First awarded 1951 Official website emmys.com Instituted 1951 | Currently held by Game of Thrones (2016) Country United States of America Category of Primetime Emmy Award | |
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Awarded for Outstanding Drama Series Presented by Academy of Television Arts & Sciences People also search for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Winners & Nominees Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Winner, Better Call Saul, Better Call Saul, Nominee, Mr Robot, Mr Robot, Nominee, House of Cards, House of Cards, Nominee, Homeland, Homeland, Nominee, The Americans, The Americans, Nominee, Downton Abbey, Downton Abbey, Nominee, Game of ThronesGeorge R R Martin - David Benioff - D B Weiss -, Game of Thrones, Winner, Better Call SaulBob Odenkirk - Vince Gilligan - Peter Gould -, Better Call Saul, Nominee, Orange Is the New BlackJenji Kohan - Stephen Falk - Sara Hess -, Orange Is the New Black, Nominee, House of CardsKevin Spacey - David Fincher - Beau Willimon -, House of Cards, Nominee, Mad MenJon Hamm - Matthew Weiner - Janet Leahy -, Mad Men, Nominee, HomelandClaire Danes - Gideon Raff - Howard Gordon -, Homeland, Nominee, Downton AbbeyJulian Fellowes - Gareth Neame - Nigel Marchant -, Downton Abbey, Nominee, Breaking BadBryan Cranston - Vince Gilligan - Michelle MacLaren -, Breaking Bad, Winner, Game of ThronesGeorge R R Martin - David Benioff - D B Weiss -, Game of Thrones, Nominee, True DetectiveMatthew McConaughey - Woody Harrelson - Cary Fukunaga -, True Detective, Nominee, House of CardsKevin Spacey - David Fincher - Beau Willimon -, House of Cards, Nominee, Mad MenJon Hamm - Matthew Weiner - Janet Leahy -, Mad Men, Nominee, Downton AbbeyJulian Fellowes - Gareth Neame - Nigel Marchant -, Downton Abbey, Nominee, Breaking BadBryan Cranston - Vince Gilligan - Michelle MacLaren -, Breaking Bad, Winner, Game of ThronesGeorge R R Martin - David Benioff - D B Weiss -, Game of Thrones, Nominee, House of CardsKevin Spacey - David Fincher - Beau Willimon -, House of Cards, Nominee, Mad MenJon Hamm - Matthew Weiner - Janet Leahy -, Mad Men, Nominee, HomelandGideon Raff - Howard Gordon - Alex Gansa -, Homeland, Nominee, Downton AbbeyJulian Fellowes - Gareth Neame - Nigel Marchant -, Downton Abbey, Nominee, HomelandGideon Raff - Howard Gordon - Alex Gansa -, Homeland, Winner, Breaking BadBryan Cranston - Vince Gilligan - Michelle MacLaren -, Breaking Bad, Nominee, Game of ThronesGeorge R R Martin - David Benioff - D B Weiss -, Game of Thrones, Nominee, Mad MenJon Hamm - Matthew Weiner - Victor Levin -, Mad Men, Nominee, Boardwalk EmpireMark Wahlberg - Martin Scorsese - Tim Van Patten -, Boardwalk Empire, Nominee, Downton AbbeyJulian Fellowes - Rebecca Eaton - Gareth Neame -, Downton Abbey, Nominee | ||
This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series, since its institution in 1951. The award is often cited as one of the "main awards" at the Emmys ceremonies, and 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.
Contents
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), and Game of Thrones (2015–2016).
Since the advent of Hill Street Blues in 1981, every winner has had some serialized arcs with the exception of Law & Order.
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: