Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program is an Emmy award given to television programming aimed towards children in any format. Series, specials, and non-fiction programming are all eligible for the award. Prior to 1974, both daytime and primetime programming was eligible. However, once the Daytime Emmys were formed, only primetime television stayed eligible.

Winners and Nominees

Winners in bold

Best Children's Show

1950

• Time for Beany (KTLA)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (KNBH)
• The Adventures of Cyclone Malone (KNBH)

1951

• Time for Beany (KTLA)
• The Cisco Kid (KNBH)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (KNBH)
• The Lone Ranger (KTLA)

Best Children's Program

1953

• Time for Beany (KTLA)
• The Gabby Hayes Show (NBC)
• Big Top (CBS)
• The Howdy Doody Show (NBC)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (NBC)
• Super Circus (NBC)
• Zoo Parade (NBC)

1954

• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (NBC)
• Big Top (CBS)
• Ding Dong School (NBC)
• Super Circus (NBC)
• Zoo Parade (NBC)

1955

• Lassie (CBS)
• Art Linkletter and the Kids (SYN)
• Ding Dong School (NBC)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (NBC)
• Time for Beany (SYN)
• Zoo Parade (NBC)

Best Children's Series

1956

• Lassie (CBS)
• The Howdy Doody Show (NBC)
• The Pinky Lee Show (NBC)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (ABC)
• The Mickey Mouse Club (ABC)
• Ding Dong School (NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming

1960

• The Huckleberry Hound Show (SYN)
• Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• Lassie (CBS)
• Quick Draw McGraw (SYN)
• Mr. Wizard (NBC)

1961

• Young People's Concerts: Aaron Copeland Birthday Party (CBS)
• Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• The Huckleberry Hound Show (SYN)
• The Shari Lewis Show (NBC)
• Shirley Temple's Storybook (NBC)

1962

• Young People's Concerts (CBS)
• 1, 2, 3 Go! (NBC)
• Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (NBC)
• The Shari Lewis Show (NBC)
• Update (NBC)

1963

• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (NBC)
• Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• Discovery (ABC)
• The Shari Lewis Show (NBC)
• Update (NBC)
• Mr. Wizard (NBC)

1964

• Discovery (ABC)
• NBC's Children's Theatre (NBC)
• Exploring (NBC)
• Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (NBC)
• Science All-Stars (ABC)

Outstanding Children's Program

1966

• A Charlie Brown Christmas (CBS)
• Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• NBC's Children's Theatre ("The World of Stuart Little") (NBC)
• Discovery (ABC)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color ("The Adventures of Gallegher") (NBC)

1967

• Jack and the Beanstalk (NBC)
• Discovery (ABC)
• Charlie Brown's All Stars! (CBS)
• It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (CBS)

Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming

1968 - Programs

• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (NET)
• He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• You're in Love, Charlie Brown (CBS)

1968 - Individuals

• Fred Rogers - Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (NET)

1969 - Programs

• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (NBC)
• Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (NET)

1969 - Individuals

• Robert Keeshan - Captain Kangaroo (CBS)
• Burr Tillstrom - NBC's Children's Theatre ("The Reluctant Dragon") (NBC)

1970 - Programs

• Sesame Street (NET)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (NBC)

1970 - Individuals

• Writing Team - Sesame Street ("Sally Sees Sesame Street") (NET)
• Joe Raposo and Jeff Moss (music and lyrics) - This Way to Sesame Street (NBC)
• Michael Loewenstein (scenic designer) - Kukla, Fran and Ollie (NET)

1971 - Programs

• Sesame Street (PBS)
• Kukla, Fran and Ollie (PBS)

1971 - Individuals

• Burr Tillstrom - Kukla, Fran and Ollie (PBS)
• George Riesenberger (lighting) - Sesame Street (PBS)

1972 - Programs

• Sesame Street (PBS)
• The Electric Company (PBS)

1972 - Individuals

• John Scott Trotter (music) - Play It Again, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• George Riesenberger (lighting) - Sesame Street (PBS)

1973 - Informational/Factual

• Shari Lewis (host) - A Picture of Us (NBC)
• William Hanna and Joseph Barbera (producers) - ABC Afterschool Specials ("Last of the Curlews") (ABC)
• Joel Heller (executive producer), Pat Lynch, and Judy Reemtsma (producers) - In the News (CBS)
• Lester Cooper (executive producer) and Tom Bywaters (producer) - Make a Wish (ABC)
• Jameson Brewer (writer) - ABC Afterschool Specials ("The Last of the Curlews") (ABC)

