List of Primetime Emmy Award winners

This list showcases the Primetime Emmy Award winners in the comedy program, drama program, variety program, and lead actors categories.

In the early days of the Primetime Emmy Awards, categories awarded by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences changed year-to-year, causing irregularities in the continuity of the listed awards.

For several years, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Academy did not differentiate between comedy and dramas in the individual performance categories, issuing only a catch-all "Best Continuing Performance" or "Outstanding (Actor/Actress) in a Series".

During the mid-1950s, the Academy split Outstanding Drama into several categories, including "One Hour or More", "Half Hour or Less", and "Western or Adventure Series". Each winner is indicated below.

In 1965, Academy President Rod Serling initiated "Area Awards" that narrowed the categories to a select few and allowed for multiple winners in an attempt to foster less competition in favor of more programs and individuals receiving credit for their work. The experiment lasted for only one awards season.

Year Comedy Drama Variety Lead Comedy Actor Lead Drama Actor Lead Comedy Actress Lead Drama Actress
1949 Pantomime Quiz (Most Popular Television Program)
(KTLA)
The Necklace (Best Film Made for Television)
(Your Show Time series)
Shirley Dinsdale (Most Outstanding Television Personality)
(KTLA)
1950 Texaco Star Theatre
(KNBH)
The Ed Wynn Show
(KTTV)
Milton Berle (Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality)
(KNBH)
Ed Wynn (Most Outstanding Live Personality)
(KTTV)
1951 Pulitzer Prize Playhouse
(ABC)
The Alan Young Show
(CBS)
Alan Young
(CBS)
Gertrude Berg
(CBS)
1952 The Red Skelton Show
(CBS)
Studio One
(CBS)
Your Show of Shows
(NBC)
Red Skelton
(NBC)
Sid Caesar
(NBC)
Imogene Coca
(NBC)
1953 I Love Lucy
(CBS)
Robert Montgomery Presents
(NBC)
Jimmy Durante
(NBC)
Thomas Mitchell Lucille Ball
(CBS)
Helen Hayes
1954 The U.S. Steel Hour
(ABC)
Dragnet
(NBC)
Omnibus
(CBS)
Donald O'Connor
The Colgate Comedy Hour
(NBC)
Eve Arden
Our Miss Brooks
(CBS)
1955 Make Room for Daddy
(ABC)
The U.S. Steel Hour
(ABC)
Dragnet
(NBC)
Stories of the Century
(Syndicated)
Walt Disney's Disneyland
(ABC)
Danny Thomas
Make Room for Daddy
(ABC)
Loretta Young
The Loretta Young Show
(NBC)
1956 The Phil Silvers Show
(CBS)
Producers' Showcase
(NBC)
Toast of the Town
(CBS)
Phil Silvers
The Phil Silvers Show
(CBS)
Lucille Ball
I Love Lucy
(CBS)
1957 Playhouse 90
(CBS)
no award given Sid Caesar
Caesar's Hour
(NBC)
Robert Young
Father Knows Best
(CBS)
Nanette Fabray
Caesar's Hour
(NBC)
Loretta Young
The Loretta Young Show
(NBC)
1958 Gunsmoke
(CBS)
Playhouse 90
(CBS)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
(NBC)
Robert Young
Father Knows Best
(CBS)
Jane Wyatt
Father Knows Best
(CBS)
1959 The Jack Benny Program
(CBS)
The Alcoa Hour / Goodyear Television Playhouse
(NBC)
Playhouse 90
(CBS)
Maverick
(ABC)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
(NBC)
Jack Benny
The Jack Benny Program
(CBS)
Raymond Burr
Perry Mason
(CBS)
Jane Wyatt
Father Knows Best
(CBS)
Loretta Young
The Loretta Young Show
(NBC)
1960 Art Carney Special
(NBC)
Playhouse 90
(CBS)
The Garry Moore Show
(CBS)
Robert Stack
The Untouchables
(ABC)
Jane Wyatt
Father Knows Best
(CBS)
1961 The Jack Benny Program
(CBS)
Macbeth
(Hallmark Hall of Fame)
(NBC)
Astaire Time
(NBC)
Raymond Burr
Perry Mason
(CBS)
Barbara Stanwyck
The Barbara Stanwyck Show
(NBC)
1962 The Bob Newhart Show
(NBC)
The Defenders
(CBS)
The Garry Moore Show
(CBS)
E. G. Marshall
The Defenders
(CBS)
Shirley Booth
Hazel
(NBC)
1963 The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
The Andy Williams Show
(NBC)
1964 The Danny Kaye Show
(CBS)
Dick Van Dyke
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
Mary Tyler Moore
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
1965 four winners[a]
(Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment)
five winners[b]
(Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Actors and Performers)
1966 The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
The Fugitive
(ABC)
The Andy Williams Show
(NBC)
Dick Van Dyke
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
Bill Cosby
I Spy
(NBC)
Mary Tyler Moore
The Dick Van Dyke Show
(CBS)
Barbara Stanwyck
The Big Valley
(ABC)
1967 The Monkees
(NBC)
Mission: Impossible
(CBS)
Don Adams
Get Smart
(NBC)
Lucille Ball
The Lucy Show
(CBS)
Barbara Bain
Mission: Impossible
(CBS)
1968 Get Smart
(NBC)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
(NBC)
1969 NET Playhouse
(NET)
Carl Betz
Judd for the Defense
(ABC)
Hope Lange
The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
(ABC)
1970 My World and Welcome to It
(NBC)
Marcus Welby, M.D.
(ABC)
The David Frost Show
(Syndicated)
William Windom
My World and Welcome to It
(NBC)
Robert Young
Marcus Welby, M.D.
(ABC)
Susan Hampshire
The Forsyte Saga
(NET)
1971 All in the Family
(CBS)
The Bold Ones: The Senator
(NBC)
Singer Presents Burt Bacharach
(CBS)
Jack Klugman
The Odd Couple
(ABC)
Hal Holbrook
The Bold Ones: The Senator
(NBC)
Jean Stapleton
All in the Family
(CBS)
Susan Hampshire
The First Churchills
(Masterpiece Theatre)
(PBS)
1972 Elizabeth R
(Masterpiece Theatre)
(PBS)
The Carol Burnett Show
(CBS)
Carroll O'Connor
All in the Family
(CBS)
Peter Falk
Columbo
(NBC)
Glenda Jackson
Elizabeth R
(Masterpiece Theatre)
(PBS)
1973 The Waltons
(CBS)
The Julie Andrews Hour
(ABC)
Jack Klugman
The Odd Couple
(ABC)
Richard Thomas
The Waltons
(CBS)
Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
(CBS)
Michael Learned
The Waltons
(CBS)
1974 M*A*S*H
(CBS)
Upstairs, Downstairs
(Masterpiece Theatre)

