Super Bowl Halftime Show Wins Live Variety Emmy for First Time as Hip-Hop Breaks Through in Category

It was “Dre Day” once again as the Dr. Dre-focused 2022 Super Bowl halftime show prevailed at Saturday’s first night of the Creative Arts Emmys.

This year’s Emmy for best live variety special went to NBC’s broadcast of the halftime show that aired during the NFL championship game on Feb. 13. The special was officially titled The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.

Notably, this is the first time that a Super Bowl halftime show has prevailed in the category, although previous halftime shows have won in other crafts categories. The winners for the show were executive producers Shawn Carter, Desiree Perez and Jesse Collins; co-executive producers Dionne Harmon and Dave Meyers; supervising producer Aaron B. Cooke; and performers Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent.

This also marks the first time that hip-hop has been awarded in the category, with the show’s medley including such radio hits as “California Love,” “No More Drama,” “Lose Yourself” and “Still D.R.E.” In the 2010s, the category was dominated both by the Tony Awards telecast, which won six times in the decade, and live musicals, which notched three wins in that span. (The category was previously titled “outstanding special class — not-exclusively-made-for-television variety, music, comedy event programs,” with the current moniker adopted ahead of the 2018 ceremony.)

ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience series, which was nominated this year for performing an episode of The Facts of Life and one of Diff’rent Strokes, prevailed in 2019 and 2020. Last year’s winner was Stephen Colbert’s 2020 election special.

Also nominated this year were the telecasts for the Grammys, Oscars and Tonys. The Oscars ceremony has never won in the category, and the 2022 iteration was marred by Will Smith infamously slapping Chris Rock onstage after the comedian told a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The complete list of Creative Arts Emmy Awards winners from the ceremony’s first night is here.