1973 - Entertainment/Fictional

• Writing Staff - The Electric Company (PBS)
• Jon Stone (executive producer) and Robert Cunniff (producer) - Sesame Street (PBS)
• Christopher Sarson (producer) - Zoom (PBS)
• Charles M. Schulz (writer) - You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• Joe Raposo (music) - Sesame Street (PBS)
• Robert Myhrum (director) - Sesame Street (PBS)
• Henry Behar (director) - The Electric Company (PBS)
• Samuel Y. Gibbon Jr. and David D. Connell (executive producers), Andy Ferguson (producer) - The Electric Company (PBS)

1974 - Individuals

• Bill Zaharuk (art direction) and Peter Razmofsky (set direction) - The Borrowers (NBC)
• Charles M. Schulz (writer) - A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (CBS)
• Judith Anderson - The Borrowers (NBC)
• Juul Haalmeyer (costume) - The Borrowers (NBC)
• Walter C. Miller (director) - The Borrowers (NBC)
• Bill Davis (director) - Free to Be...You & Me (ABC)

1977 - Individuals

• Jerry Greene (video tape editor) - Pinocchio (CBS)
• Jenn de Joux and Elizabeth Savel (videoanimation) - Peter Pan (NBC)
• Bill Hargate (costume designer) - Pinocchio (CBS)
• Michael Tilson Thomas (music director) - The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People ("Making Pictures with Music (New York Philharmonic Young People's Concert)") (CBS)
• Stan Winston, Larry Abbott, and Edwin Butterworth (makeup) - Pinocchio (CBS)

1978 - Individuals

• Bill Hargate (costume designer) - Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS)
• Ken Johnson (art director) and Robert Checchi (set decorator) - Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS)
• Nicholas Spies and Bob Millslagle (video tape editing) - Once Upon a Classic ("A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court") (PBS)
• Jerry Greene (video tape editor) - Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS)
• Tommy Cole, Larry Abbott, and Michael Westmore (makeup) - Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS)

1979 - Individuals

• Gerri Brioso (graphic artist) - Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (PBS)
• Tony Di Girolamo and Dave Clark (lighting direction) - Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (PBS)

1980 - Individuals

• Bob O'Bradovich (makeup) - The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (ABC)
• Arthur Ginsberg (film editor) - The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (ABC)
• Mariette Hartley - The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (ABC)
• Ozzie Alfonso (director) - Sesame Street in Puerto Rico (PBS)
• Nat Mongioi (art director) - Sesame Street in Puerto Rico (PBS)

1981 - Individuals

• Don Mischer (director) - Donahue and Kids (NBC)
• Calista Hendrickson and Sherry Ammott (costume design) - Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (ABC)
• Paul Williams (composer) - Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas for the song "When The River Meets The Sea" (ABC)
• Tom Wright (lighting) - Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (ABC)
• Patty Duke - The Girl on the Edge of Town (SYN)

1982 - Individuals

• Ralph Holmes (lighting) - Alice at the Palace (NBC)
• Theoni V. Aldredge (costume) - Alice at the Palace (NBC)
• Byron Brandt (film editor) - Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (CBS)
• Albert Heschong (art director) and Warren Welch (set decorator) - Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (CBS)
• Sound Mixing Team - Rascals and Robbers: The Secret Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn (CBS)

Outstanding Children's Special

1974

• Free to Be...You & Me (ABC)
• The Borrowers (NBC)
• A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (CBS)

1975

• Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus (ABC)
• The Hoober-Bloob Highway (CBS)
• Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (CBS)

1976

• You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• Huckleberry Finn (ABC)

1977

• Ballet Shoes (PBS)
• Peter Pan (NBC)
• It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown (CBS)
• Little Drummer Boy, Book II (NBC)
• Pinocchio (CBS)

1978

• Halloween is Grinch Night (ABC)
• Once Upon a Classic ("A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court") (PBS)
• The Fat Albert Christmas Special (CBS)
• Once Upon a Brothers Grimm (CBS)
• Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion (NBC)

Outstanding Children's Program

1979

• Christmas Eve on Sesame Street (PBS)
• Once Upon a Classic (PBS)
• Benji's Very Own Christmas Story (ABC)
• A Special Sesame Street Christmas (CBS)

1980

• Benji at Work (ABC)
• The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (ABC)
• Sesame Street in Puerto Rico (PBS)

1981

• Donahue and Kids (NBC)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color ("The Art of Disney Animation") (NBC)
• Paddington Bear (PBS)
• Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (ABC)
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (NBC)

1982

• The Wave (ABC)
• Alice at the Palace (NBC)
• The Electric Grandmother (NBC)
• Please Don't Hit Me, Mom (ABC)
• Through the Magic Pyramid (NBC)