(PBS)
The Carol Burnett Show
(CBS)
Alan Alda
M*A*S*H
(CBS)
Telly Savalas
Kojak
(CBS)
1975 The Mary Tyler Moore Show
(CBS)
Tony Randall
The Odd Couple
(ABC)
Robert Blake
Baretta
(ABC)
Valerie Harper
Rhoda
(CBS)
Jean Marsh
Upstairs, Downstairs
(Masterpiece Theatre)
(PBS)
1976 Police Story
(NBC)
Saturday Night Live
(NBC)
Jack Albertson
Chico and the Man
(NBC)
Peter Falk
Columbo
(NBC)
Mary Tyler Moore
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
(CBS)
Michael Learned
The Waltons
(CBS)
1977 Upstairs, Downstairs
(Masterpiece Theatre)
(PBS)
Van Dyke and Company
(NBC)
Carroll O'Connor
All in the Family
(CBS)
James Garner
The Rockford Files
(NBC)
Bea Arthur
Maude
(CBS)
Lindsay Wagner
The Bionic Woman
(ABC)
1978 All in the Family
(CBS)
The Rockford Files
(NBC)
The Muppet Show
(Syndicated)
Ed Asner
Lou Grant
(CBS)
Jean Stapleton
All in the Family
(CBS)
Sada Thompson
Family
(ABC)
1979 Taxi
(ABC)
Lou Grant
(CBS)
Steve & Eydie Celebrate Irving Berlin
(NBC)
Ron Leibman
Kaz
(CBS)
Ruth Gordon
Taxi
(ABC)
Mariette Hartley
The Incredible Hulk
(CBS)
1980 Baryshnikov on Broadway
(ABC)
Richard Mulligan
Soap
(ABC)
Ed Asner
Lou Grant
(CBS)
Cathryn Damon
Soap
(ABC)
Barbara Bel Geddes
Dallas
(CBS)
1981 Hill Street Blues
(NBC)
Lily: Sold Out
(CBS)
Judd Hirsch
Taxi
(ABC)
Daniel J. Travanti
Hill Street Blues
(NBC)
Isabel Sanford
The Jeffersons
(CBS)
Barbara Babcock
Hill Street Blues
(NBC)
1982 Barney Miller
(ABC)
Night of 100 Stars
(ABC)
Alan Alda
M*A*S*H
(CBS)
Carol Kane
Taxi
(ABC)
Michael Learned
Nurse
(CBS)
1983 Cheers
(NBC)
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever
(NBC)
Judd Hirsch
Taxi
(NBC)
Ed Flanders
St. Elsewhere
(NBC)
Shelley Long
Cheers
(NBC)
Tyne Daly
Cagney & Lacey
(CBS)
1984 Kennedy Center Honors
(CBS)
John Ritter
Three's Company
(ABC)
Tom Selleck
Magnum, P.I.
(CBS)
Jane Curtin
Kate & Allie
(CBS)
1985 The Cosby Show
(NBC)
Cagney & Lacey
(CBS)
Motown Returns to the Apollo
(NBC)
Robert Guillaume
Benson
(ABC)
William Daniels
St. Elsewhere
(NBC)
1986 The Golden Girls
(NBC)
Kennedy Center Honors
(CBS)
Michael J. Fox
Family Ties
(NBC)
Betty White
The Golden Girls
(NBC)
Sharon Gless
Cagney & Lacey
(CBS)
1987 L.A. Law
(NBC)
41st Tony Awards
(CBS)
Bruce Willis
Moonlighting
(ABC)
Rue McClanahan
The Golden Girls
(NBC)
1988 The Wonder Years
(ABC)
thirtysomething
(ABC)
Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration
(CBS)
Richard Kiley
A Year in the Life
(NBC)
Bea Arthur
The Golden Girls
(NBC)
Tyne Daly
Cagney & Lacey
(CBS)
1989 Cheers
(NBC)
L.A. Law
(NBC)
The Tracey Ullman Show
(Fox)
Richard Mulligan
Empty Nest
(NBC)
Carroll O'Connor
In the Heat of the Night
(NBC)
Candice Bergen
Murphy Brown
(CBS)
Dana Delany
China Beach
(ABC)
1990 Murphy Brown
(CBS)
