Primetime Emmy Award For Outstanding Drama Series

The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series is an award presented since 1951 by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). The award goes to the producers of the series. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys ceremonies.

History

Since its institution in 1951 the award has changed names many times in its history. It was first called Best Dramatic Show from 1951 to 1954, then Best Dramatic Series in 1955 and 1956. In 1957, no specific award for drama was given, but in 1958 the category was split into two separate categories, Best Dramatic Anthology Series, and Best Dramatic Series with Continuing Characters with a winner selected from each category. The following year, the category was differently split into two separate categories, Best Dramatic Series – Less Than One Hour. In 1960, the name was changed yet again to Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama; this name was kept from 1960 to 1964. In 1966, it had its sixth name change to Outstanding Dramatic Series or Outstanding Series-Drama; this was used from 1966 until recently, when it became Outstanding Drama Series.

In 1988, '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (PBS) was initially nominated in the Outstanding Miniseries category but the Academy ruled that the nomination was not valid a few days later and later allowed the program to compete in the Outstanding Drama Series category.

Since 2000, every single winner has been a serial drama: '' The West Wing'' (2000–2003), ''The Sopranos'' (2004, 2007), '' Lost'' (2005), '' 24'' (2006), '' Mad Men'' (2008–2011), '' Homeland'' (2012), ''Breaking Bad'' (2013–2014), ''Game of Thrones'' (2015–2016, 2018–2019), '' The Handmaid's Tale'' (2017), '' Succession'' (2020, 2022-2023), and ''The Crown'' (2021). Since the advent of '' Hill Street Blues'' in 1981, every winner has had some serialized arcs with the exception of '' Law & Order''. The majority of these shows have won between their first and fifth seasons. Only one show have been exceeded with more than sixth seasons onwards who have won multiple times is ''Game of Thrones'' with sixth, seventh, and eighth; the remaining shows within more than sixth seasons who also won one are ''The Sopranos'' with sixth and '' Law & Order'' with seventh.

Since 1967, they are the only non-US series or television series from outside the United States to be nominated including '' The Avengers'', '' The Forsyte Saga'', '' The First Churchills'', '' Elizabeth R'', '' The Six Wives of Henry VIII'', ''Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''Downton Abbey'', ''Bodyguard'', '' Killing Eve,'' ''Squid Game'', and '' Slow Horses''; most non-US series are entirely United Kingdom, ''Squid Game'' is the only Asia and South Korea to do so. ''Elizabeth R'' and ''Upstairs, Downstairs'' are the only two to win, while the latter is the only one to win multiple times.

''Game of Thrones'', ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Mad Men'', and ''The West Wing'' share the record for most wins in the category with four. ''Law & Order'' holds the record for most nominations in the category with eleven, while ''Better Call Saul'' holds the record for most nominations without a win with seven.

Since 2022, '' Squid Game'' (Korean) and '' Shōgun'' (Japanese) are the only non-English language series to be nominated in that category; ''Shōgun'' being the first to win.

Since 2023, '' The Last of Us'' and '' Fallout'' are the only series based on their respective video games to be nominated in that category.

Winners and nominations

The following tables, divided by decade, display the winners and nominees of the "Drama Series" award, according to the Primetime Emmy Awards database:

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Programs with multiple wins

;4 wins
* ''Game of Thrones'' (2 consecutive, twice)
* '' Hill Street Blues'' (consecutive)
* ''L.A. Law'' (3 consecutive)
* '' Mad Men'' (consecutive)
* '' The West Wing'' (consecutive)

;3 wins
* '' The Defenders'' (consecutive)
* '' Dragnet'' (consecutive)
* ''Playhouse 90'' (consecutive)
* '' Succession'' (2 consecutive)
* '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' (2 consecutive)

;2 wins
* ''Breaking Bad'' (consecutive)
* '' Cagney & Lacey'' (consecutive)
* '' Lou Grant'' (consecutive)
* '' Mission: Impossible'' (consecutive)
* '' Picket Fences'' (consecutive)
* ''The Practice'' (consecutive)
* ''The Sopranos''
* '' The United States Steel Hour'' (consecutive)

