| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program | |
| Awarded For: | Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program |
| Presenter: | Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |
| Country: | United States |
| Holder: | Cian O'Clery, Love on the Spectrum U.S. (2024) |
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program is awarded to one program each year. The category was created in 2018.[1] Between 2003 and 2017, reality and documentary/nonfiction programs competed in a combined category.
In the following list, the first titles listed in gold are the winners; those not in gold are nominees, which are listed in alphabetical order. The years given are those in which the ceremonies took place:
__TOC__
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominee(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming | ||||
| American Experience | "The Murder of Emmett Till" | Stanley Nelson Jr. | PBS | |
| American Idol | "Finale" | Bruce Gowers | Fox | |
| Da Ali G Show | "Politics" | James Bobin | HBO | |
| Andrew Wight and James Cameron | Discovery | |||
| Journeys with George | Alexandra Pelosi and Aaron Lubarsky | HBO | ||
| Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives | Ed Bell and Thomas Lennon | |||
| Jockey | Kate Davis | HBO | ||
| American Experience | "Tupperware | " | Laurie Kahn | PBS |
| American Masters | "Judy Garland: By Myself" | Susan Lacy | ||
| Born Rich | Jamie Johnson | HBO | ||
| Queer Eye for the Straight Guy | "Richard Miller" | Becky Smith | Bravo | |
| Death in Gaza | James Miller (posthumously) | HBO | ||
| American Idol | "Finale" | Bruce Gowers | Fox | |
| The Apprentice | "Finale" | Glenn Weiss | NBC | |
| "The Dore Family" | Patrick Higgins | ABC | ||
| Ken Burns | PBS | |||
| Baghdad ER | Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill | HBO | ||
| All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise | Shari Cookson | HBO | ||
| American Masters | "John Ford/John Wayne: The Filmmaker and the Legend" | Samuel D. Pollard | PBS | |
| "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan" | Martin Scorsese | |||
| Children of Beslan | Ewa Ewart and Leslie Woodhead | HBO | ||
| When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts | Spike Lee | HBO | ||
| Ghosts of Abu Ghraib | Rory Kennedy | HBO | ||
| Kevin Burns | History | |||
| Thin | Lauren Greenfield | HBO | ||
| This American Life | "God's Close-Up" | Christopher Wilcha | Showtime | |
| This American Life | "Escape" | Adam Beckman and Christopher Wilcha | Showtime | |
| The Amazing Race | "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers or Something" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| Tricia Regan | HBO | |||
| Project Runway | "En Garde | " | Tony Sacco | Bravo |
| The War | "Pride of Our Nation (June–August 1944)" | Ken Burns and Lynn Novick | PBS | |
| Marina Zenovich | HBO | |||
| The Amazing Race | "Don't Let a Cheese Hit Me" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| Project Runway | "Finale, Part 1" | Paul Starkman | Bravo | |
| This American Life | "John Smith" | Adam Beckman and Christopher Wilcha | Showtime | |
| Top Chef | "The Last Supper" | Steve Hryniewicz | Bravo | |
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominee(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Experience | "My Lai" | Barak Goodman | PBS | |
| The Amazing Race | "I Think We're Fighting the Germans, Right?" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| Amy Rice and Alicia Sams | HBO | |||
| "Lust for Glory" | Bill Jones and Ben Timlett | IFC | ||
| Terror in Mumbai | Dan Reed | HBO | ||
| Gasland | Josh Fox | HBO | ||
| The Amazing Race | "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| American Masters | "A Letter to Elia/Reflecting on Kazan" | Kent Jones and Martin Scorsese | PBS | |
| Becoming Chaz | Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato | OWN | ||
| Top Chef | "Give Me Your Huddled Masses" | Paul Starkman | Bravo | |
| Martin Scorsese | HBO | |||
| The Amazing Race | "Let Them Drink Their Haterade" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| American Masters | "Woody Allen: A Documentary" | Robert B. Weide | PBS | |
| Project Runway | "Finale, Part 2" | Craig Spirko | Lifetime | |
| Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky | HBO | |||
| American Masters | "Mel Brooks: Make a Noise" | Robert Trachtenberg | PBS | |
| Ethel | Rory Kennedy | HBO | ||
| Alex Gibney | ||||
| Survivor | "Live Finale and Reunion (Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites)" | Glenn Weiss | CBS | |
| "Live Finale and Reunion (Philippines)" | Michael Simon | |||
| The Square | Jehane Noujaim | Netflix | ||
| The Amazing Race | "Part Like the Red Sea" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| "Standing Up in the Milky Way" | Brannon Braga | Fox | ||
| Project Runway | "Sky's the Limit" | Craig Spirko | Lifetime | |
| Shark Tank | "Episode 501" | Ken Fuchs | ABC | |
| Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief | Alex Gibney | HBO | ||
| Citizenfour | Laura Poitras | HBO | ||
| "Washington D.C." | Dave Grohl | |||
| The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst | "Chapter 2: Poor Little Rich Boy" | Andrew Jarecki | ||
| Brett Morgen | ||||
| Making a Murderer | "Fighting for Their Lives" | Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi | Netflix | |
| Cartel Land | Matthew Heineman | A&E | ||
| Chef's Table | "Gaggan Anand" | David Gelb | Netflix | |
| He Named Me Malala | Davis Guggenheim | Nat Geo | ||
| What Happened, Miss Simone? | Liz Garbus | Netflix | ||
| "Part 3" | Ezra Edelman | ESPN | ||
| Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens | HBO | |||
| Planet Earth II | "Cities" | Fredi Devas | BBC America | |
| "Islands" | Elizabeth White | |||
| 13th | Ava DuVernay | Netflix | ||
| 2018 [2] | Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program | |||
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "10s Across the Board" | Nick Murray | VH1 | |
| The Amazing Race | "It's Just a Million Dollars, No Pressure" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| American Ninja Warrior | "Daytona Beach Qualifiers" | Patrick McManus | NBC | |
| Shark Tank | "Episode 903" | Ken Fuchs | ABC | |
| The Voice | "Live Top 11 Performances" | Alan Carter | NBC | |
| 2019 [3] | ||||
| Queer Eye | "Black Girl Magic" | Hisham Abed | Netflix | |
| The Amazing Race | "Who Wants a Rolex?" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| American Ninja Warrior | "Minneapolis City Qualifiers" | Patrick McManus | NBC | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "Whatcha Unpackin?" | Nick Murray | VH1 | |
| Shark Tank | "Episode 1002" | Ken Fuchs | ABC | |
| Year | Program | Episode | Nominee(s) | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 [4] | ||||
| Cheer | "Daytona" | Greg Whiteley | Netflix | |
| LEGO Masters | "Mega City Block" | Rich Kim | Fox | |
| Queer Eye | "Disabled But Not Really" | Hisham Abed | Netflix | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "I'm That Bitch" | Nick Murray | VH1 | |
| Top Chef | "The Jonathan Gold Standard" | Ariel Boles | Bravo | |
| 2021 [5] | ||||
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "Gettin' Lucky" | Nick Murray | VH1 | |
| The Amazing Race | "Give Me a Beard Bump" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| Queer Eye | "Preaching Out Loud" | Mark Perez | Netflix | |
| Top Chef | "Pan African Portland" | Ariel Boles | Bravo | |
| The Voice | "The Blind Auditions Premiere" | Alan Carter | NBC | |
| 2022 [6] | ||||
| Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls | "Naked" | Nneka Onuorah | Prime Video | |
| Cheer | "Daytona Pt. 2: If the Judges Disagree" | Greg Whiteley | Netflix | |
| Queer Eye | "Angel Gets Her Wings" | Aaron Krummel | ||
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "" | Nick Murray | VH1 | |
| Top Chef | "Freedmen's Town" | Ariel Boles | Bravo | |
| 2023 [7] | ||||
| Welcome to Wrexham | "Wide World of Wales" | Bryan Rowland | FX | |
| The Amazing Race | "Patience, Is the New Me" | Bertram van Munster | CBS | |
| Queer Eye | "Speedy for Life" | Ali Moghadas | Netflix | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "" | Nick Murray | MTV | |
| Top Chef | "London Calling" | Ariel Boles | Bravo | |
| 2024 [8] | ||||
| Love on the Spectrum U.S. | "Episode 7" | Cian O'Clery | Netflix | |
| RuPaul's Drag Race | "Grand Finale" | Nick Murray | MTV | |
| "Red Light, Green Light" | Diccon Ramsay | Netflix | ||
| The Traitors | "Betrayers, Fakes and Fraudsters" | Ben Archard | Peacock | |
| Welcome to Wrexham | "Shaun's Vacation" | Bryan Rowland | FX |