The 51st Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Sunday, September 12, 1999. The ceremony show was hosted by Jenna Elfman and David Hyde Pierce. It was broadcast on Fox.

The comedy-drama Ally McBeal won Outstanding Comedy Series, which not only dethroned five-time defending champion Frasier but also became the first time Fox won that award. In the drama field The Practice won Outstanding Drama Series for the second straight year, and led all shows with four major wins on the night.

Freshman series The Sopranos led all shows with 11 major nominations. From that show, Edie Falco not only became the first actress from a Cable network (HBO) to win Lead Actress, Drama series, she became the first person from any Cable TV show series to win a Major Acting award. (Though David Clennon did win for only a guest performance in HBO's Dream On in 1993).

The real winner of the night was television writer David E. Kelley. Kelley was the creator and head writer for both series champions, Ally McBeal and The Practice. This accomplishment has not been matched since.

Winners and nominees

^[1]

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Guest performances

Directing

Writing

Most major nominations

By network ^{[note 1]}

• NBC – 42
• HBO – 32
• CBS – 23
• ABC – 22
• Fox – 10

By program

• The Sopranos (HBO) – 11
• The Practice (ABC) – 9
• Ally McBeal (Fox) / Frasier (NBC) – 8
• Law & Order (NBC) / NYPD Blue (ABC) – 7
• Dash and Lilly (A&E) / Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS) / Joan of Arc (CBS) – 6

Most major awards

By network ^{[note 1]}

• ABC – 8
• NBC – 7
• HBO – 6
• CBS – 5
• Fox – 2

By program

• The Practice (ABC) – 3

Notes

In Memoriam