Programs with multiple nominations

;11 nominations
* '' Law & Order''
;8 nominations
* ''Game of Thrones''
* '' Mad Men''
;7 nominations
* ''Better Call Saul''
* '' ER''
* ''The Sopranos''
* '' Studio One''
* '' The West Wing''
;6 nominations
* ''The Crown''
* '' Hill Street Blues''
* ''L.A. Law''
* ''NYPD Blue''
* '' St. Elsewhere''

;5 nominations
* '' 24''
* ''Breaking Bad''
* ''Downton Abbey''
* '' Cagney & Lacey''
* '' Columbo''
* '' House of Cards''
* '' Lou Grant''
;4 nominations
* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''
* '' Dexter''
* '' Dragnet''
* '' The Handmaid's Tale''
* '' Homeland''
* ''House''
* '' Lost''
* '' Northern Exposure''
* '' The Philco- Goodyear Television Playhouse''
* ''The Practice''
* '' Stranger Things''
* '' Succession''
* '' Thirtysomething''
* '' This Is Us''
* ''The X-Files''

;3 nominations
* '' Chicago Hope''
* '' China Beach''
* '' Climax!''
* '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''
* '' The Defenders''
* '' Fame''
* ''Family''
* '' Foreign Intrigue''
* ''Gunsmoke''
* '' I Spy''
* '' Ironside''
* '' Magnum, P.I.''
* '' Marcus Welby, M.D.''
* '' Mission: Impossible''
* ''Murder, She Wrote''
* '' Naked City''
* '' Ozark''
* ''Playhouse 90''
* '' Police Story''
* '' Quantum Leap''
* '' Robert Montgomery Presents''
* '' The Rockford Files''
* '' Six Feet Under''
* '' The Streets of San Francisco''
* '' The United States Steel Hour''
* '' Upstairs, Downstairs''
* ''The Waltons''

;2 nominations
* ''The Americans''
* '' The Avengers''
* '' Baretta''
* '' Beauty and the Beast''
* '' Boardwalk Empire''
* '' Boston Legal''
* '' Celanese Theatre''
* ''Dallas''
* ''Damages''
* '' The Dick Powell Show''
* '' The Good Wife''
* ''Grey's Anatomy''
* '' I'll Fly Away''
* '' Killing Eve''
* '' Kojak''
* '' Kraft Television Theatre''
* '' The Mandalorian''
* '' Maverick''
* '' Moonlighting''
* '' Picket Fences''
* '' Pose''
* '' Pulitzer Prize Playhouse''
* '' Quincy, M.E.''
* '' Racket Squad''
* ''Star Trek''
* '' The Untouchables''
* '' Wagon Train''
* '' Westworld''
* '' The White Shadow''
* '' Yellowjackets''

Total awards by network

* NBC – 21
* CBS – 18
* ABC – 9
* HBO/HBO Max – 9
* AMC – 6
* PBS – 4
* Fox – 1
* FX – 1
* Hulu – 1
* KECA-TV – 1
* NET – 1
* Showtime – 1
* Netflix – 1

Notes

*A: While ''Law & Order'' is primarily a procedural, its Emmy-winning seventh season had a three-episode arc, while the episode "Entrapment" was a sequel to season 3's "Conspiracy" .
*B: The sixth season of ''The Sopranos'' was split into two parts. They are both considered season 6.
*C: The fifth season of ''Breaking Bad'' was split into two parts. They are both considered season 5.
*D: The seventh season of ''Mad Men'' was split into two parts. They are both considered season 7.
*E: The sixth season of ''Better Call Saul'' was split into two parts. They are both considered season 6.

See also

* Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series
* Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama
* Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
* Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Series

References

;General
*

;Specific

External links

Primetime Emmy Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards History Database

{{Primetime Emmy Award categories

Drama Series