In Living Color
(Fox)
Ted Danson
Cheers
(NBC)
Peter Falk
Columbo
(ABC)
Patricia Wettig
thirtysomething
(ABC)
1991 Cheers
(NBC)
63rd Academy Awards
(ABC)
Burt Reynolds
Evening Shade
(CBS)
James Earl Jones
Gabriel's Fire
(ABC)
Kirstie Alley
Cheers
(NBC)
1992 Murphy Brown
(CBS)
Northern Exposure
(CBS)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
(NBC)
Craig T. Nelson
Coach
(ABC)
Christopher Lloyd
Avonlea
(Disney)
Candice Bergen
Murphy Brown
(CBS)
Dana Delany
China Beach
(ABC)
1993 Seinfeld
(NBC)
Picket Fences
(CBS)
Saturday Night Live
(NBC)
Ted Danson
Cheers
(NBC)
Tom Skerritt
Picket Fences
(CBS)
Roseanne Barr
Roseanne
(ABC)
Kathy Baker
Picket Fences
(CBS)
1994 Frasier
(NBC)
Late Show with David Letterman
(CBS)
Kelsey Grammer
Frasier
(NBC)
Dennis Franz
NYPD Blue
(ABC)
Candice Bergen
Murphy Brown
(CBS)
Sela Ward
Sisters
(NBC)
1995 NYPD Blue
(ABC)
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(NBC)
Mandy Patinkin
Chicago Hope
(CBS)
Kathy Baker
Picket Fences
(CBS)
1996 ER
(NBC)
Dennis Miller Live
(HBO)
John Lithgow
3rd Rock from the Sun
(NBC)
Dennis Franz
NYPD Blue
(ABC)
Helen Hunt
Mad About You
(NBC)
1997 Law & Order
(NBC)
Tracey Takes On...
(HBO)
Gillian Anderson
The X-Files
(Fox)
1998 The Practice
(ABC)
Late Show with David Letterman
(CBS)
Kelsey Grammer
Frasier
(NBC)
Andre Braugher
Homicide: Life on the Street
(NBC)
Christine Lahti
Chicago Hope
(CBS)
1999 Ally McBeal
(Fox)
John Lithgow
3rd Rock from the Sun
(NBC)
Dennis Franz
NYPD Blue
(ABC)
Edie Falco
The Sopranos
(HBO)
2000 Will & Grace
(NBC)
The West Wing
(NBC)
Michael J. Fox
Spin City
(ABC)
James Gandolfini
The Sopranos
(HBO)
Patricia Heaton
Everybody Loves Raymond
(CBS)
Sela Ward
Once and Again
(ABC)
2001 Sex and the City
(HBO)
Eric McCormack
Will & Grace
(NBC)
Edie Falco
The Sopranos
(HBO)
2002 Friends
(NBC)
Ray Romano
Everybody Loves Raymond
(CBS)
Michael Chiklis
The Shield
(FX)
Jennifer Aniston
Friends
(NBC)
Allison Janney
The West Wing
(NBC)
2003 Everybody Loves Raymond
(CBS)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
(Comedy Central)
Tony Shalhoub
Monk
(USA)
James Gandolfini
The Sopranos
(HBO)
Debra Messing
Will & Grace
(NBC)
Edie Falco
The Sopranos
(HBO)
2004 Arrested Development
(Fox)
The Sopranos
(HBO)
Kelsey Grammer
Frasier
(NBC)
James Spader
The Practice
(ABC)
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sex and the City
(HBO)
Allison Janney
The West Wing
(NBC)
2005 Everybody Loves Raymond
(CBS)
Lost
(ABC)
Tony Shalhoub
Monk
(USA)
James Spader
Boston Legal
(ABC)
Felicity Huffman
Desperate Housewives
(ABC)
Patricia Arquette
Medium
(NBC)
2006 The Office
(NBC)
24
(Fox)
Kiefer Sutherland
24
(Fox)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
