# International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series

The International Emmy Award for Best Drama Series is presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (IATAS) during the International Emmy Awards ceremony. The category is described on the official International Academy website as being open to drama series which are "a dramatic production in which theme, storyline, and main characters are presented under the same title, with the intention to develop beyond a first season." The award was first given in 2002, for the awards covering programmes screened in 2001. From 1979 to 2001, the category Best Drama was presented.

## Rules & regulations

Under the rules of the International Academy, the prize is awarded to a dramatic production in which the theme, plot and main characters are presented under the same title. The program should fit the minimum format length of a televised half-hour time slot and that it has been broadcast between the eligibility period. If the program is part of an anthology series (i.e. each episode presents a different story and a different set of characters), episodes entering this category should be less than, or equal to, one hour in length. Two episodes must be submitted.

## Winners and nominees
### 2000s

| Year | English title | Original title | Recipients | Production company/Network | Country |
| 2002 | Unit One | Rejseholdet | Peter Thorsboe | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2002 | All Stars | All Stars | Jean Van de Velde | VARA | Netherlands |
| 2002 | Always Greener | Always Greener | Bevan Lee | Seven Network | Australia |
| 2002 | At Home with the Braithwaites | At Home with the Braithwaites | Sally Wainwright | Yorkshire Television/ITV | United Kingdom |
| 2003 | Nikolaj og Julie | Nikolaj og Julie | Adam Price | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2003 | Waking the Dead | Waking the Dead | Barbara Machin | BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2003 | Cuéntame cómo pasó | Cuéntame cómo pasó | Miguel Ángel Bernardeau | Grupo Ganga / La 1 | Spain |
| 2003 | MDA | MDA | Greg Haddrick, Des Monaghan | ABC | Australia |
| 2004 | Waking the Dead | Waking the Dead | Barbara Machin | BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2004 | Krøniken | Krøniken | Stig Thorsbøe | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2004 | Shameless | Shameless | Paul Abbott | Channel 4 | United Kingdom |
| 2004 | Schimanski | Schimanski | Edward Berger and Mario Giordano | Colonia Media / WDR | Germany |
| 2005 | The Eagle | Ørnen: En krimi-odyssé | Peter Thorsboe, Mai Brostrom | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2005 | Spooks | Spooks | David Wolstencroft | BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2005 | New Tricks | New Tricks | Nigel McCrery, Roy Mitchell | Wall to Wall / BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2005 | The Cadets | Курсанты | Andrey Kavun | Channel One Russia | Russia |
| 2006 | Life on Mars | Life on Mars | Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah | Kudos / BBC | United Kingdom |
| 2006 | Mandrake | Mandrake | Rubem Fonseca, José Henrique Fonseca | Conspiração Filmes / HBO Brasil | Brazil |
| 2006 | Little Missy | Sinhá Moça | Benedito Ruy Barbosa | TV Globo | Brazil |
| 2006 | Vincent | Vincent | Stephen Butchard | Granada Television / ITV | United Kingdom |
| 2007 | The Street | The Street | Jimmy McGovern | BBC One / ITV Studios | United Kingdom |
| 2007 | Mandrake | Mandrake | Rubem Fonseca, José Henrique Fonseca | Conspiração Filmes / HBO Brasil | Brazil |
| 2007 | The Killing | Forbrydelsen | Søren Sveistrup | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2007 | Home Affairs | Home Affairs | Roberta Durrant | Penguin Films / SABC | South Africa |
| 2008 | Life on Mars | Life on Mars | Matthew Graham, Tony Jordan, Ashley Pharoah | Kudos / BBC | United Kingdom |
| 2008 | Mandrake | Mandrake | Rubem Fonseca, José Henrique Fonseca | Conspiração Filmes / HBO Brasil | Brazil |
| 2008 | The Killing | Forbrydelsen | Søren Sveistrup | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2008 | Home Affairs | Home Affairs | Roberta Durrant | Penguin Films / SABC | South Africa |
| 2009 | The Protectors | Livvagterne | Peter Thorsboe | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2009 | Capadocia | Capadocia | Argos Comunicación | HBO Latin America | Mexico |
| 2009 | The Kingdom of the Winds | 바람의 나라 | Choi Wan-kyu, Jin-ok Jeong | Chorokbaem Media / KBS | South Korea |
| 2009 | Sokhulu & Partners | Sokhulu & Partners | Paw Paw Films | SABC | South Africa |
| 2009 | Spooks | Spooks | David Wolstencroft | BBC | United Kingdom |

