The 23rd Emmy Awards, later known as the 23rd Primetime Emmy Awards, were handed out on May 9, 1971. The ceremony was hosted by Johnny Carson. Winners are listed in bold and series' networks are in parentheses.

The top shows of the night were All in the Family and The Bold Ones: The Senator. The Mary Tyler Moore Show had the most major nominations (eight) and tied with The Bold Ones: The Senator for the most wins (four) of the night.

Actress Lee Grant set an Emmy milestone when she joined the exclusive club of actors who were nominated for two performances in the same acting category. She won the award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role, for her performance in The Neon Ceiling, she was also nominated for an episode of Columbo.

Susan Hampshire became PBS' first win in the Lead Actress, Drama category, for The First Churchills, as well as being the network's first ever Acting win. (Hampshire also won in the same category, the previous year, again beating the Big Three television networks, but from the NET network, a network which dissolved within a year, but became the direct predecessor for PBS.)

David Burns became the second posthumous performance in Emmy history to win for ITV Sunday Night Theatre.

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