| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program | |
| Awarded For: | Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program |
| Presenter: | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Country: | United States |
| Holder: | Conan O'Brien Must Go (2024) |
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program is awarded to one television documentary or nonfiction series each year.
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place:
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| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[1] [2] | |||
| Scared Straight! | Arnold Shapiro | Syndicated | ||
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[3] [4] | |||
| The Body Human: The Body Beautiful | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS | ||
| 1983 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[5] [6] | |||
| The Body Human: The Living Code | Robert E. Fuisz and Louis H. Gorfain | CBS | ||
| I, Leonardo: A Journey of the Mind | Chandler Cowles | CBS | ||
| 1984 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[7] [8] | |||
| A Walk Through the 20th Century with Bill Moyers | "Marshall, Texas" | Bill Moyers | PBS | |
| 1985 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing[9] [10] | |||
| Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "The Crucible of Europe" | Howard Enders, John G. Fox, Michael Joseloff and Marc Siegel | PBS | |
| "Out of the Ashes" | Brian Winston | |||
| Heritage: Civilization and the Jews | "Roads from the Ghetto" | John G. Fox and Eugene Marner | PBS | |
| The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth | David Attenborough | |||
| 1987 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming - Writing[11] [12] | |||
| The Story of English | "A Muse of Fire" | Robert MacNeil and Robert McCrum | PBS | |
| American Masters | "Billie Holiday: The Long Night of Lady Day" | John Jeremy | PBS | |
| 1988 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[13] [14] | |||
| American Masters | "Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow" | Kevin Brownlow and David Gill | PBS | |
| Bill Couturié and Richard Dewhurst | HBO | |||
| American Masters | "The Ten-Year Lunch: The Wit and Legend of the Algonquin Round Table" | Peter Foges and Mary Jo Kaplan | PBS | |
| 1989 | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming[15] [16] | |||
| The Mind | "Search for the Mind" | John Heminway | PBS | |
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Outstanding Writing in Informational Programming[17] [18] | |||
| American Masters | "Broadway Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theater" | Steve Lawson | PBS | |
| 1991 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[19] [20] | |||
| American Masters | "Preston Sturges: The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer" | Todd McCarthy | PBS | |
| The Civil War | "The Better Angels of Our Nature" | Ric Burns, Ken Burns and Geoffrey C. Ward | ||
| 1992 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[21] [22] | |||
| Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper | Showtime | |||
| Losing It All: The Reality of Alzheimer's Disease | Michael Mierendorf | HBO | ||
| 1993 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[23] [24] | |||
| Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory | "America's Folk Religion" | Randall Balmer | PBS | |
| 1994 | Outstanding Individual Achievement - Informational Programming[25] [26] [27] [28] | |||
| The Legend of Billy the Kid | Todd Robinson | Disney | ||
| Reflections on Elephants | Dereck Joubert | PBS | ||
| The Untold West | "The Black West" | Dennis Watlington | TBS | |
| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 [29] | American Experience | "Seabiscuit" | Michelle Ferrari | PBS |
| American Experience | "The Murder of Emmett Till" | Marcia A. Smith | PBS | |
| Da Ali G Show | Sacha Baron Cohen, Dan Mazer, Anthony Hines, Jamie Glassman and James Bobin | HBO | ||
| Journeys with George | Alexandra Pelosi | |||
| Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Mark Jonathan Harris | |||
| 2004 [30] | American Masters | "Judy Garland: By Myself" | Susan Lacy and Stephen Stept | PBS |
| Fred Rogers: America's Favorite Neighbor | Rick Sebak | PBS | ||
| JFK: A Presidency Revealed | David C. Taylor | History | ||
| Pandemic: Facing AIDS | "Uganda/Thailand" | Mark Bailey | HBO | |
