Beyoncé would probably really like to win her first Primetime Emmy this year, to go along with her record 35 Grammy Awards, but it won’t be easy. Her Beyoncé Bowl (which streamed on Netflix) is nominated for outstanding variety special (live), but most pundits expect the award to go to SNL50: The Anniversary Special (NBC).
There are several reasons for that. SNL is obviously a TV institution. It went on the air more than five years before Beyoncé was even born. Two earlier SNL anniversary specials – Saturday Night Live: The 25th Anniversary Special and The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special – won program awards in predecessor categories.
Another sign: SNL50: The Anniversary Special received 12 Primetime Emmy nods this year, compared to just four for Beyoncé Bowl.
And there’s another factor at play here: Voters find it hard to resist a nice, round number. We’ve rounded up 11 music or variety shows with such numbers in their titles that won Primetime Emmys in key program categories.
To be sure, shows with nice, round numbers in their titles don’t always win. Just last year, Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden lost outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) to Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic, a fairly random number. But voters wanted to give Van Dyke his flowers while they could. In 2018, The Carol Burnett Show: 50th Anniversary Special lost in that same category to Dave Chappelle: Equanimity, a title with no numbers at all. But in general, it’s a plus.
This year’s other nominees for outstanding variety special (live) are The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar (Fox), The Oscars (ABC) and SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (Peacock).
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent won in this category three years ago, the first time a halftime show had ever won a top program award.
The Oscars won in this category last year and won three previous times (in 1979, 1988 and 1991) in predecessor categories.
There’s a slight chance that the two SNL salutes could split that show’s support, allowing another program to win, but most voters know that SNL50: The Anniversary Special is the flagship effort. Lorne Michaels executive produced both specials, working in tandem with Mark Ronson on the concert special.
Beyoncé has a second chance to win a Primetime Emmy this year. She could win for outstanding directing for a variety special. (She directed Beyoncé Bowl alongside Alex Rudzinski, who won in this category nine years ago for co-directing Grease Live!) If Bey wins here, it would mark the second time a director won in this category for directing a show in which he or she was the star. Bo Burnham won in this category four years ago for Bo Burnham: Inside.
Here are the 11 music or variety shows with nice, round numbers in their titles that won Primetime Emmys in key program categories.
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1982: Night of 100 Stars (ABC)
Awards: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program, Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction
Notes: This all-star variety special celebrated the centennial of the Actors’ Fund of America. The 100 stars included Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Cher, Dick Clark, Christopher Cross, Sammy Davis Jr., Placido Domingo, Andy Gibb, Liza Minnelli and Lionel Richie. It was mostly a parade of solo personalities, but there were also some groups or ensembles – the Doobie Brothers, the Radio City Rockettes and the New York Yankees. One of the 100 stars was Grace Kelly, who died in a car crash in September 1982.
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1983: Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever (NBC)
Award: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program
Notes: This show featured reunions of The Jackson 5, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Diana Ross & The Supremes, and a fun “battle of the bands” featuring The Temptations and The Four Tops, but it is most remembered for being the program where Michael Jackson first unveiled his moonwalk.
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1988: Irving Berlin’s 100th Birthday Celebration (CBS)
Awards: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Program, Outstanding Achievement in Choreography
Notes: Bea Arthur, Rosemary Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Bob Hope, Shirley MacLaine, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett and Ray Charles were among the guests on this special, which was taped at Carnegie Hall on May 11, 1988, Berlin’s 100th birthday; broadcaster Walter Cronkite gave the program added gravitas. The legendary songwriter died in 1989 at 101.
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1989: Bernstein at 70! (PBS)
Award: Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts
Notes: This Great Performances special was a celebration of Leonard Bernstein. The conductor, composer and pianist died in October 1990 at 72.
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1990: Sammy Davis Jr.’s 60th Anniversary Celebration (ABC)
Award: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
Notes: Michael Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Clint Eastwood, Bill Cosby and more paid tribute to the trailblazing star, who was marking his 60th anniversary in show business. Jackson and Buz Kohan co-wrote the song “You Were There,” which Jackson introduced on this special, which was taped at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Davis died in May 1990 at age 64, after the special aired but before it won the Emmy.
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1991: Tchaikovsky: 150th Birthday Gala from Leningrad (PBS)
Awards: Outstanding Classical Program in the Performing Arts, Outstanding Individual Achievement – Classical Music/Dance Programming
Notes: Yo-Ya Ma (who also won an Emmy for outstanding individual achievement), Jessye Norman, Itzhak Perlman and conductor Yuri Temirkanov were featured on this program, which paid tribute to the famed Russian composer, who was born Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in May 1840.
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1993: Bob Hope: The First 90 Years (NBC)
Award: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
Notes: Paula Abdul, Garth Brooks, Peabo Bryson, Lucie Arnaz and bandleader Les Brownwere among the guests on this program, which honored the legendary comedian, who turned 90 in May 1993.The program was executive produced by his daughter, Linda Hope. Bob Hope died in July 2003 at age 100.
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2000: Saturday Night Live: The 25th Anniversary Special (NBC)
Award: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special
Notes: The show included musical performances by Al Green, Eurythmics and the Beastie Boys (who were joined by Elvis Costello).
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2004: New York City Ballet – Lincoln Center Celebrates Balanchine 100 (PBS)
Award: Outstanding Special Class Program
Notes: This Live From Lincoln Center special was a celebration of choreographer George Balanchine on the centennial of his birth. He had died in 1983 at age 79.
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2015: The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special (NBC)
Awards:Outstanding Variety Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special; Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
Notes: The show featured musical performances by Paul McCartney, Miley Cyrus, Kanye West and Paul Simon. (McCartney, Cyrus and Simon also performed on SNL50: The Anniversary Special.)
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2023: Carol Burnett 90 Years of Laughter + Love (NBC)
Award: Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Notes: Such stars as Cher and Julie Andrews gathered to honor the beloved comedian. Katy Perry sang the theme song from The Carol Burnett Show. The special also featured musical performances by Kristin Chenoweth & Bernadette Peters, Darren Criss & Sutton Foster and the team of Peters, Jane Lynch, Billy Porter and Aileen Quinn.
