Emmy Outstanding Drama winners

Emmy Outstanding Drama winners is an award record published in 2026 — one of the 13 sources behind the tv canon, weighted as award. 38 of its 87 entries appear in the aggregated canon. Its scope (1950–present) is calibrated against unrestricted lists before scoring.

1. 1951Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
2. 1952Studio One
3. 1953Dragnet
4. 1953Robert Montgomery Presents
5. 1954Dragnet
6. 1954The United States Steel Hour
7. 1955Dragnet
8. 1955Stories of the Century
9. 1955The United States Steel Hour
10. 1956Disneyland
11. 1956Producers' Showcase
12. 1957Caesar's Hour (comedy)
13. 1957The Phil Silvers Show (comedy)
14. 1958GunsmokeCanon #116
15. 1958Playhouse 90Canon #109
16. 1959Alcoa-Goodyear Theatre
17. 1959Maverick
18. 1959Playhouse 90Canon #109
19. 1960Playhouse 90season 4
20. 1961Hallmark Hall of Fame (Season 11)
21. 1962The Defenders (Season 1)
22. 1963The Defenders (Season 2)
23. 1964The Defenders (Season 3)
24. 1965Hallmark Hall of Fame: "The Magnificent Yankee"
25. 1965My Name Is Barbra
26. 1965New York Philharmonic Young People's Concerts with Leonard Bernstein
27. 1965The Dick Van Dyke Show (Season 4)Canon #48
28. 1966The Fugitive (Season 3)Canon #153
29. 1967Mission: Impossible (Season 1)
30. 1968Mission: Impossible (Season 2)
31. 1969NET Playhouseseason 3
32. 1970Marcus Welby, M.D. (Season 1)
33. 1971The Bold Ones: The Senator (Entire series)
34. 1972Elizabeth R (Limited series)
35. 1973The Waltons (Season 1)
36. 1974Upstairs, Downstairs (Seasons 1-2)
37. 1975Upstairs, Downstairs (Season 3)
38. 1976Police Story (Season 3)
39. 1977Upstairs, Downstairs (Season 5)
40. 1978The Rockford Files (Season 4)Canon #104
41. 1979Lou Grant (Season 2)
42. 1980Lou Grant (Season 3)
43. 1981Hill Street Blues (Season 1)Canon #30
44. 1982Hill Street Blues (Season 2)Canon #30
45. 1983Hill Street Blues (Season 3)Canon #30
46. 1984Hill Street Blues (Season 4)Canon #30
47. 1985Cagney & Lacey (Season 4)
48. 1986Cagney & Lacey (Season 5)
49. 1987L.A. Law (Season 1)
50. 1988thirtysomething (Season 1)Canon #107
51. 1989L.A. Law (Season 3)
52. 1990L.A. Law (Season 4)
53. 1991L.A. Law (Season 5)
54. 1992Northern Exposure (Season 3)Canon #130
55. 1993Picket Fences (Season 1)
56. 1994Picket Fences (Season 2)
57. 1995NYPD Blue (Season 2)Canon #56
58. 1996ER (Season 2)Canon #23
59. 1997Law & Order (Season 7)Canon #57
60. 1998The Practice (Season 2)
61. 1999The Practice (Season 3)
62. 2000The West Wing (Season 1)Canon #13
63. 2001The West Wing (Season 2)Canon #13
64. 2002The West Wing (Season 3)Canon #13
65. 2003The West Wing (Season 4)Canon #13
66. 2004The Sopranos (Season 5)Canon #1
67. 2005Lost (Season 1)Canon #15
68. 200624 (Season 5)Canon #51
69. 2007The Sopranos (Season 6 Part 2)Canon #1
70. 2008Mad Men (Season 1)Canon #7
71. 2009Mad Men (Season 2)Canon #7
72. 2010Mad Men (Season 3)Canon #7
73. 2011Mad Men (Season 4)Canon #7
74. 2012Homeland (Season 1)Canon #90
75. 2013Breaking Bad (Season 5 Part 1)Canon #5
76. 2014Breaking Bad (Season 5 Part 2)Canon #5
77. 2015Game of Thrones (Season 5)Canon #26
78. 2016Game of Thrones (Season 6)Canon #26
79. 2017The Handmaid's Tale (Season 1)
80. 2018Game of Thrones (Season 7)Canon #26
81. 2019Game of Thrones (Season 8)Canon #26
82. 2020Succession (Season 2)Canon #29
83. 2021The Crown (Season 4)Canon #88
84. 2022Succession (Season 3)Canon #29
85. 2023Succession (Season 4)Canon #29
86. 2024Shōgun (Season 1)
87. 2025The Pitt (Season 1)

List compiled and published by its original authors; positions shown as published. Canon ranks link to each entry's full evidence page.