SNL 50, which celebrated a half-century of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, took center stage on night 2 of the 2025 Creative Arts Emmys, securing six awards. The honors spanned across categories like writing, hairstyling, editing, directing, production, and sound.
Coming in second overall was The Traitors, the reality competition series on Peacock, which took home four awards, including Alan Cumming for Best Reality Host.
Rounding out the top winners was the HBO documentary Pee-wee as Himself, which earned three awards. The documentary, celebrating the life and legacy of Pee-wee Herman creator Paul Reubens, received the honor of Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special. The win was especially poignant, as it recognized the late Paul Reubens as a coproducer of the special.
A Historic Win for Barack Obama
Also making headlines was former President Barack Obama, who claimed his third Best Narrator Emmy for his work on the Our Oceans documentary. Obama’s narration highlighted the importance of ocean conservation and the urgent need to address climate change.
Other Notable Winners
NBC’s Saturday Night Live earned recognition beyond its anniversary special, taking home three technical awards in areas like set design, lighting, and sound. The Academy Awards telecast, hosted by Conan O’Brien (who is confirmed to return in 2026), won for Outstanding Production Design and Choreography. And there were two trophies for Love on the Spectrum on Netflix: Best Unstructured Reality Program and Best Casting for a Reality Program.
In addition, the Television Academy presented the Governors Award to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Here is the complete list of winners:
Best Reality Host: Alan Cumming, The Traitors
Best Narrator: Barack Obama, Our Oceans
Best Documentary or Nonfiction Special: Pee-wee as Himself
Best Documentary or Nonfiction Series: 100 Foot Wave
Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking: Patrice: The Movie
Best Game Show: Jeopardy!
Best Game Show Host: Jimmy Kimmel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Best Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special: Conan O’Brien Must Go
Best Structured Reality Program: Queer Eye
Best Unstructured Reality Program: Love on the Spectrum
Best Casting for a Reality Program: Love on the Spectrum
Best Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming: The 67th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program: 100 Foot Wave
Best Cinematography for a Reality Program: The Traitors
Best Commercial: “Brian Cox Goes to College” — Uber One for Students
Best Directing for a Documentary/Non-Fiction Program: Pee-wee as Himself
Best Directing for a Reality Program: The Traitors
Best Directing for a Variety Series: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Best Directing for a Variety Special: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Emerging Media Program: SNL 50th The Anniversary Special: Immersive Experience
Best Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program: Pee-wee as Himself
Best Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program: The Traitors
Best Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program: Welcome to Wrexham
Best Picture Editing for Variety Programming: Cunk on Life
Best Hairstyling for a Variety, Nonfiction, or Reality Program: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special: The 67th Annual Grammy Awards
Best Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series: Saturday Night Live
Best Makeup for a Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Program: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score): Chef’s Table
Best Music Direction: The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar
Best Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series: Saturday Night Live
Best Production Design for a Variety Special: The Oscars
Best Variety Special (Pre-recorded): Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor
Best Short-Form Comedy, Drama, or Variety Series: The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains
Best Short-Form Nonfiction or Reality Series: Adolescence: The Making of Adolescence
Best Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program: Music by John Williams
Best Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program: Beatles ’64
Best Sound Mixing for a Reality Program: Welcome to Wrexham
Best Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Series: Saturday Night Live
Best Technical Direction and Camerawork for a Special: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Best Writing for a Nonfiction Program: The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation
Best Writing for a Variety Special: SNL50: The Anniversary Special
Mark Your Calendars
The 77th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air on September 14 at 8:00 ET on CBS. The ceremony will also be available for streaming on Paramount+.