Damien Chazelle – La La Land

• Garth Davis – Lion
• Barry Jenkins – Moonlight
• Kenneth Lonergan – Manchester by the Sea
• Denis Villeneuve – Arrival

Ezra Edelman – O.J.: Made in America

• Otto Bell – The Eagle Huntress
• Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg – Weiner
• Raoul Peck – I Am Not Your Negro
• Roger Ross Williams – Life, Animated

Garth Davis – Lion

• Kelly Fremon Craig – The Edge of Seventeen
• Tim Miller – Deadpool
• Nate Parker – The Birth of a Nation
• Dan Trachtenberg – 10 Cloverfield Lane

Miguel Sapochnik – Game of Thrones for "Battle of the Bastards"

• The Duffer Brothers – Stranger Things for "Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers"
• Ryan Murphy – The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story for "From the Ashes of Tragedy"
• Jonathan Nolan – Westworld for "The Original"
• John Singleton – The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story for "The Race Card"

Becky Martin – Veep for "Inauguration"

• Alec Berg – Silicon Valley for "Daily Active Users"
• Donald Glover – Atlanta for "B.A.N."
• Mike Judge – Silicon Valley for "Founder Friendly"
• Dale Stern – Veep for "Mother"

Steven Zaillian – The Night Of for "The Beach"

• Raymond De Felitta – Madoff
• Thomas Kail and Alec Rudzinski – Grease: Live
• Kenny Leon and Alec Rudzinski – Hairspray Live!
• Jay Roach – All the Way

Don Roy King – Saturday Night Live for "Host: Dave Chappelle"

• Paul G. Casey – Real Time with Bill Maher for "Show #1437"
• Nora Gerard – CBS News Sunday Morning for "Charles Osgood Farewell Broadcast"
• Jim Hoskinson – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert for "Episode #0179"
• Paul Pennolino – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee for "Episode #1030"

Glenn Weiss – The 70th Annual Tony Awards

• Jerry Foley – Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best Is Yet to Come
• Tim Mancinelli – The Late Late Show with James Corden for "The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special"
• Linda Mendoza – Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House
• Paul Myers – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee for "A Very Special Full Frontal Special"

J. Rupert Thompson – American Grit for "Over the Falls"

• Ken Fuchs – Shark Tank for "801"
• John Gonzalez – Live PD for "Episode 5"
• Brian Smith – Strong for "Welcome to Strong"
• Bertram van Munster – The Amazing Race for "We're Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today"

Tina Mabry – An American Girl Story – Melody 1963: Love Has to Win

• Liz Allen – The Kicks for "Pilot"
• Alethea Jones – Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street for "Gortimer and the Jacks of All Trades"
• Michael Lembeck – A Nutcracker Christmas
• John Schultz – Adventures in Babysitting

Derek Cianfrance – Nike Golf's "Chase", Powerade's "Doubts" and "Expectations", and Squarespace's "Manifesto"

• Lance Acord – Apple's "Frankie's Holiday" and Kohl's' "Movie Night"
• Dante Ariola – SunTrust's "Hold Your Breath", Lyft's "Riding is the New Driving", and Beats' "Tell Me When To Go"
• Fredrik Bond – Apple's "Dive", Philips' "Everyday Hero", and LG's "World of Play"
• A.G. Rojas – S7 Airlines' "The Best Planet" and Samsung's "The Snail"