Primetime Emmy Awards 1986
The 38th Primetime Emmy Awards · Held September 21, 1986 · 27 categories · everything in 1986
Outstanding Drama Series
- Winner Cagney & Lacey · Patricia Green
- Nominee Hill Street Blues · Walon Green
- Nominee Moonlighting · Glenn Gordon Caron
- Nominee Murder, She Wrote
- Nominee St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Comedy Series
- Winner The Golden Girls
- Nominee Cheers · Peter Casey, David Lee, Heide Perlman, David Angell
- Nominee Family Ties
- Nominee Kate & Allie
- Nominee The Cosby Show · Carmen Finestra, Matt Williams
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
- Winner Peter the Great · Lawrence Schiller, Marvin J. Chomsky
- Nominee Dress Gray · Glenn Jordan
- Nominee Lord Mountbatten: The Last Viceroy
- Nominee On Wings of Eagles · Edgar J. Scherick
- Nominee The Long Hot Summer · Leonard Hill
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Winner William Daniels · St. Elsewhere
- Nominee Tom Selleck · Magnum, P.I.
- Nominee Bruce Willis · Moonlighting
- Nominee Ed Flanders · St. Elsewhere
- Nominee Edward Woodward · The Equalizer
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Winner Sharon Gless · Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee Tyne Daly · Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee Cybill Shepherd · Moonlighting
- Nominee Angela Lansbury · Murder, She Wrote
- Nominee Alfre Woodard · St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Winner Michael J. Fox · Family Ties
- Nominee Ted Danson · Cheers
- Nominee Jack Warden · Crazy Like a Fox
- Nominee Bob Newhart · Newhart
- Nominee Harry Anderson · Night Court
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Winner Betty White · The Golden Girls
- Nominee Shelley Long · Cheers
- Nominee Phylicia Rashad · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Bea Arthur · The Golden Girls
- Nominee Rue McClanahan · The Golden Girls
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Winner Dustin Hoffman · Death of a Salesman
- Nominee Kirk Douglas · Amos
- Nominee Aidan Quinn · An Early Frost
- Nominee Ben Gazzara · An Early Frost
- Nominee John Lithgow · Resting Place
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Winner Marlo Thomas · Nobody's Child
- Nominee Gena Rowlands · An Early Frost
- Nominee Mare Winningham · Love Is Never Silent
- Nominee Katharine Hepburn · Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry
- Nominee Vanessa Redgrave · Second Serve
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- Winner John Karlen · Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee Bruce Weitz · Hill Street Blues
- Nominee John Hillerman · Magnum, P.I.
- Nominee Edward James Olmos · Miami Vice
- Nominee Ed Begley Jr. · St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Winner Bonnie Bartlett · St. Elsewhere
- Nominee Betty Thomas · Hill Street Blues
- Nominee Allyce Beasley · Moonlighting
- Nominee Christina Pickles · St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Winner John Larroquette · Night Court
- Nominee George Wendt · Cheers
- Nominee John Ratzenberger · Cheers
- Nominee Tom Poston · Newhart
- Nominee Malcolm-Jamal Warner · The Cosby Show
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Winner Rhea Perlman · Cheers
- Nominee Justine Bateman · Family Ties
- Nominee Julia Duffy · Newhart
- Nominee Keshia Knight Pulliam · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Lisa Bonet · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Estelle Getty · The Golden Girls
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Winner John Malkovich · Death of a Salesman
- Nominee Pat Morita · Amos
- Nominee John Glover · An Early Frost
- Nominee Charles Durning · Death of a Salesman
- Nominee Harold Gould · Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Winner Colleen Dewhurst · Between Two Women
- Nominee Dorothy McGuire · Amos
- Nominee Sylvia Sidney · An Early Frost
- Nominee Phyllis Frelich · Love Is Never Silent
- Nominee Vanessa Redgrave · Peter the Great
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
- Winner Georg Stanford Brown · Parting Shots from Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee Will Mackenzie · My Fair David from Moonlighting
- Nominee Peter Werner · The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice from Moonlighting
- Nominee Steven Spielberg · The Mission from Amazing Stories
- Nominee Gabrielle Beaumont · Two Easy Pieces from Hill Street Blues
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
- Winner Jay Sandrich · Denise's Friend from The Cosby Show
- Nominee Terry Hughes · A Little Romance from The Golden Girls
- Nominee Bill Persky · Chip's Friend from Kate & Allie
- Nominee Jim Drake · The Heart Attack from The Golden Girls
- Nominee James Burrows · The Triangle from Cheers
Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
- Winner Joseph Sargent · Love Is Never Silent
- Nominee John Korty · Hallmark Hall of Fame
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
- Winner Waris Hussein · Copacabana
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
- Winner John Tinker, Tom Fontana, John Masius · Time Heals from St. Elsewhere
- Nominee Charles H. Eglee, Channing Gibson · Haunted from St. Elsewhere
- Nominee Carl Sautter · The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice from Moonlighting
- Nominee Glenn Gordon Caron · Twas the Episode Before Christmas from Moonlighting
- Nominee Dick Wolf · What Are Friends For? from Hill Street Blues
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
- Winner Mort Nathan · A Little Romance from The Golden Girls
- Nominee Peter Casey, David Lee · 2 Good 2 Be 4 Real from Cheers
- Nominee John Markus · Denise's Friend from The Cosby Show
- Nominee Susan Harris · Pilot from The Golden Girls
- Nominee Michael J. Weithorn · The Real Thing, Part II from Family Ties
- Nominee Carmen Finestra, Matt Williams · Theo's Holiday from The Cosby Show
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
- Winner Roscoe Lee Browne · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Earle Hyman · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Danny Kaye · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Stevie Wonder · The Cosby Show
- Nominee Clarice Taylor · The Cosby Show
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
- Winner Amazing Stories
- Nominee Peggy McCay · Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee James Stacy · Cagney & Lacey
- Nominee Whoopi Goldberg · Moonlighting
- Nominee Edward Herrmann · St. Elsewhere
Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program
- Winner Whitney Houston · The 28th Annual Grammy Awards
- Nominee Debbie Allen · An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
- Nominee An All-Star Celebration Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
- Nominee Patti LaBelle · Great Performances
- Nominee Jon Lovitz · Saturday Night Live
- Nominee Sarah Vaughan · The 28th Annual Grammy Awards
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics
- Winner Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa
- Nominee Growing Pains · Steve Dorff
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
- Winner Kennedy Center Honors
- Nominee AFI Life Achievement Award
- Nominee Late Night with David Letterman
- Nominee The 40th Annual Tony Awards
- Nominee The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
- Winner Sherman Yellen, Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman · An Early Frost