### 2010s

| Year | English title | Original title | Recipients | Production company/Network | Country |
| 2010 | The Street | The Street | Jimmy McGovern | BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2010 | The Killing | Forbrydelsen | Søren Sveistrup | Danmarks Radio | Denmark |
| 2010 | Epitafios | Epitafios | Marcelo Slavich, Walter Slavich | Pol-Ka Producciones / HBO | Argentina |
| 2010 | Saka no Ue no Kumo | Saka no Ue no Kumo | Hisashi Nozawa | NHK | Japan |
| 2011 | Accused | Accused | Jimmy McGovern | BBC One / RSJ Films | United Kingdom |
| 2011 | Spiral | Engrenages | Alexandra Clert, Guy-Patrick Sainderichin | Canal+ | France |
| 2011 | Saka no Ue no Kumo | Saka no Ue no Kumo | Hisashi Nozawa | NHK | Japan |
| 2011 | Na Forma da Lei | Na Forma da Lei | Antônio Calmon | TV Globo | Brazil |
| 2012 | Braquo | Braquo | Olivier Marchal | Canal+ | France |
| 2012 | ICAC Investigators | ICAC Investigators | TVB | RTHK | Hong Kong |
| 2012 | The Kitchen Musical | The Kitchen Musical | Chee Kong Cheah | The Group Entertainment / AXN Asia | Singapore |
| 2012 | The Slap | The Slap | Brendan Cowell | Matchbox Pictures / ABC | Australia |
| 2012 | El Líder Social | El Líder Social | Pol-ka Producciones | Artear / El Trece | Argentina |
| 2013 | The Returned | Les Revenants | Fabrice Gobert | Canal+ / Haut et Court | France |
| 2013 | Maalaala Mo Kaya | Maalaala Mo Kaya | ABS-CBN | ABS-CBN Corporation | Philippines |
| 2013 | Accused | Accused | Jimmy McGovern | BBC One / RSJ Films | United Kingdom |
| 2013 | Next in Line | O Brado Retumbante | Euclydes Marinho | TV Globo | Brazil |
| 2014 | Utopia | Utopia | Dennis Kelly | Kudos / Channel 4 | United Kingdom |
| 2014 | Prófugos | Prófugos | Pablo Illanes, Josefina Fernández | HBO Latin America | Chile |
| 2014 | The Tunnel | Tunnel | Ben Richards, Hans Rosenfeldt | Sky Atlantic / Canal+ / Kudos / Shine France | France |
| 2014 | Yae's Sakura | 八重の桜 / Yae no Sakura | Mutsumi Yamamoto | NHK | Japan |
| 2015 | Spiral | Engrenages | Alexandra Clert | Canal+ / Son et Lumière | France |
| 2015 | Mozu | Mozu | Eiichirō Hasumi | TBS / Wowow / Robot | Japan |
| 2015 | My Mad Fat Diary | My Mad Fat Diary | Rae Earl | E4 / Tiger Aspect Productions / Drama Republic | United Kingdom |
| 2015 | Psi | Psi | Contardo Calligaris | HBO Brasil | Brazil |
| 2016 | Deutschland 83 | Deutschland 83 | Jorg Winger, Anna Winger | RTL / UFA Fiction | Germany |
| 2016 | 19-2 | 19-2 | Réal Bossé, Claude Legault | CTV / Sphere Media / Echo Media / Bell Media | Canada |
| 2016 | La casa del mar | La casa del mar | Juan Pablo Laplace | OnDirecTV / Cisne Films / Storylab | Argentina |
| 2016 | Waiting for Jasmin | بانتظار الياسمين (مسلسل) | Osama Kokash | ABC Marketing and Distribution | United Arab Emirates |
| 2017 | Mammon | Mammon | Vegard and Gjermund Stenberg Eriksen | NRK / NRK Drama | Norway |
| 2017 | Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit | Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit | Sumio Omori | NHK | Japan |
| 2017 | Above Justice | Justiça | Manuela Dias | Estúdios Globo / TV Globo | Brazil |
| 2017 | Wanted | Wanted | Rebecca Gibney | Seven Network / Matchbox Pictures / R&R Productions | Australia |
| 2018 | Money Heist | La casa de papel | Álex Pina, Esther Martinez Lobato | Vancouver / Atresmedia / Antena 3 | Spain |
| 2018 | Urban Myths | Urban Myths | Sky Arts | Happy Tramp / Sky UK | United Kingdom |
| 2018 | Inside Edge | Inside Edge | Karan Anshuman | Amazon Studios / Excel Entertainment | India |
| 2018 | 1 Contra Todos | 1 Contra Todos | Thomas Stavros, Gustavo Lipsztein, Breno Silveira | Conspiração Filmes / Fox Brasil | Brazil |
| 2019 | McMafia | McMafia | Hossein Amini, James Watkins | Cuba Pictures / BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2019 | Bad Banks | Bad Banks | Oliver Kienle | Letterbox Filmproduktion / Iris Productions / ZDF | Germany |
| 2019 | 1 Contra Todos | 1 Contra Todos | Thomas Stavros, Gustavo Lipsztein, Breno Silveira | Conspiração Filmes / Fox Brasil | Brazil |
| 2019 | Sacred Games | Sacred Games | Varun Grover | Phantom Films / Netflix | India |

