has become the first president to win a competitive Emmy, and is now halfway to EGOT status.
We’re certainly not ruling it out.
The former president, who served in office from 2009 to 2017, won his first Emmy in the outstanding narrator category, for his narration of the five-part documentary Our Great National Parks.
He beat some stellar competition – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Black Patriots: Heroes of the Civil War, Sir David Attenborough for The Mating Game, W. Kamau Bell for We Need to Talk About Cosby and Lupita Nyong’o for Serengeti II.
Obama did not attend the ceremony and the Academy accepted the award on his behalf, with RuPaul presenting.
It makes him the second president to ever win an Emmy, after Dwight Eisenhower was awarded a prize while in office in 1956.
However, he’s the first president to win a competitive Emmy for a specific TV project.
It’s not the first time Obama has been nominated – he previously received a nod in 2016 for a news and documentary Emmy for David Attenborough Meets President Obama.
Our Great National Parks is part of the multi-film deal Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama made with Netflix in 2018.
The creative arts Emmys were awarded on Saturday night
Obama has won two Grammys, one in 2006, and a second in 2008, both in the spoken word category.
It means he would now need to win an Oscar and a Tony to complete the coveted EGOT.
It was a historic day for others at the creative Emmys too, including superstar Adele, who is now only one award away from EGOT status after winning in the outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) category for her show One Night Only.
RuPaul also extended his incredible streak, winning the reality or competition host for the seventh time in a row, and bringing his total Emmy collection to 12.
Creative Emmy Awards winners 2022
Outstanding variety special (pre-recorded)
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Outstanding narrator
Barack Obama - Our Great National Parks - a World Of Wonder (Netflix)
Outstanding character voice-over performance
Chadwick Boseman - What If…? - What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord? (Disney+)
Outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
Outstanding host for a reality or competition program
RuPaul - RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Outstanding animated program
Arcane - When These Walls Come Tumbling Down (Netflix)
Outstanding directing for a variety special
Adele: One Night Only (CBS) - Paul Dugdale
Outstanding variety special (live)
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar And 50 Cent (NBC)
Exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking
When Claude Got Shot (PBS) - 371 Productions, Inc., Independent Television Service and Black Public Media
Outstanding writing for a non-fiction program
Lucy And Desi (Prime Video) - Mark Monroe
Outstanding documentary or non-fiction special
George Carlin’s American Dream (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding sound mixing for a non-fiction or reality program (single or multi-camera)
The Beatles: Get Back - Part 3: Days 17-22 (Disney+)
Outstanding technical direction, camerawork, video control for a special
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Outstanding technical direction, camerawork, video control for a series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding picture editing for a non-fiction program
The Beatles: Get Back - Part 3: Days 17-22 (Disney+)
Outstanding casting for a reality program
Love on the Spectrum U.S. (Netflix)
Outstanding picture editing for an unstructured reality program
Love on the Spectrum U.S. - Episode 1 (Netflix)
Outstanding structured reality program
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Outstanding sound editing for a non-fiction or reality program (single or multi-Camera)
The Beatles: Get Back • Part 3: Days 17-22 • Disney+)
Outstanding sound mixing for a variety series or special
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Outstanding directing for a documentary/non-fiction program
The Beatles: Get Back - Part 3: Days 17-22 (Disney+)
Outstanding short form non-fiction or reality series
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon a Time In Late Night (TBS)
Outstanding short form comedy, drama or variety Series
Carpool Karaoke: the Series (Apple TV+)
Outstanding short form animated program
Love, Death + Robots Jibaro (Netflix)
Outstanding makeup for a variety, non-fiction or reality program (Juried award)
Legendary - Whorror House (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding writing for a variety series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding documentary or non-fiction series
The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+)
Outstanding costumes for variety, non-fiction or reality programming (Juried award)
We’re Here - Evansville, Indiana (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding production design for a variety special
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar And 50 Cent (NBC)
Outstanding production design for a variety, reality or competition Series
RuPaul’s Drag Race - Catwalk (VH1)
Outstanding directing for a reality program
Lizzo’s Watch Out For The Big Grrrls - n**ed.n**ed (Prime Video)
Outstanding picture editing for a structured reality or competition program
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls - n**ed.n**ed (Prime Video)
Outstanding unstructured reality program
Love on the Spectrum U.S. (Netflix)
Outstanding individual achievement in animation (Juried award)
Arcane - The Boy Savior (Netflix)
Outstanding music composition for a documentary series or special (original dramatic score)
Lucy And Desi (Prime Video)
Outstanding music direction
The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar And 50 Cent (NBC)
Outstanding cinematography for a reality Program
Life Below Zero - Fire In the Sky (National Geographic)
Outstanding cinematography for a non-fiction program
100 Foot Wave - Chapter IV – Dancing with God (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding choreography for variety or Reality Programming
Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 - Routine: Opening (Prime Video)
Putstanding commercial
Teenage Dream – Sandy Hook Promise
Outstanding hairstyling for a variety, non-fiction or reality program (Juried award)
Annie Live! (NBC) - Chloe Productions
Outstanding lighting design/lighting direction for a variety special
Adele: One Night Only (CBS)
Outstanding lighting design/lighting direction for a variety series
The Voice - Live Finale (NBC)
Outstanding picture editing for variety programming
A Black Lady Sketch Show - Save My Edges, I’m a Donor! (HBO/HBO Max)
Outstanding directing for a variety series
A Black Lady Sketch Show 0 Save My Edges, I’m A Donor! (HBO/HBO Max)