1983

• Big Bird in China (NBC)
• The Snow Queen: A Skating Ballet (PBS)
• Grandpa, Will You Run with Me? (NBC)
• Skeezer (NBC)

1984

• He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' (NBC)
• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (ABC)
• Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (PBS)

1985

• American Playhouse ("Displaced Person") (PBS)
• Punky Brewster (NBC)
• Reading Rainbow (PBS)
• The Ewok Adventure (ABC)
• The Night They Saved Christmas (ABC)

1986

• WonderWorks ("Anne of Green Gables") (PBS)
• Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus 116th Edition (CBS)
• Punky Brewster (NBC)
• Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (ABC)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color ("The Girl Who Spelled Freedom") (ABC)

1987

• The Storyteller ("Hans My Hedgehog") (NBC)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color ("Great Moments in Disney Animation") (ABC)
• The Christmas Toy (ABC)
• WonderWorks ("Walking on Air") (PBS)
• Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color ("Young Harry Houdini") (ABC)

1988

• Hallmark Hall of Fame ("The Secret Garden") (CBS)
• The Storyteller ("A Story Short") (NBC)
• The Storyteller ("The Luckchild") (NBC)
• Tall Tales & Legends (Showtime)
• A Muppet Family Christmas (ABC)

1989

• Free to Be...a Family (ABC)
• 3-2-1 Contact ("I Have AIDS: A Teenager's Story") (PBS)
• The Jim Henson Hour ("The Heartless Giant") (NBC)
• WonderWorks ("The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe") (PBS)
• WonderWorks ("Young Charlie Chaplin") (PBS)

1990

• A Mother's Courage: The Mary Thomas Story (NBC)
• All Creatures Great and Small ("Here and There") (A&E)
• The Jim Henson Hour ("The Song Of The Cloud Forest") (NBC)
• A Yabba-Dabba-Doo Celebration!: 50 Years of Hanna-Barbera (TNT)
• You Don't Look 40, Charlie Brown! (CBS)

1991

• 3-2-1 Contact ("You Can't Go Home Again") (PBS)
• Avonlea ("How Kissing Was Discovered") (Disney Channel)
• Newton's Apple ("#801") (PBS)
• Earth to Kids: A Guide to Products for a Healthy Planet (HBO)
• What's Up Doc? A Salute to Bugs Bunny (TNT)

1992

• Mark Twain and Me (Disney Channel)
• 3-2-1 Contact ("What Kids Want to Know About Sex and Growing Up") (PBS)
• Avonlea ("Facts and Fictions") (Disney Channel)
• ABC Afterschool Specials ("In the Shadow of Love: A Teen AIDS Story") (PBS)
• Winnie the Pooh & Christmas Too (ABC)

1993

• Avonlea ("Incident At Vernon River") (Disney Channel)
• Beethoven Lives Upstairs (HBO)
• 3-2-1 Contact ("Brainstorm: The Truth About Your Brain on Drugs") (PBS)
• Great Performances: Dance in America ("American Indian Dance Theatre: Dances for the New Generations") (PBS)
• Peter, Paul and Mommy, Too (PBS)

1994

• CBS Schoolbreak Special ("Kids Killing Kids") (CBS)
• Clarissa Explains it All ("A Little Romance") (Nickelodeon)
• Avonlea (Disney Channel)
• Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (PBS)
• Sesame Street All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (ABC)

1995

• Going, Going, Almost Gone! Animals in Danger (HBO)
• Avonlea (Disney Channel)
• In Search of Dr. Seuss (TNT)
• Lamb Chop and the Haunted Studio (PBS)
• Smart Kids (20th Century Fox Television)

1996

• Peter and the Wolf (ABC)
• Avonlea (Disney Channel)
• Reading Rainbow ("Act Against Violence") (PBS)
• Marsalis on Music (PBS)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Clearing the Air: Kids Talk to the President about Smoking") (Nickelodeon)

1997

• How Do You Spell God? (HBO)
• About Us: The Dignity of Children (ABC)
• It Just Takes One (USA)
• Smoke Alarm: The Unfiltered Truth About Cigarettes (HBO)
• The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Nickelodeon)

1998

• Muppets Tonight (Disney Channel)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("What Are You Staring At?") (Nickelodeon)
• Absent Minded Inventions and the Search for Flubber with Bill Nye the Science Guy (ABC)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Divorce: Caught in the Middle") (Nickelodeon)
• The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (Nickelodeon)

1999

• The Teen Files ("The Truth About Drinking") (SYN)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("The Clinton Crisis") (Nickelodeon)
• Kids Are Punny (HBO)
• Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
• A Winnie the Pooh Thanksgiving (ABC)

