Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series since its institution in 1951. 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), 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 two shows' sixth seasons have won (both HBO shows): The Sopranos and Game of Thrones, two shows' seventh seasons have won: Law & Order and Game of Thrones and one show's eighth season has won: Game of Thrones.
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
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)
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
Succession
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
Hill Street Blues
L.A. Law
NYPD Blue
St. Elsewhere
5 nominations
24
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Cagney & Lacey
Columbo
The Crown
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 – 8
AMC – 6
PBS – 4
Fox – 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
Drama Series