| "War on Drugs" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Emma Webster, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime | ||
| Terry Jones' Medieval Lives | "The Peasant" | Terry Jones | History | |
| 2005 [31] | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | ||
| Beyond the Da Vinci Code | Thomas Quinn and Rob Blumenstein | History | ||
| Broadway: The American Musical | "Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'" | JoAnn Young | PBS | |
| Death in Gaza | Saira Shah | HBO | ||
| "Profanity" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Jon Hotchkiss, Star Price and Michael Goudeau | Showtime | ||
| 2006 [32] | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Peter Jones | TCM | |
| American Masters | "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend" | Kenneth Bowser | PBS | |
| "Ernest Hemingway: Rivers to the Sea" | DeWitt Sage | |||
| How William Shatner Changed the World | Alan Handel and Julian Jones | History | ||
| "Prostitution" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Cliff Schoenberg, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau and Star Price | Showtime | ||
| 2007 [33] | American Masters | "" | James Sanders and Ric Burns | PBS |
| "Wal-Mart" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Sheryl Zohn, Jon Hotchkiss, Michael Goudeau, Star Price, Cliff Schoenberg and David Weiss | Showtime | ||
| Planet Earth | "Mountains" | Vanessa Berlowitz and Gary Parker | Discovery | |
| Steven Smith, David Comtois and Kevin Burns | History | |||
| This American Life | "God's Close-Up" | Nancy Updike | Showtime | |
| 2008 [34] | The War | "Pride of Our Nation (June–August 1944)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| American Experience | "Walt Whitman" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS | |
| Intervention | "Caylee" | Jeff Grogan | A&E | |
| Life After People | David de Vries | History | ||
| This American Life | "Escape" | Ira Glass | Showtime | |
| 2009 [35] | Joe Bini, P. G. Morgan and Marina Zenovich | HBO | ||
| American Experience | "The Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer" | David Grubin | PBS | |
| American Masters | "Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About" | Amanda Vaill | ||
| Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America | "When I'm Bad, I'm Better — The Groundbreakers" | Michael Kantor and Laurence Maslon | ||
| "New Age Medicine" | Penn Jillette, Teller, Star Price, Rich Nathanson, Michael Goudeau, David Wechter, Cliff Schoenberg and Sheryl Zohn | Showtime | ||
| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 [36] | "The Last Refuge (1890–1915)" | Dayton Duncan | PBS | |
| "Division" | Jenny Ash and Ed Fields | History | ||
| "Prague" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | ||
| The Buddha | David Grubin | PBS | ||
| Life | "Challenges of Life" | Paul Spillenger | Discovery | |
| 2011 [37] | American Experience | "Freedom Riders" | Stanley Nelson Jr. | PBS |
| "Haiti" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | ||
| Gasland | Josh Fox | HBO | ||
| Gettysburg | Richard Bedser and Ed Fields | History | ||
| Moguls & Movie Stars | "The Birth of Hollywood" | Jon Wilkman | TCM | |
| 2012 [38] | Prohibition | "A Nation of Hypocrites" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS |
| American Experience | "Clinton" | Barak Goodman | PBS | |
| American Masters | "" | Peter Jones | ||
| "Cuba" | Anthony Bourdain | Travel | ||
| Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger | Christine Ferraro | PBS | ||
| 2013 [39] | Alex Gibney | HBO | ||
| "Libya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| The Dust Bowl | "The Great Plow-Up" | Dayton Duncan | PBS | |
| Ethel | Mark Bailey | HBO | ||
| The Men Who Built America | "A New War Begins" | Stephen David, Patrick Reams, David C. White, Keith Palmer, Randy Counsman and Ed Fields | History | |
| 2014 [40] | "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Ann Druyan and Steven Soter | Fox | |
| American Experience | "JFK" | Mark Zwonitzer | PBS | |
| "Congo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| The World Wars | "Trial by Fire" | Stephen David, David C. White, John Ealer, Alec Michod, Chelsea Coates, Randy Counsman, Russ McCarroll, Jordan Rosenblum and David Schaye | History | |
| Years of Living Dangerously | "The Surge" | Adam Bolt | Showtime | |
| 2015 [41] | Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Alex Gibney | HBO | |
| American Experience | "Last Days in Vietnam" | Keven McAlester and Mark Bailey | PBS | |
| "Iran" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| Brett Morgen | HBO | |||
| The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | "The Rising Road (1933–1939)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | |
| 2016 [42] | Making a Murderer | "Eighteen Years Lost" | Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos | Netflix |
| American Experience | "Walt Disney" | Mark Zwonitzer, Sarah Colt and Tom Jennings | PBS | |
| "Borneo" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| Jacob Bernstein | HBO | |||
| Jackie Robinson | David McMahon and Sarah Burns | PBS | ||
| 2017 [43] | ||||
| 13th | Ava DuVernay and Spencer Averick | Netflix | ||
| Amanda Knox | Matthew Hamachek and Brian McGinn | Netflix | ||
| "Houston" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| The Beatles: Eight Days a Week — The Touring Years | Mark Monroe | Hulu | ||
| Bill Nye Saves the World | "The Sexual Spectrum" | Prashanth Venkataramanujam, CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker and Flora Lichtman | Netflix | |
| 2018 [44] | ||||
| "Southern Italy" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| The Defiant Ones | "Episode 1" | Allen Hughes, Lasse Järvi and Doug Pray | HBO | |
| Icarus | Bryan Fogel, Mark Monroe and Jon Bertain | Netflix | ||
| Jane | Brett Morgen | Nat Geo | ||
| Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | JoAnn Young | PBS | ||
| The Vietnam War | "Episode 8: The History of the World (April 1969-May 1970)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | ||
| 2019 [45] | ||||
| "Kenya" | Anthony Bourdain | CNN | ||
| The Case Against Adnan Syed | "Forbidden Love" | Amy J. Berg | HBO | |
| Fyre Fraud | Jenner Furst and Julia Willoughby | Hulu | ||
| Hostile Planet | "Grasslands" | Bruce Kennedy | Nat Geo | |
| Our Planet | "Jungles" | Huw Cordey, Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill and David Attenborough | Netflix | |
| "Episode 1" | Paul Greenhouse, Sacha Jenkins and Peter J. Scalettar | Showtime | ||
| Year | Program | Episode(s) | Nominees | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 [46] | ||||
| "Closing the Net" | Mark Lewis | Netflix | ||
| Beastie Boys Story | Mike Diamond, Adam Horovitz and Spike Jonze | Apple TV+ | ||
| The Cave | Alisar Hasan and Feras Fayyad | Nat Geo | ||
| Circus of Books | Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson | Netflix | ||
| McMillion$ | "Episode 1" | James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte | HBO | |
| 2021 [47] | ||||
| The Social Dilemma | Vickie Curtis, Davis Coombe and Jeff Orlowski | Netflix | ||
| Jack Youngelson | Prime Video | |||
| Allen v. Farrow | "Episode 3" | Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering, Mikaela Shwer and Parker Laramie | HBO | |
| Mark Monroe | ||||
| Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre | Maia Harris and Marco Williams | History | ||
| 2022 [48] | ||||
| Lucy and Desi | Mark Monroe | Prime Video | ||
| The Andy Warhol Diaries | "Shadows: Andy & Jed" | Andrew Rossi | Netflix | |
| How To with John Wilson | "How To Appreciate Wine" | John Wilson, Michael Koman, Susan Orlean and Conner O'Malley | HBO | |
| The Problem with Jon Stewart | "The Economy" | Chelsea Devantez, Jon Stewart and Kristen Acimovic | Apple TV+ | |
| The Tinder Swindler | Felicity Morris | Netflix | ||
| 2023 [49] | ||||
| The U.S. and the Holocaust | "Episode 2: Yearning to Breathe Free (1938-1942)" | Geoffrey C. Ward | PBS | |
| Dear Mama | "Panther Power" | Allen Hughes and Lasse Järvi | FX | |
| Moonage Daydream | Brett Morgen | HBO | ||
| 100 Foot Wave | "Chapter V: Lost at Sea" | Zach Rothfeld | ||
| Alek Keshishian and Paul Marchand | Apple TV+ | |||
| 2024 [50] | ||||
| Conan O'Brien Must Go | "Ireland" | Jessie Gaskell, Conan O'Brien, Matt O'Brien and Mike Sweeney | Max | |
| How To with John Wilson | "How To Watch the Game" | John Wilson, Michael Koman and Allie Viti | HBO | |
| Jim Henson Idea Man | Mark Monroe | Disney+ | ||
| The Jinx — Part Two | "Chapter 7: Why Are You Still Here?" | Andrew Jarecki, Sam Neave and Zac Stuart-Pontier | HBO | |
| The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy | "Scotland: My Mother's Country" | Alan Connor, David Reilly and Christine Rose | Apple TV+ | |