### 2020s

| Year | English title | Original title | Recipients | Production company/Network | Country |
| 2020 | Delhi Crime | Delhi Crime | Richie Mehta | Golden Karavan / Ivanhoe Productions / FilmKaravan / Poor Man's Productions / Netflix | India |
| 2020 | Charité | Charité | Dorothee Schön | UFA Fiction / Das Erste | Germany |
| 2020 | Criminal: UK | Criminal: UK | George Kay, Jim Field Smith | Idiotlamp Productions / Netflix | United Kingdom |
| 2020 | El jardín de bronce | El jardín de bronce | Gustavo Malajovich, Marcos Osorio Vidal | HBO / Pol-ka Producciones | Argentina |
| 2021 | Tehran | Tehran | Moshe Zonder | Donna and Paper Plane Productions / Kan 11 | Israel |
| 2021 | Aarya | Aarya | Ram Madhvani, Sandeep Modi | Endemol / Hotstar | India |
| 2021 | El presidente | El presidente | Armando Bó | Gaumont / Amazon Studios | Chile |
| 2021 | There She Goes | There She Goes | Shaun Pye | Merman Television / BBC Two | United Kingdom |
| 2022 | Vigil | Vigil | Tom Edge | World Productions / BBC One | United Kingdom |
| 2022 | Lupin | Lupin | George Kay, François Uzan | Netflix / Gaumont Television | France |
| 2022 | Reyka | Reyka | Rohan Dickson | tpf london / Quizzical / Serena Cullen Productions / M-Net / Fremantle / Heromotives | South Africa |
| 2022 | Narcos: Mexico | Narcos: Mexico | Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Doug Miro | Netflix / Gaumont | Mexico |
| 2023 | The Empress | Die Kaiserin | Katharina Eyssen | Sommerhaus Serien | Germany |
| 2023 | Extraordinary Attorney Woo | 이상한 변호사 우영우 / Isanghan Byeonhosa U-yeong-u | Moon Ji-won | AStory / KT Studio Genie | South Korea |
| 2023 | Yosi, the Regretful Spy | Iosi, el espía arrepentido | Daniel Burman | Oficina Burman / Amazon | Argentina |
| 2023 | The Devil's Hour | The Devil's Hour | Tom Moran | Hartswood Films / Amazon | United Kingdom |
| 2024 | Drops of God | 神の雫 / Les Gouttes de Dieu | Dang Tran | Legendary Entertainment / Les Productions Dynamic / 22H22 / Adline Entertainment / France Télévisions / Hulu | France / Japan |
| 2024 | The Newsreader | The Newsreader | Michael Lucas | Werner Film Productions / Australian Broadcasting Corporation / eOne | Australia |
| 2024 | The Night Manager | The Night Manager | Sandeep Modi | Disney+ Hotstar / Banijay Asia / Ink Factory | India |
| 2024 | Yosi, the Regretful Spy | Iosí, el espía arrepentido | Daniel Burman | Amazon MGM Studios | Argentina |

## Multiple nominations
### TV series

| Nominations | TV series |
| 3 | The Killing |
| 2 | Waking the Dead |
| 2 | Life on Mars |
| 2 | The Street |
| 2 | Mandrake |
| 2 | Home Affairs |
| 2 | Spooks |
| 2 | Accused |
| 2 | Spiral |
| 2 | 1 Contra Todos |
| 2 | Saka no Ue no Kumo |

### Country

| Nominations | Country |
| 20 | United Kingdom |
| 10 | Brazil |
| 8 | Denmark |
| 5 | Japan |
| 4 | Argentina |
| 4 | Australia |
| 4 | France |
| 4 | India |
| 3 | Germany |
| 3 | South Africa |
| 2 | Spain |

## Multiple wins
### TV series

| Wins | TV series |
| 2 | The Street |
| 2 | Life on Mars |

### Country

| Wins | Country |
| 8 | United Kingdom |
| 4 | Denmark |
| 4 | France |