List of Primetime Emmy Award winners

See also: List of International Emmy Award winners and List of Daytime 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 (Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment)			five winners (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)