Alfonso Cuarón – Roma

• Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
• Peter Farrelly – Green Book
• Spike Lee – BlacKkKlansman
• Adam McKay – Vice

Tim Wardle – Three Identical Strangers

• Morgan Neville – Won't You Be My Neighbor?
• RaMell Ross – Hale County This Morning, This Evening
• Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin – Free Solo
• Betsy West and Julie Cohen – RBG

Bo Burnham – Eighth Grade

• Bradley Cooper – A Star Is Born
• Carlos López Estrada – Blindspotting
• Matthew Heineman – A Private War
• Boots Riley – Sorry to Bother You

Adam McKay – Succession for "Celebration"

• Jason Bateman – Ozark for "Reparations"
• Lesli Linka Glatter – Homeland for "Paean to the People"
• Chris Long – The Americans for "START"
• Daina Reid – The Handmaid's Tale for "Holly"

Bill Hader – Barry for "Chapter One: Make Your Mark"

• Donald Glover – Atlanta for "FUBU"
• Hiro Murai – Atlanta for "Teddy Perkins"
• Daniel Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for "We're Going to the Catskills!"
• Amy Sherman-Palladino – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for "All Alone"

Ben Stiller – Escape at Dannemora

• Cary Joji Fukunaga – Maniac
• David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski – Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert
• Barry Levinson – Paterno
• Jean-Marc Vallée – Sharp Objects

Don Roy King – Saturday Night Live for "Host Adam Driver/Musical Guest Kanye West"

• Paul G. Casey – Real Time with Bill Maher for "#1633"
• Sacha Baron Cohen, Nathan Fielder, Daniel Gray Longino, and Dan Mazer – Who Is America? for "Episode 102"
• Jim Hoskinson – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for "#480"
• Paul Pennolino – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver for "Italian Election"

Louis J. Horvitz – The 60th Annual Grammy Awards

• Tim Mancinelli and Glenn Clements – The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2018
• Beth McCarthy-Miller – Bill Maher: Live from Oklahoma
• Marcus Raboy – Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life
• Glenn Weiss – The 72nd Annual Tony Awards

Russell Norman – The Final Table for "Japan"

• Neil P. DeGroot – Better Late Than Never for "How Do You Say Roots in German?"
• Eytan Keller – Iron Chef Gauntlet for "Episode 201"
• Patrick McManus – American Ninja Warrior for "Miami City Qualifiers"
• Bertram van Munster – The Amazing Race for "It's Just a Million Dollars, No Pressure"

Jack Jameson – When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special

• Allan Arkush – A Series of Unfortunate Events for "The Hostile Hospital: Part 1"
• Greg Mottola – The Dangerous Book for Boys for "How to Walk on the Moon"
• Barry Sonnenfeld – A Series of Unfortunate Events for "The Vile Village: Part 1"
• Bo Welch – A Series of Unfortunate Events for "The Ersatz Elevator: Part 1"

Spike Jonze – Apple's "Welcome Home"

• Steve Ayson – Dollar Shave Club's "Getting Ready" and Speight's' "The Dance"
• Fredrik Bond – Virgin TV's "Harmony", BT Sport's "Take Them All On", and Confused.com's "The Big Win"
• Martin de Thurah – Audi's "Final Breath", Chase Bank's "Mama Said Knock You Out", and Macy's' "Space Station"
• David Shane – Babbel's "Alien" and Cure Alzheimer's Fund's "Mothers & Daughters"