The Television Shows With The Most Emmys Won
The Emmy Awards are presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for US television programming. Starting in 1949, the Emmys (from the slang word “immy”, meaning a TV camera image orthicon tube) have been awarded for various categories in creative and technical fields. These are the television series that have won the most Emmys over time.
Game Of Thrones: 59 Wins
While we've saved the biggest Emmy-winner for last, Game of Thrones is undeniably one of the biggest television productions in history. With multimillion-dollar budgets, an all-star cast, elaborate sets and costumes, and over eight seasons, they have won the most Emmys for a scripted fictional drama. Game of Thrones won Outstanding Drama Series four times and Outstanding Writing and Outstanding Directing twice each, while Peter Dinklage won Supporting Actor Emmy four times. Many of the other awards were technical, including twice for Main Title Design.
HBO, Game of Thrones (2011-2019)
Frasier: 37 Wins
Frasier is a spin-off of Cheers (itself on this list further down). At 37 wins, Frasier has won the most Emmys for any sitcom. Series star Kelsey Grammer won Outstanding Lead Actor four times while David Hyde Pierce, won three times for Outstanding Supporting Actor. The show itself won Outstanding Comedy Series five times.
The Simpsons: 37 Wins
Tied with Frasier at 37 wins, The Simpsons, now in its 36th season, has won Outstanding Animated Program 12 times out of 33 nominations, most recently in 2023. The entire main cast— including Hank Azaria (Moe and Chief Wiggum), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns and Ned Flanders), and Yeardley Smith (Lisa)—have all won Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, as has frequent guest performer Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob. Other awards include Achievement in Animation (six times), and Outstanding Music and Lyric for “We Put the Spring in Springfield”.
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver: 30 Wins
A fairly recent production on this list, Last Week Tonight With John Oliver has, since 2014 and over its 12 seasons, won 30 Emmy awards. Host John Oliver moved from the Daily Show into his own topical comedy news program and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver won Outstanding Variety Talk Series seven years in a row. After those seven wins, it was nominated instead for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, winning twice.
HBO, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014-)
The Mary Tyler Moore Show: 29 Wins
A classic and ground-breaking 1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show dealt with serious social issues, but it was also a popular and beloved comedy. The show won Outstanding Comedy Series three times and several of its performers won awards, including Ed Asner, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Betty White, and Mary Tyler Moore herself.
CBS, The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977)
RuPaul's Drag Race: 29 Wins
RuPaul has won more Emmys than any other Black artist, eight in total for Outstanding Host of the reality competition show RuPaul's Drag Race. The show itself won Outstanding Competition Program and as RuPaul is also executive producer, his personal total wins is 14. The show has also won Emmys for costumes, directing, and for technical awards.
World of Wonder, RuPaul's Drag Race (2009-)
Cheers: 28 Wins
Cheers was a long-running sitcom about the regulars at a Boston pub. The show itself won Outstanding Comedy Series four times, while many of its cast won awards for their performances, including Shelley Long, Rhea Perlman, Woody Harrelson, Ted Danson, Bebe Neuwirth, and Kirstie Alley, as well as guest performer John Cleese. Cheers won various other awards for directing, writing, and technical awards as well.
Hill Street Blues: 26 Wins
Hill Street Blues, although never a big hit, was an influential series that changed how series about the police were produced. In its second season, Hill Street Blues was nominated in 16 categories including all five nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actor (the award went to Michael Conrad who had won the year before as well). Starting with its first year, Hill Street Blues won Outstanding Drama Series four years in a row.
NBC, Hill Street Blues (1981-1987)
The West Wing: 26 Wins
Tied with Hill Street Blues is another drama, The West Wing, this time taking place in the White House of a fictional US president, played by Martin Sheen. The series won Outstanding Drama four times, and several of its cast won performance Emmys throughout the series run.
