The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (2024)

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (1)

While it's obviously true that it is an honor just to be nominated, being the show that sweeps at the Primetime Emmy Awards has got to be an incredible feeling of accomplishment for everyone involved. Between the Primetime and Creative Arts Emmys, one show can rack up a ton of nominations and wins if it's firing on all cylinders. Unfortunately, some great programming gets pushed to the side even though it may have been just as worthy and engaging as the winners. If you're curious about which shows won the most trophies previously, and which ones picked up surprisingly fewer than you expected, here's a results roundup of Television's biggest night over the past 15 years.

1

2024 Winners: Shogun & Baby Reindeer

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (2)

The epic historical drama series Shōgun, set in 17th-century Japan, won 18 of its 25 nominations at the 76th Emmy Awards. Along with winning the Outstanding Drama Series award, Anna Sawai and Hiroki Sanada deservedly took home the Lead Actress and Lead Actor in a Drama Series trophies. Other high-performing shows were Hacks and The Bear in the Comedy categories, and the Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer impressed by winning seven out of the eleven awards it was considered for.

2

2024 Losers: The Crown & Only Murders in the Building

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (3)

Justice for Only Murders in the Building (okay, Hacks and The Bear are great too). This excellent murder mystery series still got four wins at the Creative Arts ceremony of its 21 nominated awards, including Outstanding Music Composition and Outstanding Production Design. On the Drama side, Netflix's The Crown got 18 nominations but only scooped up one major win, which honored Elizabeth Debicki's phenomenal Supporting performance as Princess Diana.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

3

2023 Winners: The Bear & Succession

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (4)

Yes, chef! The Bear had a huge night at the 2023 Emmys, which were held in January of 2024 due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023. The show took most of the major awards in the Comedy category inlcuding Supporting Actor and Actress, Lead Actor, Writing, Directing, and Outstanding Comedy Series. Succession's last season won six awards out of its huge 27 nominations, but those wins were in most major Drama categories including Outstanding Drama Series.

4

2023 Losers: The Mandalorian & Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (5)

There were two Pedro Pascal-fronted TV shows at this ceremony, and one didn't win as many Emmys as some may have expected in 2023. The Mandalorian had nine nominations but only won a single award for Outstanding Stunt Performance. Ryan Murphy's new anthology series Dahmer also only picked up one win out of 13 nominations, which went to Niecy Nash for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

5

2022 Winners: The White Lotus & Ted Lasso

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (6)

If you forgot how huge Mike White's show The White Lotus was when its first season premiered, it was a massive splash with tons of praise heaped on its sharp writing and formidable cast. It won the most awards of the 2022 ceremony with five Emmy wins, including Outstanding Limited Series or TV Movie, and two Emmys for Mike White for both Writing and Directing. Ted Lasso was close behind, with four wins out of ten nominations.

6

2022 Losers: Dopesick & Severance

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (7)

While these were both excellent new shows, Dopesick and Severance won a single Emmy and two Emmys respectively, out of 14 total nominations each. Dopesick star Michael Keaton won the Lead Actor award, while Severance won at the Creative Arts Emmys for Outstanding Music Composition and Main Title Design.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

7

2021 Winners: The Crown & The Queen's Gambit

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (8)

The Crown made history as the first Drama series to sweep all major categories at the Emmys, showing it was clearly firing on all cylinders. The Anya Taylor-Joy-fronted miniseries The Queens Gambit also had a great night, tying The Crown in total Emmy wins with eleven wins.

8

2021 Losers: The Handmaid's Tale & WandaVision

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (9)

It was an awards powerhouse when it first premiered but the fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale didn't win a single trophy out of its 21 nominations. The MCU miniseries Wandavision was very critically well-received but only got three awards out of 23 total noms.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

9

2020 Winners: Schitt's Creek & Watchmen

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (10)

Eugene and Dan Levy's sitcom Schitt's Creek beat The Crown to its sweep of all major wins in its category just a year prior for its sixth and final season. Succession had a great showing in the Drama categories, and the miniseries Watchmen won the most total awards with 11.

10

2020 Losers: Hollywood & Westworld

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (11)

Westworld was a phenomenon when it first aired but never garnered a ton of awards buzz through its four-season run. It didn't receive any Emmys out of its 11 nominations. Ryan Murphy's miniseries got a solid 12 nominations but only won two Creative Arts awards for Outstanding Period and/or Character Styling and Main Title Theme Music.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

11

2019 Winners: Game of Thrones & Fleabag

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (12)

Even if fans aren't united on loving the last season of Game of Thrones, it performed very strongly at its final Emmys with 12 wins, including Outstanding Drama Series and one more Supporting Actor win for the great Peter Dinklage. With another swan song season, Phoebe Waller-Bridge's Fleabag was the top-performing comedy, while the acclaimed miniseries Chernobyl won three awards out of 19 nominations.

