The 24th Emmy Awards, later known as the 24th Primetime Emmy Awards, were handed out on May 6, 1972. The ceremony was hosted by Johnny Carson. Winners are listed in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.
The top shows of the night were All in the Family and Elizabeth R. All in the Family set numerous records during the night, it became the first show to win six major awards, (although one came in a tie, this record would be broken by other shows that won six major awards outright). It also became the first non-anthology drama to receive at least ten major nominations.
A milestone was set when All in the Family and Columbo each received every nomination in a major category, both for writing. This feat has become extremely rare as the field of nominees expanded to five and later six.
Glenda Jackson also made history by receiving three acting nominations for the same performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth R. Rule changes have made this impossible in later ceremonies. In addition, by beating the Big Three TV networks, this was PBS' first win for Outstanding Drama. (Though the N.E.T. network was the first to win this award, against the Big Three, in 1969, NET would eventually dissolve, but would become the direct predecessor to PBS.) This show was also the first non-American made show to win this award.
