Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. It was first awarded at the 7th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, held in 1955 and it is given in honor of a writer or writers who produced an outstanding story or screenplay for an episode of a television drama series during the primetime network season. Undergoing several name changes, the award received its current title at the 48th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1996.
Since its inception, the award has been presented to 75 writers. Dan Gilroy is the current recipient of the award for his work on the episode of Disney+'s Andor titled "Welcome to the Rebellion". Rod Serling holds the record for most wins for this category at six. The Sopranos holds the record for most wins and nominations for this category at 6 and 21, respectively. Game of Thrones, Hill Street Blues and The Sopranos are the only shows that have been nominated in 7 different years.
Winners and nominations
Listed below are the winners of the award for each year, as well as the other nominees.| Indicates the winner |
Total awards by network
- CBS – 23
- NBC – 19
- HBO – 12
- ABC – 6
- AMC – 4
- Fox – 3
- Showtime – 2
- Apple TV+ - 1
- DirecTV – 1
- Disney+ - 1
- FX – 1
- Hulu – 1
- Netflix – 1
- PBS – 1
Individuals with multiple awards
;6 awards;4 awards
;3 awards
;2 awards
- David Benioff
- Mitchell Burgess
- Robin Green
- David E. Kelley
- Ernest Kinoy
- Michael Kozoll
- Richard Levinson
- William Link
- John Masius
- D. B. Weiss
- Terence Winter
Individuals with multiple nominations
;19 nominations;15 nominations
;11 nominations
;10 nominations
;9 nominations
;8 nominations
;7 nominations
;6 nominations
;5 nominations
;4 nominations
- Jesse Armstrong
- Carlton Cuse
- William M. Finkelstein
- Michele Gallery
- Karen Hall
- Michael Kozoll
- Thomas Schnauz
- Gordon Smith
- John Wells
- Glenn Gordon Caron
- Chris Carter
- Semi Chellas
- Bill Clark
- Charles H. Eglee
- Julian Fellowes
- Joel Fields
- Terry Louise Fisher
- Seth Freeman
- Channing Gibson
- Andre Jacquemetton
- Maria Jacquemetton
- James Lee
- Richard Levinson
- William Link
- Loring Mandel
- Bruce Miller
- Robin Veith
- Joe Weisberg
- J. J. Abrams
- Neal Baer
- Joshua Brand
- James Bridges
- Paddy Chayefsky
- James Costigan
- David Dortort
- Joseph Dougherty
- Matt Duffer
- Ross Duffer
- Dan Erickson
- Morton Fine
- David Friedkin
- Mark Frost
- Vince Gilligan
- Peter Gould
- Patricia Green
- Walon Green
- Robert Hartung
- Marshall Herskovitz
- Todd A. Kessler
- Michelle King
- Robert King
- Ernest Kinoy
- Rachel Kondo
- Ashley Lyle
- Don Mankiewicz
- Abby Mann
- Ted Mann
- John McGreevey
- Jeff Melvoin
- JP Miller
- David Mills
- Chris Mundy
- Bart Nickerson
- Ron Osborn
- Jeff Reno
- Frank Renzulli
- Gene Reynolds
- Alfred Shaughnessy
- John Shiban
- David Simon
- Allan Sloane
- Will Smith
- Mark Tinker
- Mike White
- Beau Willimon
- Nicholas Wootton
- John Sacret Young
Programs with multiple awards
;6 awardsThe Sopranos;4 awardsThe Defenders Succession
;3 awardsHill Street Blues L.A. Law Mad Men NYPD Blue
;2 awardsCBS Playhouse Game of Thrones Hallmark Hall of Fame Homeland Lou Grant Playhouse 90 St. Elsewhere Thirtysomething The Twilight Zone
- ''The Waltons''
Programs with multiple nominations
;21 nominationsThe Sopranos;16 nominationsHill Street Blues
;15 nominationsMad Men
;12 nominationsL.A. Law NYPD Blue
;9 nominationsLou Grant Playhouse 90 St. Elsewhere
;8 nominationsBetter Call Saul
;7 nominationsER Game of Thrones Hallmark Hall of Fame
;6 nominationsAlcoa-Goodyear Playhouse CBS Playhouse Lost Northern Exposure
;5 nominationsThe Crown Thirtysomething The West Wing
;4 nominationsThe Americans Breaking Bad Columbo The Defenders The Handmaid's Tale Moonlighting Ozark Succession The Waltons The X-Files
;3 nominationsThe Adams Chronicles Alfred Hitchcock Presents/''The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Cagney & Lacey Downton Abbey Roots The Twilight Zone Upstairs, Downstairs
;2 nominationsThe 20th Century Fox Hour Alcoa Premiere/Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire Andor Battlestar Galactica Ben Casey Benjamin Franklin The Bold Ones: The Senator China Beach Climax! Friday Night Lights The Good Wife Grey's Anatomy Homeland Homicide: Life on the Street I Spy Killing Eve Kraft Television Theatre The Mandalorian Mission: Impossible The Philco Television Playhouse The Pitt Severance Shōgun Six Feet Under Slow Horses Stranger Things Studio One Twin Peaks The Wire The White Lotus Yellowjackets''