12

2019 Losers: Escape at Dannemora & Better Call Saul

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (13)

Ben Stiller's prison break crime drama miniseries Escape at Dannemora was acclaimed for its pacing and performances but didn't clinch any Emmys of its 12 nominations. Sadly, the incredible Better Call Saul was another show that didn't get any Emmys in 2019 out of nine nominations.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

13

2018 Winners: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel & The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (14)

The first season of the period comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel got a bunch of well-deserved Emmys—eight in total—including Outstanding Writing and Directing, Comedy Series, and wins for Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein's performances. Another huge show was the second season of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which won seven awards including Outstanding Lead Actor for Darren Criss and Outstanding Limited Series or TV Movie. Of course, Game of Thrones also won a boatload of technical awards and the Outstanding Drama trophy.

14

2018 Losers: Stranger Things & The Handmaid's Tale

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (15)

The drama category was very competitive in 2018 with heavy-hitting shows like The Americans, The Crown, and GoT in the field, so even great shows like Stranger Things and The Handmaid's Tale didn't clinch major awards this year. Both shows were honored with Creative Arts Emmys.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

15

2017 Winners: The Handmaid's Tale & Big Little Lies

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (16)

The Handmaid's Tale and Big Little Lies tied for most major award wins at the 2017 ceremony with five, and the former was the first streaming series to win the Outstanding Drama Series award.Saturday Night Live also had a big night with Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon winning Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series.

16

2017 Losers: Feud: Bette & Joan & Westworld

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (17)

Another year, another Ryan Murphy anthology series. Feud: Bette & Joan was acclaimed upon its premiere, but it couldn't compete with the phenomenon that was Big Little Lies, winning two awards for Outstanding Hairstyling, and Outstanding Makeup for a Limited Series or TV Movie. The freshman season of Westworld also didn't get a major win despite being truly brilliant TV, though it did win five Creative Arts Emmys so it's hardly a true loser.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

17

2016 Winners: The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story & Game of Thrones

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (18)

The acclaimed first season of American Crime Story dominated the Limited Series/TV Movie category with five major wins, including Outstanding Limited Series or TV Movie and acting wins for Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown, and Courtney B. Vance. Game of Thrones was the second biggest winner, scooping the trophies for Outstanding Writing, Directing, and Drama Series, as well as a slew of Creative Arts awards. Veep and Transparent also had strong nights with two major Emmys each.

18

2016 Losers: Fargo & The Night Manager

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (19)

This was another year of huge Limited and Anthology shows coming out, so the second season of FX's Fargo and the British spy thriller miniseries The Night Manager were mostly overlooked in that category. However, The Night Manager did clinch one major win: Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or TV Movie.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

19

2015 Winners: Olive Kitteridge & Game of Thrones

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (20)

While the Frances McDormand-led miniseries Olive Kitteridge led in major award wins with six, Game of Thrones set a record for most single-night awards with 12 combining the major categories and technical awards. Shōgun's massive 18 wins finally unseated GoT from its most wins in a single night record in 2024.

20

2015 Losers: American Crime & American Horror Story: Freak Show

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (21)

The first season of American Crime was mostly shut out of the Limited Series/TV Movie wins despite ten nominations, though Regina King's supporting performance did win her one trophy for the show. American Horror Story: Freak Show was an interesting season of the horror anthology, with the most major nominations of the night but no wins, though it did receive trophies for its strong craft including Outstanding Special Visual Effects, Hairstylying, and Prosthetic Makeup.

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (22)

Jacob Linden

Temporary Editor, Partnerships

Jacob is a Temporary Partnerships Editor at Hearst based in Queens, New York with his partner and cat Tiger. He loves learning and writing about Film and TV, Video Games, and the weird histories of unexpected subjects.

The Biggest Winners & Losers at the Emmys Through the Years (2024)
Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Terence Hammes MD

Last Updated:

Views: 6163

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (69 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Terence Hammes MD

Birthday: 1992-04-11

Address: Suite 408 9446 Mercy Mews, West Roxie, CT 04904

Phone: +50312511349175

Job: Product Consulting Liaison

Hobby: Jogging, Motor sports, Nordic skating, Jigsaw puzzles, Bird watching, Nordic skating, Sculpting

Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.