theater L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles on September 12. Presenters for 2015 included: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Drew and Jonathan Silver Scott, Katharine McPhee, Peter Facinelli, Constance Zimmer, Chris Hardwick, Pamela Adlon, Sasha Alexander, Shiri Appleby, Scott Aukerman, Reg E. Cathey, Billy Eichner, Heidi Klum, Chuck Lorre, Aasif Mandvi, Kristen Schaal, Martin Starr, Mae Whitman, Beau Bridges, Mel Brooks, Cat Deeley, Nina Dobrev, Rob Corddry, Seth Green, Allison Janney, Ken Jeong, Gina Rodriguez, Paul Scheer, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bradley Whitford, and Fred Willard. On Saturday, September 17, 2016 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT, FXX premiered the 68th Annual PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS, a two-hour special that highlights awards and special moments from two nights of of ceremonies at Microsoft Theatre L.A. the previous weekend on Saturday, September 10 and Sunday, September 11.

The 2016 ceremonies had no host. Additionally, Television Academy Chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum presented the Governors Award to AMERICAN IDOL. FXX premiered the 69th PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS on Saturday, September 16, 2017 from 8-10pm ET/PT. This two-hour special features highlights from the two-night awards ceremony that was held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles one week earlier on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10. This year, the Governors Award was given to ITVS, a documentary film funder and distributor for public media. Once again the program has no host.

The 70th Annual PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS -- held on Saturday, September 8 and Sunday, September 9, 2018 (unscripted programming) at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles -- were broadcast as a 2.5-hour special on FXX on Saturday, September 15, 2018 from 8-10:35pm ET/PT. This year's event minted three new members of the so-called EGOT club -- those who have received the four most prestigious awards in entertainment: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. When JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE scored the award for outstanding live variety special, composer-producer Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyricist-producer Tim Rice and performer-producer John Legend all attained EGOT status, bringing the total number of EGOT winners to 15. CNN garnered a number of awards for ANTHONY BOURDAIN: PARTS UNKNOWN -- writing, picture editing, sound editing, sound mixing, and outstanding informational series or special. But the joy was tinctured with sadness over the passing of Bourdain, the Emmy-winning writer, producer and host who took his own life in June. The impact of his loss was palpable, and several winners spoke movingly of his talent, generosity and humanity. Plus, the event paid tribute to STAR TREK, as 80 cast and crew members came together for William Shatner to receive the 2018 Governors Award for the STAR TREK franchise, presented by Bill Nye. This year, once again there was no host for the awards program, but presenters included: Bryan Cranston; Molly Shannon & Jimmy O. Yang; Mishel Prada & Melissa Barrera; cast of FULLER HOUSE; Gerald McRaney & Tichina Arnold; Thomas Sadowski & Samira Wiley; Lamorne Morris & Justina Machado; Jane Lynch; Stephen Root & Madchen Amick; Ron Cephas Jones & Giancarlo Esposito; Cedric Yarborough & Micah Fowler; Neil Patrick Harris; Lisa Kudrow & David Alan Grier; Judd Apatow; QUEER EYE Hosts; Derek Hough & Padma Lakshmi; Drew Scott & Jonathan Scott; Heidi Klum & Tim Gunn; James Corden; Kenan Thompson; Carol Burnett; Louie Anderson & Lori Grenier; Amber Ruffin & Nick Kroll; W. Kamau Bell & RuPaul Charles; Patton Oswalt & Carrie Brownstein; Samantha Bee; and more.

FXX premiered the 71st PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS on Saturday, September 21, 2019 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT, one week after the event was held at the Microsoft Theater L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles over two nights: Saturday, September 14 and Sunday, September 15. The event honored outstanding artistic and technical achievement in a variety of television program genres, guest performances in weekly series, as well as exceptional work in the animation, reality and documentary categories. Saturday's awards covered reality, variety special, documentary, animated program and short form animation, choreography for variety or reality program, and interactive program, while Sunday featured awards for performers, artists and craftspeople for excellence in short form drama and comedy series, casting, cinematography, and guest performers in comedy and drama series. Again the event had no host, but featured these celebrity presenters: Will Arnett, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Roy Choi and Jon Favreau, Terry Crews, Jeff Goldblum, Seth Green, Diane Guerrero, Derek Hough, Marie Kondo, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Alfie Allen, Maude Apatow, Ron Cephas Jones, Rob Corddry, Laverne Cox, Lisa Edelstein, Jared Harris, Neil Patrick Harris, Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine, Natasha Lyonne, Peter MacNicol, Olivia Munn, Chris O'Dowd, Ryan O'Connell, Wendell Pierce, Marcus Scribner and the cast reunion of IN LIVING COLOR including Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Tommy Davidson. In addition, there was no Governor's Award, marking the first time since 1994 that the award was not conferred.

Because of COVID-19, the 72nd PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS were presented over five nights, culminating in a televised event on Saturday, September 19, 2020 from 8-10pm ET/5-7pm PT on FXX: Reality and Non-Fiction (Sep 14); Variety (Sep 15); Scripted Night One (Sep 16); Scripted Night Two (Sep 17); and mixture of awards (Sep 19). Nicole Byer hosted all five nights of the virtual event, with celebrity presenters and winners appearing from remote locations.

Hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, the 73rd PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS premiered on Saturday, September 18, 2021 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT on FXX. This 2.5-hour special is a compilation of moments from the two days of ceremonies the previous week on on Saturday, September 11 and Sunday, September 12, 2021, which were recorded in front of a limited live audience both days at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live.

In 2022, the 74th PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS premiered on Saturday, September 10, 2022 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT on FXX. This 2.5-hour special compiles the best moments from two ceremonies, which took place at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles the previous weekend: Saturday, September 3 and Sunday, September 4. Awards honor the outstanding artistic and technical achievements in a variety of television program genres, guest performances in weekly series, as well as exceptional work in the animation, reality and documentary categories. The 74th PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS then streamed on Hulu from September 11-27.

The 75th PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS, originally scheduled for September 2023, was delayed until January 6 and 7, 2024 because of the strike. Held at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, CA, the event was telecast as a 2.5-hour special the following week on FXX on Saturday, January 13, 2024 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT.
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On Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 8-10:30pm ET/PT, FXX presented coverage of the 76TH PRIMETIME CREATIVE ARTS EMMY AWARDS, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles the prior weekend -- on Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8 -- to honor the best in artistic and technical achievement in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2023, until May 31, 2024.