NBC, The West Wing (1999-2006)
The Carol Burnett Show: 25 Wins
Before Saturday Night Live, The Carol Burnett Show was the big sketch comedy show, although it more fit the standard mold of the variety shows that were prevalent in the 1960s and ‘70s. The cast included big names in comedy such as Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman, and Carol Burnett herself, and the series won Emmys 25 times. Conway, Korman, and Lawrence each won as performers and the show won numerous awards for writing and directing, while the show itself (along with Carol Burnett herself as host) won Outstanding Comedy-Variety Series three times.
CBS, The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978)
The Crown: 24 Wins
As a costume drama and a sweeping story of a beloved monarch, The Crown is a popular chronicle of the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Over six seasons, the series won 24 Emmys, including awards for many in the cast, including Claire Foy, John Lithgow, Olivia Colman, Josh O'Connor, Tobias Menzies, Gillian Anderson, and Elizabeth Debicki. In season four, The Crown managed to win Outstanding Drama Series, as well as lead actor, actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, directing, and writing, a rare sweep.
Netflix, The Crown (2016-2023)
ER: 23 Wins
ER is one the series which benefited from the pioneering work of Hill Street Blues and not only was it a success in the ratings, but at the Emmys as well. Throughout its run, ER received 124 Emmy nominations, but it only took home Outstanding Drama Series once. ER did much better in the technical awards, what are called the Creative Arts Emmys, winning multiple times for sound mixing, sound editing, technical direction, and casting, among others.
All In The Family: 22 Wins
Another ground-breaking 1970s sitcom that blended comedy with serious social issues, All in the Family centered around a working-class family in Queens, New York City, with Archie Bunker, a bigoted man who is coming to terms with a changing America. The show won Outstanding Comedy Series four times. Carroll O'Connor, who played Archie, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor eight times, winning four, and Jean Stapleton, who played his wife Edith, won three times. Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner rounded out the cast as the daughter and son-in-law, and they each won twice.
CBS, All in the Family (1971-1979)
Modern Family: 22 Wins
In many ways, Modern Family is the spiritual successor to All in the Family but it depicts contemporary family life outside the cliched Nuclear Family of the 1950s. Successful from the start, the series won Outstanding Comedy Series five years in a row, with many of the cast members winning, including two each for Ty Burrell, Eric Stonestreet, and Julie Bowen.
ABC, Modern Family (2009-2020)
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel: 22 Wins
Probably the biggest hit to come from Amazon Prime, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a period piece taking place in the 1950s and follows the stand-up comedy career of a housewife looking for more from life. As a historical production, much of its awards are for its costumes and hairstyling, but series leads Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein were both nominated for all five seasons, winning once (Brosnahan), and twice (Borstein). The show itself won Outstanding Comedy Series in its first year.
Amazon Prime, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-2023)
The Sopranos: 21 Wins
In an era when premium cable services began to dominate the Emmys, HBO’s The Sopranos led the way. Considered one of the best dramas of all time, The Sopranos won Outstanding Drama Series twice while being nominated for each of its seven seasons. Series stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco both won three Emmys, and the show won six of the seven times it was nominated for Outstanding Writing. In most years of its run, multiple writers from The Sopranos were nominated for Outstanding Writing: in both 2001 and 2004, four of the five Outstanding Writing nominations were from The Sopranos.
Dancing With The Stars: 21 Wins
As a competition reality show, Dancing With The Stars wasn’t in the running for the more famous awards but for the technical and creative arts awards, the show dominated its competition. The series won numerous Emmys for choreography, makeup, lighting design, hairstyling, and technical direction.
ABC, Dancing with the Stars (2005-)
The Bear: 21 Wins
A recent series, The Bear has only broadcast three seasons so far but for such a short run, it has managed an impressive 21 Emmy wins. Centering on an accomplished chef taking over his family sandwich shop, the dark humor means that it doesn’t fit comfortably in the comedy categories but that’s where it has excelled. In the first season, The Bear won 10 Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, while in season two it won 11 Emmys, six in the acting categories (for lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, guest actor, and guest actress).
American Masters: 20 Wins
This stalwart PBS documentary series has won 20 Emmys, the most for any PBS program. Since its premiere in 1999, it has won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series 10 times, plus numerous writing and directing awards.
