The Primetime Emmy Awards are handed out annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of the very best in American primetime television programming. And in 2013, Netflix became the first streaming service to win a Primetime Emmy Award when House of Cards scored nine nominations and won three.
Since then, Netflix has managed to accumulate 619 nominations, with 135 going on to win. Netflix had a banner year in 2020, setting the record for the most nominations by any network in a single year, nabbing 160. Although Netflix has a wide variety of original programming on its platform, a mere handful are responsible for the bulk of its nominations, and fewer still have contributed to its many wins.
‘Making A Murderer’ (4 wins out of 6 nominations)
This true crime docu-series, filmed over a period of ten years, followed Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who began campaigning against corrupt law enforcement upon his release, only to find himself accused of another crime. Avery and nephew Brendan Dassey are arrested for murder; Avery insists he’s been framed by vengeful cops. The cops are incompetent at best. Corruption doesn’t seem far-fetched. The case is full of twists and turns, which left viewers gasping one episode after another.
The first season of Making A Murderer premiered in December 2015. It went on to nab six nominations at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards. The series won Outstanding Documentary Series, as well as writing, picture editing and directing for Nonfiction Programming.
‘Orange Is The New Black’ (4 wins out of 21 nominations)
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Viewers explored the hidden depths of a women’s minimum-security prison and all of its eccentric residents through the eyes of a bewildered white woman when Orange Is The New Black made its debut in July 2013. Over the course of seven seasons, Orange Is The New Black secured 21 nominations, of which four were wins.
Its first season was nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, but a new rule the next year classifying half-hour shows as comedies and hour-long ones as dramas meant the show had to switch categories, becoming the first series to be nominated in both. Laverne Cox earned four nominations for Outstanding Guest Actress, becoming the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category. OITNB ultimately took home Emmy Awards for casting and picture editing in 2014. Meanwhile, Uzo Aduba earned one in 2014 for Outstanding Guest Actress, and another in 2015 for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
‘Ozark’ (4 wins out of 45 nominations)
Ozark sees husband and father Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) uproot his family from their home in Chicago to relocate to the Missouri Ozarks. There, his work as a financial advisor is a front for the money laundering he does for Mexico’s second-largest drug cartel.
The show’s premise has mined 45 Emmy nominations, and four wins. While Bateman won for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, co-star Julia Garner has won three times for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
‘Squid Game’ (6 wins out of 14 nominations)
Squid Game took the world by storm with an interesting take on the haves and the have-nots, assembling hundreds of desperate men and women to play simple children’s games for the chance to win life-changing money. The odds are against them and losing means death - literal death. Meanwhile, a group of wealthy VIPs are secretly and callously betting on their success.
Although Squid Game has only one season to its name, it has already garnered 14 Primetime Emmy nominations, and six big wins. It made history, becoming the first non-English language series to be nominated for Best Drama, and star Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian actor to win for a non-English role.
‘House Of Cards’ (7 wins out of 56 nominations)
Season one of House Of Cards dropped in February 2013 on Netflix as the streaming platform’s first self-produced series. This political drama centered on amoral politician Francis Underwood (Kevin Spacey) as he exacts revenge on all those he feels wronged him – his own cabinet members, and even the President himself – with the help of his manipulative and ambitious wife Claire (Robin Wright).
When the first season earned nine Emmy nominations, it became the first original online streaming series to receive major accolades, including a nomination and win for David Fincher’s direction of the pilot episode.
‘Black Mirror’ (8 wins out of 14 nominations)
Netflix’s sci-fi series Black Mirror revived anthology storytelling and captured viewers’ imaginations with its thoughtful takes on a disturbing, often dystopian near-future where humanity’s greatest achievements in science and technology are also their downfall.
Since each of Black Mirror’s episodes are standalone and part of an anthology, rather than a traditional series, Netflix was able to dominate at the Emmy’s. The show took home the award for Outstanding Television Movie three years in a row for "San Junipero" in 2017, "USS Callister" in 2018, and again in 2019 for its interactive episode "Bandersnatch," which allowed viewers to make choices for the story’s protagonist.
‘Queer Eye’ (10 wins out of 29 nominations)
Netflix's reality powerhouse Queer Eye introduced viewers to a new Fab 5 in 2018: chef Antoni Porowski, fashionista Tan France, mental health champion Karamo Brown, grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness, and designer extraordinaire Bobby Berk. Together, these queer stars spend a week applying their expertise to someone in need.
Expanding on the original show, Netflix’s Queer Eye reboot features a large spectrum of LGBT pride and has carefully and deliberately spent time uplifting underrepresented communities, including people of color. It has swept the Outstanding Structured Reality Program Emmy all five years it has been eligible.
‘The Queen’s Gambit’ (11 wins out of 18 nominations)
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Anya Taylor-Joy plays Beth Harmon in The Queen’s Gambit, an orphan who overcomes adversity by mastering the game of chess and taking the world by storm. Chess may come easily to her, but success and its trappings do not.
The Queen’s Gambit was a self-contained limited series, consisting of a single season. Yet, that season proved so popular and critically acclaimed that it alone netted 18 Emmy nominations and took home a whopping eleven wins, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, becoming the first show on a streaming service to do so.
‘Stranger Things’ (12 wins out of 51 nominations)
Stranger Things is an iconic and flagship series for Netflix and has been since its inception in 2016. Trading in horror and nostalgia, it began with the disappearance of a young boy and followed his mother, his friends, the local police chief, and a strange girl with powers joined forces to save him from supernatural doom.
With four highly acclaimed seasons under its belt, Stranger Things is perhaps not the kind of programming that usually dominates at awards ceremonies, but it has routinely earned a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series and often nets an acting nomination for Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour. Stranger Things tends to be more successful in the creative arts categories, securing wins for casting, title design, theme music, stunt coordination and prosthetic makeup, among others.
‘The Crown’ (21 wins out of 62 nominations)
The Crown has told the story of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family since her reign as a young woman. The cast has changed as the characters have aged, but the drama has remained first-rate. While a fictional retelling, The Crown does keep things historically accurate.
The Crown is indeed the crown jewel for Netflix accolades, amassing 62 nominations and an astounding 21 wins from the Primetime Emmys alone. Among its acting wins, both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman have won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for their twin portrayals of the Queen - as well as John Lithgow for his turn as Winston Churchill, Tobias Menzies as Prince Philip, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, and Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher. Its casting, period costumes, production design and cinematography have also been recognized with awards.