Disney Entertainment’s Dana Walden Lauds Creative Arts Haul As FX, ‘Shōgun’ Are Poised To Break More Emmy Records

For years, HBO limited series John Adams‘ 13 Emmys in 2008 seemed untouchable, with a number of acclaimed ongoing and limited series coming close but not being able to match the feat in a single year. FX‘s Shōgun did it ahead of the main telecast on Sunday, scoring record 14 wins at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

It was one of several highlights in a congratulatory email from Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Dana Walden who took a moment from the tense carriage negotiations with DirecTV that have entered a second week to celebrate the achievement.

“We kicked off the 76th Emmy Awards this weekend in SPECTACULAR fashion, taking home an unbelievable 51 Creative Arts Emmys,” she wrote.

This is a combined total for the various Disney distribution platforms that are tallied separately by the TV Academy. More than half of it came from FX, which also broke its all-time Emmy record with 27 awards, with Shōgun (14 Emmys) and The Bear (7) as the top two programs heading into Sunday. With the two shows considered frontrunners in most drama and comedy series categories on the main telecast, FX and Shōgun are set to eclipse their own records, and The Bear has a shot at doing the same; it currently holds the record for most wins for a comedy series in a single year, 10.

If the projections hold, FX could do the unthinkable, topping Emmy juggernauts Netflix and HBO (which is having an off year with most of its top contenders in-between seasons) to claim the top spot among networks and platforms.

Even if that does not happen and Netflix, which has 18 Emmys after the Creative Arts portion, rallies to close the gap with strong performances for shows like Baby Reindeer, the frontrunner in the longform field, Disney already is guaranteed to finish as No. 1 in the unofficial rankings by company with its 51 Emmys so far, more than double its 2023 total.

Other Creative Arts highlights noted by Walden in her email include five wins for Disney Branded Television’s Disney+ documentary Jim Henson Idea Man; songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s EGOT-clinching win for Hulu’s Only Murders In The Building; ABC’s Shark Tank‘s first Outstanding Structured Reality Program win since 2017; ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel-hosted Oscars’ record showing, including first ever Outstanding Variety Special (Live) trophy; and Jamie Lee Curtis and Angela Bassett’s first-ever Emmys for The Bear and Nat Geo’s Disney+ docu Queens, respectively.

Fittingly, a condensed version of the 2024 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were dominated by FX, will air on an FX network, FXX, on Saturday. It will be available on Hulu as will be the main telecast, which is carried by ABC this year, with Eugene and Dan Levy hosting.