Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series debuted in 1966, and has been annually awarded most years since the mid-1960s. It has had a large number of name changes, mostly involving the addition or subtraction of the word comedy. Generally, the category has recognized the writers of variety and sketch comedy shows. However, in 1969, 1970 and 1979, it was the main category for writers of situation comedies. Prior to 1966, variety series were eligible in Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series where The Red Skelton Show and other variety programs were occasionally nominated.

For most of the 1970s, the category was effectively split into two branches. From 1971 to 1978, one-off specials were awarded separately from ongoing series. The divide was reinstated in 2009 as Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special. The writers of one-off variety specials competed against series writers in the interim, and occasionally won, as in 1991 and 2000. This has led to some anomalies, such as when a special edition of Late Night with David Letterman beat out regular editions of The Tracey Ullman Show and Saturday Night Live in 1987, despite the fact that typical episodes of Late Night were not nominated that year.

The category eventually found greater stability with its name in 1982, when it settled on Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program for almost two decades. In 2000, it added the word comedy. Of all the writing Emmy categories, it has recently become the one most dominated by cable networks. Since 1996 it has been won by a major terrestrial broadcaster only twice, with the overwhelming majority of winners coming from HBO and Comedy Central.

The category has seen many name changes, including variety, musical and comedy series. The current name dates from 2012. Since 2003, and with the exception of 2007, three series have shared the awards: The Daily Show and its spin-off, The Colbert Report, both broadcast on Comedy Central, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, himself a Daily Show alumnus.

The following list of winners is organized both by year and the name being used by the category in that year:

Programs with multiple wins

 * 9 wins
 * The Daily Show with Jon Stewart


 * 8 wins
 * Last Week Tonight with John Oliver


 * 5 wins
 * The Carol Burnett Show


 * 4 wins
 * The Colbert Report
 * Dennis Miller Live
 * Late Night with David Letterman
 * Saturday Night Live


 * 2 wins
 * SCTV Network

Programs with multiple nominations

 * 30 nominations
 * Saturday Night Live


 * 16 nominations
 * The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
 * Late Show with David Letterman


 * 14 nominations
 * Late Night with Conan O'Brien
 * Late Night with David Letterman


 * 12 nominations
 * The Carol Burnett Show


 * 10 nominations
 * The Colbert Report
 * Last Week Tonight with John Oliver


 * 9 nominations
 * SCTV Network


 * 7 nominations
 * The Late Show with Stephen Colbert


 * 6 nominations
 * Dennis Miller Live
 * Real Time with Bill Maher


 * 5 nominations
 * Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
 * Late Night with Seth Meyers
 * Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
 * The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson


 * 4 nominations
 * The Chris Rock Show
 * The Muppet Show
 * Portlandia
 * The Tracey Ullman Show


 * 3 nominations
 * The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
 * The Flip Wilson Show
 * In Living Color
 * Inside Amy Schumer
 * Key & Peele
 * The Kids in the Hall
 * Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher
 * The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour


 * 2 nominations
 * A Black Lady Sketch Show
 * The Danny Kaye Show
 * Mr. Show with Bob and David
 * Mystery Science Theater 3000
 * The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour
 * Tracey Takes On...