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 (ATAS). 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. Jesse Armstrong is the current recipient of the award for his work on the episode of HBO's Succession titled "Connor's Wedding". 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.

Total awards by network

 * CBS – 23
 * NBC – 19
 * HBO – 12
 * ABC – 6
 * AMC – 4
 * Fox – 3
 * Showtime – 2
 * DirecTV – 1
 * FX – 1
 * Hulu – 1
 * Netflix – 1
 * PBS – 1

Individuals with multiple awards

 * 6 awards
 * Rod Serling


 * 4 awards
 * Jesse Armstrong


 * 3 awards
 * Steven Bochco
 * David Chase
 * Tom Fontana
 * David Milch
 * Reginald Rose
 * Matthew Weiner


 * 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
 * Steven Bochco


 * 15 nominations
 * David Milch
 * Matthew Weiner


 * 11 nominations
 * Tom Fontana


 * 10 nominations
 * David E. Kelley


 * 9 nominations
 * John Masius
 * Rod Serling


 * 8 nominations
 * David Chase
 * Jeff Lewis
 * Anthony Yerkovich


 * 7 nominations
 * David Benioff
 * Robin Green
 * D. B. Weiss


 * 6 nominations
 * Mitchell Burgess
 * Reginald Rose
 * Michael Wagner
 * Terence Winter


 * 5 nominations
 * Damon Lindelof
 * Peter Morgan
 * Aaron Sorkin
 * John Tinker


 * 4 nominations
 * Jesse Armstrong
 * Carlton Cuse
 * William M. Finkelstein
 * Michele Gallery
 * Karen Hall
 * Michael Kozoll
 * Thomas Schnauz
 * Gordon Smith
 * John Wells


 * 3 nominations
 * 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


 * 2 nominations
 * J. J. Abrams
 * Neal Baer
 * Joshua Brand
 * James Bridges
 * Paddy Chayefsky
 * James Costigan
 * David Dortort
 * Joseph Dougherty
 * Matt Duffer
 * Ross Duffer
 * 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
 * Mark Tinker
 * Beau Willimon
 * Nicholas Wootton
 * John Sacret Young

Programs with multiple awards

 * 6 awards
 * The Sopranos (HBO) (2 consecutive - twice)


 * 4 awards
 * The Defenders (CBS) (3 consecutive)
 * Succession (HBO) (2 consecutive - twice)


 * 3 awards
 * Hill Street Blues (NBC) (consecutive)
 * L.A. Law (NBC) (2 consecutive)
 * Mad Men (AMC) (consecutive)
 * NYPD Blue (ABC) (2 consecutive)


 * 2 awards
 * CBS Playhouse (CBS) (consecutive)
 * Game of Thrones (HBO) (consecutive)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC)
 * Homeland (Showtime) (consecutive)
 * Lou Grant (CBS) (consecutive)
 * Playhouse 90 (CBS) (consecutive)
 * St. Elsewhere (NBC)
 * Thirtysomething (ABC) (consecutive)
 * The Twilight Zone (CBS) (consecutive)
 * The Waltons (CBS) (consecutive)

Programs with multiple nominations

 * 21 nominations
 * The Sopranos (HBO)


 * 16 nominations
 * Hill Street Blues (NBC)


 * 15 nominations
 * Mad Men (AMC)


 * 12 nominations
 * L.A. Law (NBC)
 * NYPD Blue (ABC)


 * 9 nominations
 * Lou Grant (CBS)
 * Playhouse 90 (CBS)
 * St. Elsewhere (NBC)


 * 8 nominations
 * Better Call Saul (AMC)


 * 7 nominations
 * ER (NBC)
 * Game of Thrones (HBO)
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame (NBC)


 * 6 nominations
 * Alcoa-Goodyear Playhouse (NBC)
 * CBS Playhouse (CBS)
 * Lost (ABC)
 * Northern Exposure (CBS)


 * 5 nominations
 * The Crown (Netflix)
 * Thirtysomething (ABC)
 * The West Wing (NBC)


 * 4 nominations
 * The Americans (FX)
 * Breaking Bad (AMC)
 * Columbo (NBC)
 * The Defenders (CBS)
 * The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)
 * Moonlighting (ABC)
 * Ozark (Netflix)
 * Succession (HBO)
 * The Waltons (CBS)
 * The X-Files (Fox)


 * 3 nominations
 * The Adams Chronicles (PBS)
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents/The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (CBS)
 * Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (NBC)
 * Cagney & Lacey (CBS)
 * Downton Abbey (PBS)
 * Roots (ABC)
 * The Twilight Zone (CBS)
 * Upstairs, Downstairs (PBS)


 * 2 nominations
 * The 20th Century Fox Hour (CBS)
 * Alcoa Premiere/Premiere, Presented by Fred Astaire (ABC)
 * Battlestar Galactica (Sci Fi)
 * Ben Casey (ABC)
 * Benjamin Franklin (CBS)
 * The Bold Ones: The Senator (NBC)
 * China Beach (ABC)
 * Climax! (CBS)
 * Friday Night Lights (DirecTV)
 * The Good Wife (CBS)
 * Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
 * Homeland (Showtime)
 * Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC)
 * I Spy (NBC)
 * Killing Eve (BBC America)
 * Kraft Television Theatre (NBC)
 * The Mandalorian (Disney+)
 * Mission: Impossible (CBS)
 * The Philco Television Playhouse (NBC)
 * Shōgun (FX)
 * Six Feet Under (HBO)
 * Stranger Things (Netflix)
 * Studio One (CBS)
 * Twin Peaks (ABC)
 * The Wire (HBO)
 * Yellowjackets (Showtime)