This is a list of awards and nominations received by American television director James Burrows. Burrows has received numerous accolades including 11 Primetime Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards. He was honored with the Directors Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and the NBC special Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows in 2016.
Burrows started his career with The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He since has directed over 50 television pilots and co-created the television series Cheers (1982–1993). He is also known for directing numerous episodes of comedy shows such as The Bob Newhart Show, Taxi, Frasier, Friends, Will & Grace, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and The Big Bang Theory. He executive produced the Emmy Award-winning ABC specials Live in Front of a Studio Audience including Norman Lear's "All in the Family" and "The Jeffersons" in 2019, "All in the Family" and "Good Times" in 2019, and "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes" in 2021. He directed episodes for the revivals of the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (2017–2020) and the Paramount+ Frasier.
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | class=unsortable | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primetime Emmy Award | |||||
| Taxi "Louie and the Nice Girl" | [1] | ||||
| Taxi: "Elaine's Strange Triangle" | [2] | ||||
| Taxi: "Jim the Psychic" | [3] | ||||
| Cheers | [4] | ||||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Showdown, Part 2" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [5] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Old Flames" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [6] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Cheerio, Cheers" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [7] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "The Triangle" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [8] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Chambers vs. Malone" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [9] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Backseat Becky, Up Front" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [10] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "The Visiting Leecher" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [11] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "The Improbable Dream, Part 1" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [12] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "Woody Interruptus" | ||||
| Outstanding Informational Series | Cheers: The 200th Anniversary Special | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [13] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "An Old Fashioned Wedding" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Cheers | [14] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Cheers: "One for the Road" | ||||
| Frasier | [15] | ||||
| Friends | [16] | ||||
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | [17] | ||||
| Dharma & Greg "Pilot" | [18] | ||||
| Will & Grace "Pilot" | [19] | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Will & Grace | [20] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "Homo for the Holidays" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Will & Grace | [21] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Will & Grace | [22] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "A Chorus Lie" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Will & Grace | [23] | |||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "24" | ||||
| Outstanding Comedy Series | Will & Grace | [24] | |||
| [25] | |||||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "It's a Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad World" | ||||
| Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's 'All in the Family' and 'The Jeffersons' | [26] | ||||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | Will & Grace: "We Love Lucy" | [27] | |||
| Outstanding Variety Special | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: 'All in the Family' and 'Good Times' | ||||
| Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | B Positive "Pilot" | [28] | |||
| Outstanding Variety Special | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: 'The Facts of Life' and 'Diff'rent Strokes' | [29] | |||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi "Jim the Psychic" | ||||
| Cheers "Sam at Eleven" | ||||
| Cheers: "Showdown, Part 2" | ||||
| Cheers: "I Call Your Name" | ||||
| Cheers: "Birth, Death, Love and Rice" | ||||
| Cheers: "Tan 'N' Wash" | ||||
| Cheers: "Home Is the Sailor" | ||||
| Cheers: "Sisterly Love" | ||||
| Cheers: "Woody Interruptus" | ||||
| Cheers: "Days of Wine & Neurosis" | ||||
| Cheers: "An Old-Fashioned Wedding" | ||||
| Frasier | ||||
| Frasier: "The Matchmaker" | ||||
| Friends "The One with the Birth" | ||||
| Dharma & Greg "Pilot" | ||||
| Will & Grace "Pilot" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Yours, Mine or Ours" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Lows in the Mid-Eighties" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Bed, Bath, and Beyond" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Marry Me a Little" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Last Ex to Brooklyn" | ||||
| Will & Grace: "Alive and Schticking" | ||||
| Live in Front of a Studio Audience | ||||
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Outstanding Producer of Episodic Comedy | Will & Grace | ||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | ||||