NYPD Blue: 20 Wins
One of the most successful crime procedurals in US television history, this depiction of officers of the NYPD has won numerous awards for its actors, including four for series lead Dennis Franz. The show has won many times for writing, directing, and acting.
24: 20 Wins
The concept of 24 was that it took place in real-time, each episode of a season taking place within one hour (and therefore a full 24-episode season would be exactly one day of the story). The technical needs of such a continuity nightmare ensured multiple wins for editing and sound mixing. In 2006, the series won Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Lead Actor (Kiefer Sutherland).
Boardwalk Empire: 20 Wins
Another period piece on cable television, Boardwalk Empire dealt with the Prohibition era of Atlantic City. However, it mostly won its 20 Emmys for the technical and creative arts Emmys, winning many times for casting, cinematography, sound editing and mixing, and art direction.
HBO, Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014)
Succession: 19 Wins
The story of a ruthless family and the power struggle over the family’s media empire, Succession is an HBO production inspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear. In its first year, the series won for writing and the main title sequence but since then, there have been multiple cast wins for Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and Matthew Macfadyen, while the series itself won Outstanding Drama Series for three years in a row.
Taxi: 18 Wins
This 1970s/early ‘80s sitcom focused on the lives of New York City cab drivers and although not focusing on social issues so much, there was nevertheless a certain grit to the comedy as many of the plots centered around escaping the grind of driving a cab. The series won for Outstanding Writing a number of times and Outstanding Comedy Series for three years in a row. The cast also did well, with wins for Judd Hirsh, Carol Kane, Christopher Lloyd, and Danny DeVito.
Murphy Brown: 18 Wins
A smart series focused on journalism and politics, Murphy Brown also won big at the Emmys. Series lead Candice Bergen won Outstanding Lead Actress five times and the series co-stars and guest stars also won multiple times. The series itself won Outstanding Comedy Series twice.
Will & Grace: 18 Wins
Tying Murphy Brown at 18 Emmy wins, Will & Grace was one of the first shows to center on gay characters and was popular because of its ensemble cast. All four leads— Eric McCormack, Debra Messing, Megan Mullally, and Sean Hayes—won in the lead and supporting acting categories and the show won almost annually for Guest Actor, with wins for the likes of Gene Wilder, Bobby Cannavale, and Leslie Jordan.
Shōgun: 18 Wins
This new adaptation of the James Clavell novel (not to be confused with the Richard Chamberlain-led 1980 Shōgun miniseries adaptation which itself won three Emmys including Outstanding Limited Series), this 2024 series broke the record for most Emmys won by a single series at the Creative Arts ceremony. In addition to 14 Creative Arts Emmys, Shōgun won Outstanding Drama Series as well as both lead acting categories for Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai.
Star Trek: The Next Generation: 17 Wins
The original Star Trek series was nominated 13 times over its three-year run without winning any awards. The subsequent sequel series often won technical awards and the first spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation won a total of 17 Emmys over its seven-year run. All of its wins come from costuming, makeup effects, visual effects, sound mixing, and other technical awards, but it was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in 1994, the first and only time that has happened with a Star Trek series.
Paramount Television, Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Veep: 17 Wins
Julia Louis-Dreyfus handily beat the Seinfeld Curse (the idea that none of the lead actors on Seinfeld could find success after the series) with Veep. The story of a fictional US Vice President, Veep was one of HBO’s biggest shows in the 2010s, with Louis-Dreyfus winning Outstanding Lead Actress six times. The series itself won Outstanding Comedy Series three times, and co-star Tony Hale won Outstanding Supporting Actor twice.
Saturday Night Live: 90 Wins
Going on 50 years now, Saturday Night Live, or SNL, is an institution famed for launching countless comedy careers. Not without its share of criticism, SNL has stood the test of time and it has won the most Emmy Awards, 90 so far—although, they’ve had five decades to accumulate them all. The awards won have been mainly for writing, but SNL has also won Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, while individual performers such as Gilda Radner, Kate McKinnon, Dana Carvey, and frequent host Alec Baldwin, have all won Emmys as performers.
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NBC, Saturday Night Live (1975-)
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