2000

• The Color of Friendship (Disney Channel)
• Goodnight Moon & Other Sleepytime Tales (HBO)
• Disney Channel In Concert ("Disney's Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra in Concert") (Disney Channel)
• Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years (CBS)
• Rugrats (Nickelodeon)

2001

• The Teen Files ("Surviving High School") (UPN)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (Nickelodeon)
• Rugrats (Nickelodeon)
• King Gimp (HBO)
• Peter Pan (A&E)

2002

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Faces of Hope: The Kids of Afghanistan") (Nickelodeon)
• The Making of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (ABC)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (Nickelodeon)
• Rugrats ("All Growed Up") (Nickelodeon)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon)

2003

• Through a Child's Eyes: September 11, 2001 (HBO)
• Lizzie McGuire (Disney Channel)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("My Family is Different") (Nickelodeon)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("The Iraq Question: American Kids Talk About War") (Nickelodeon)
• Kermit's Swamp Years (STARZ!)

2004

• Happy to Be Nappy and Other Stories of Me (HBO)
• Lizzie McGuire (Disney Channel)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("The Courage To Live: Kids, South Africa and AIDS") (Nickelodeon)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (Nickelodeon)
• Sesame Street Presents: The Street We Live On (PBS)

2005

• Classical Baby (HBO)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Never Again? From the Holocaust to the Sudan") (Nickelodeon)
• That's So Raven (Disney Channel)
• Zoey 101 (Nickelodeon)
• Drake & Josh (Nickelodeon)

2006

• High School Musical (Disney Channel)
• I Have Tourette's But Tourette's Doesn't Have Me (HBO)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Do Something! Caring for the Kids of Katrina") (Nickelodeon)
• Drake & Josh (Nickelodeon)

2007

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Private Worlds: Kids and Autism") (Nickelodeon)
• Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
• The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (Disney Channel)
• That's So Raven (Disney Channel)
• Drake & Josh (Nickelodeon)

2008

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("The Untouchable Kids of India") (Nickelodeon)
• Classical Baby ("The Poetry Show") (HBO)
• Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
• The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (Disney Channel)
• High School Musical 2 (Disney Channel)
• Drake & Josh (Nickelodeon)

2009

• Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)
• Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
• iCarly (Nickelodeon)

2009 - Nonfiction

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Coming Home: When Parents Return from War") (Nickelodeon)
• The Alzheimer's Project ("Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am?") (HBO)

2010

• Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie (Disney Channel)
• Jonas (Disney Channel)
• Hannah Montana (Disney Channel)
• iCarly (Nickelodeon)
• Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)

2010 - Nonfiction

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("The Face Of Courage: Kids Living With Cancer") (Nickelodeon)
• When Families Grieve (PBS)

2011

• A Child's Garden of Poetry (HBO)
• Victorious ("Freak the Freak Out") (Nickelodeon)
• iCarly ("iGot a Hot Room") (Nickelodeon)
• Degrassi ("My Body Is a Cage") (The N)
• Wizards of Waverly Place ("Wizards vs. Angels") (Disney Channel)

2011 - Nonfiction

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Under The Influence: Kids Of Alcoholics") (Nickelodeon)
• Masterclass (HBO)

2012

• Wizards of Waverly Place (Disney Channel)
• Degrassi (TeenNick)
• Good Luck Charlie (Disney Channel)
• Victorious (Nickelodeon)
• iCarly (Nickelodeon)

2012 - Nonfiction, Reality or Reality-Competition

• Growing Hope Against Hunger (PBS)
• It Gets Better (MTV)
• The Weight of the Nation for Kids ("The Great Cafeteria Takeover") (HBO)

2013

• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Forgotten But Not Gone: Kids, HIV & AIDS") (Nickelodeon)
• Good Luck Charlie (Disney Channel)
• Masterclass ("Renée Fleming") (HBO)
• The Weight of the Nation for Kids ("Quiz Ed!") (HBO)
• iCarly (Nickelodeon)

2014

• One Last Hug: Three Days At Grief Camp (HBO)
• Degrassi (TeenNick)
• Dog With a Blog (Disney Channel)
• Good Luck Charlie (Disney Channel)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Family Secrets: When Violence Hits Home") (Nickelodeon)
• Masterclass ("Wynton Marsalis") (HBO)

2015

• Masterclass ("Alan Alda") (HBO)
• Degrassi (TeenNick)
• Dog With a Blog (Disney Channel)
• Girl Meets World (Disney Channel)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee ("Coming Out") (Nickelodeon)