"Mad Men" has been widely praised as one of the greatest television series of its era and of all time, and during its run, it earned numerous accolades for its acting, writing, directing, and technical achievements. Among these recognitions, it won sixteen Primetime Emmy Awards from 116 nominations. The series won the award for Outstanding Drama Series four times from eight nominations, tying the record for most wins in the category. Its win in 2008 for its first season made it the first basic cable series to win the award. Hamm was also nominated eight times for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, ultimately winning the award once in 2015. However, despite these successes, the show often came up notably empty-handed; its seventeen nominations without a win in 2012 set an Emmys record for largest shutout in a year, and Hamm's win in 2015 was the show's only acting win from thirty-seven nominations.