The New Adventures of Old Christine
(CBS)
Mariska Hargitay
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
(NBC)
2007 30 Rock
(NBC)
The Sopranos
(HBO)
Ricky Gervais
Extras
(BBC / HBO)
James Spader
Boston Legal
(ABC)
America Ferrera
Ugly Betty
(ABC)
Sally Field
Brothers & Sisters
(ABC)
2008 Mad Men
(AMC)
Alec Baldwin
30 Rock
(NBC)
Bryan Cranston
Breaking Bad
(AMC)
Tina Fey
30 Rock
(NBC)
Glenn Close
Damages
(FX)
2009 Toni Collette
United States of Tara
(Showtime)
2010 Modern Family
(ABC)
Jim Parsons
The Big Bang Theory
(CBS)
Edie Falco
Nurse Jackie
(Showtime)
Kyra Sedgwick
The Closer
(TNT)
2011 Kyle Chandler
Friday Night Lights
(The 101 Network / NBC)
Melissa McCarthy
Mike & Molly
(CBS)
Julianna Margulies
The Good Wife
(CBS)
2012 Homeland
(Showtime)
Jon Cryer
Two and a Half Men
(CBS)
Damian Lewis
Homeland
(Showtime)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Veep
(HBO)
Claire Danes
Homeland
(Showtime)
2013 Breaking Bad
(AMC)
The Colbert Report
(Comedy Central)
Jim Parsons
The Big Bang Theory
(CBS)
Jeff Daniels
The Newsroom
(HBO)
2014 Bryan Cranston
Breaking Bad
(AMC)
Julianna Margulies
The Good Wife
(CBS)
2015 Veep
(HBO)
Game of Thrones
(HBO)
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
(Comedy Central)
Jeffrey Tambor
Transparent
(Amazon)
Jon Hamm
Mad Men
(AMC)
Viola Davis
How to Get Away with Murder
(ABC)
2016 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
(HBO)
Rami Malek
Mr. Robot
(USA)
Tatiana Maslany
Orphan Black
(BBC America)
2017 The Handmaid's Tale
(Hulu)
Donald Glover
Atlanta
(FX)
Sterling K. Brown
This Is Us
(NBC)
Elisabeth Moss
The Handmaid's Tale
(Hulu)
2018 The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
(Amazon)
Game of Thrones
(HBO)
Bill Hader
Barry
(HBO)
Matthew Rhys
The Americans
(FX)
Rachel Brosnahan
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
(Amazon)
Claire Foy
The Crown
(Netflix)
2019 Fleabag
(Amazon)
Billy Porter
Pose
(FX)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Fleabag
(Amazon)
Jodie Comer
Killing Eve
(BBC America)
2020 Schitt's Creek
(Pop)
Succession
(HBO)
Eugene Levy
Schitt's Creek
(Pop)
Jeremy Strong
Succession
(HBO)
Catherine O'Hara
Schitt's Creek
(Pop)
Zendaya
Euphoria
(HBO)
2021 Ted Lasso
(Apple TV+)
The Crown
(Netflix)
Jason Sudeikis
Ted Lasso
(Apple TV+)
Josh O'Connor
The Crown
(Netflix)
Jean Smart
Hacks
(HBO)
Olivia Colman
The Crown
(Netflix)
2022 Succession
(HBO)
Lee Jung-jae
Squid Game
(Netflix)
Zendaya
Euphoria
(HBO)
2023 The Bear
(FX)
Jeremy Allen White
The Bear
(FX)
Kieran Culkin
Succession
(HBO)
Quinta Brunson
Abbott Elementary
(ABC)
Sarah Snook
Succession
(HBO)
2024 Hacks
(Max)
Shōgun
(FX)
Hiroyuki Sanada
Shōgun
(FX)
Jean Smart
Hacks
(Max)
Anna Sawai
Shōgun
(FX)

Notes

See also