| 8th Primetime Emmy Awards | |
| Date: | March 17, 1956 |
| Location: | Pan Pacific Auditorium, Los Angeles, California |
| Presenter: | Academy of Television Arts and Sciences |
| Hosts: | Art Linkletter John Charles Daly |
| Network: | NBC |
| Most Awards: | The Phil Silvers Show Producers' Showcase (4) |
| Most Nominations: | Producers' Showcase (12) |
| Award1 Type: | Best Comedy Series |
| Award1 Winner: | The Phil Silvers Show |
| Award2 Type: | Best Dramatic Series |
| Award2 Winner: | Producers' Showcase |
| Award3 Type: | Best Variety Series |
| Award3 Winner: | The Ed Sullivan Show |
| Previous: | 7th |
| Next: | 9th |
The 8th Emmy Awards, later referred to as the 8th Primetime Emmy Awards, were held on March 17, 1956, to honor the best in television of the year. The ceremony was held at the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Hollywood, California and was hosted by Art Linkletter and John Charles Daly. All nominations are listed, with winners in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.
The top shows of the night were The Phil Silvers Show, and Producers' Showcase. Each show won a record four major awards. Producers' Showcase, with its twelve major nominations, became the first show to receive over ten major nominations. (Both of these records were subsequently passed by multiple shows).
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[1]
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"The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial" – Franklin Schaffner (CBS)
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| Network | Number of Nominations | |
|---|---|---|
| CBS | 61 | |
| NBC | 54 | |
| ABC | 11 |
| Program | Category | Network | Number of Nominations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Producers' Showcase | Drama | NBC | 12 |
| The United States Steel Hour | CBS | 7 | |
| Ford Star Jubilee | Variety | 6 | |
| The Bob Cummings Show | Comedy | CBS | 5 |
| Make Room for Daddy | ABC | ||
| The Phil Silvers Show | CBS | ||
| Caesar's Hour | NBC | 4 | |
| Climax! | Drama | CBS | |
| Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse | NBC | 3 | |
| Disneyland | Action/Adventure | ABC | |
| The George Gobel Show | Comedy | NBC | |
| The Honeymooners | CBS | ||
| I Love Lucy | |||
| Kraft Television Theatre | Drama | NBC | |
| Wide Wide World | Documentary | ||
| The 20th Century Fox Hour | Drama | CBS | 2 |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Action/Adventure | ||
| The Dinah Shore Show | Music/Variety | NBC | |
| Dragnet | Action/Adventure | ||
| Goodyear Television Playhouse | Drama | ||
| The Jack Benny Program | Comedy | CBS | |
| The Perry Como Show | Music/Variety | NBC | |
| You Are There | Documentary | CBS |
| Network | Number of Awards | |
|---|---|---|
| CBS | 14 | |
| NBC | 8 | |
| ABC | 2 |
| Program | Category | Network | Number of Awards | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Phil Silvers Show | Comedy | CBS | 4 | |
| Producers' Showcase | Drama | NBC | ||
| Ford Star Jubilee | Variety | CBS | 3 | |
| Disneyland | Action/Adventure | ABC | 2 |