29th Primetime Emmy Awards


The 29th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 11, 1977. The ceremony was broadcast on NBC. It was hosted by Angie Dickinson and Robert Blake.
The top shows of the night were Mary Tyler Moore, which, in its final season, won its third consecutive Outstanding Comedy Series Award, it also became the first comedy series to gain eleven major nominations. Upstairs, Downstairs, also in its final season, won its third Outstanding Drama Series Award in four years. But the overwhelming champion of the ceremony was the miniseries Roots.
Roots set several milestones and broke multiple records during the night. It became the first show to receive at least twenty major nominations. Adding its nominations in Creative Arts categories, its total expands to 37. Both records still stand for all shows. It was the first show to gain every nomination in an acting category. Its thirteen acting nominations tied the record set the previous year by Rich Man, Poor Man, however all of Roots nominations came in the miniseries category, while Rich Man, Poor Man had nominations cross over into the drama series field. Roots became the first miniseries, and second show overall, along with All in the Family in 1972, to win six of seven major categories. All but one of Roots eight episodes were nominated for major awards.
Another distinction of the night was that Mary Kay Place won a Major Acting award for a TV show that had no major network, only broadcast in Syndication - the first time this rare feat has occurred.
With this ceremony, the Primetime Emmys began a long residency at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium that would continue until 1997.

Winners and nominees

Programs

Outstanding Comedy SeriesOutstanding Drama Series

  • Mary Tyler Moore,
  • * All in the Family,
  • * Barney Miller,
  • * The Bob Newhart Show,
  • * M*A*S*H,
  • Upstairs, Downstairs,
  • * Baretta,
  • * Columbo,
  • * Family,
  • * Police Story,
    • Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music SeriesOutstanding Special - Comedy-Variety or Music
  • Van Dyke and Company,
  • * The Carol Burnett Show,
  • * Evening at Pops,
  • * The Muppet Show,
  • * NBC's Saturday Night,
  • The Barry Manilow Special,
  • * Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek,
  • * The Shirley MacLaine Special: Where Do We Go from Here?,
  • * Sills and Burnett at the Met,
  • * World of Magic,
    • Outstanding Special - Drama or ComedyOutstanding Limited Series
  • ,
  • Sybil,
  • * 21 Hours at Munich,
  • * Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking,
  • * Raid on Entebbe,
  • Roots,
  • * The Adams Chronicles,
  • * Arthur Hailey's the Moneychangers,
  • * Captains and the Kings,
  • * Madame Bovary,

    • Acting

    Lead performances

    Supporting performances

    Single performances

    Directing

    Writing

    Most major nominations

    ;By network
    ; By program
    ;By network
    ; By program
    ;Notes