Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Primetime Emmy Awards · 273 nominations across 50 ceremonies · 54 wins
78th Emmys · 2026
- Nominee Mike Makowsky · Death by Lightning
- Nominee Gabe Rotter · Sick Puppy from The Beast in Me
- Nominee Megan Gallagher · Episode 8 from All Her Fault
- Nominee Steven Conrad · DTF St. Louis
- Nominee Lee Sung Jin · All the Things We're Never Going to Have from Beef
77th Emmys · 2025
- Winner Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham · Adolescence
- Nominee Lauren LeFranc · A Great or Little Thing from The Penguin
- Nominee Joshua Zetumer · The People in the Dirt from Say Nothing
- Nominee Elizabeth Meriwether · Good Value Diet Soda from Dying for Sex
- Nominee Charlie Brooker, Bisha K. Ali · Common People from Black Mirror
76th Emmys · 2024
- Winner Richard Gadd · Baby Reindeer
- Nominee Noah Hawley · The Tragedy of the Commons from Fargo
- Nominee Charlie Brooker · Joan Is Awful from Black Mirror
- Nominee Issa López · Part 6 from True Detective, season 4
- Nominee Ron Nyswaner · You're Wonderful from Fellow Travelers
- Nominee Steven Zaillian · Ripley
75th Emmys · 2023
- Winner Lee Sung Jin · The Birds Don't Sing, They Screech in Pain from Beef
- Nominee Janine Nabers, Donald Glover · Stung from Swarm
- Nominee Dan Trachtenberg · Prey
- Nominee Al Yankovic, Eric Appel · The Al Yankovic Story from Weird
- Nominee Joel Kim Booster · Fire Island
- Nominee Taffy Brodesser-Akner · Me-Time from Fleishman Is in Trouble
74th Emmys · 2022
- Winner Mike White · The White Lotus
- Nominee Patrick Somerville · Unbroken Circle from Station Eleven
- Nominee Sarah Burgess · Man Handled from Impeachment: American Crime Story
- Nominee Elizabeth Meriwether · I'm in a Hurry from The Dropout
- Nominee Danny Strong · The People vs. Purdue Pharma from Dopesick
- Nominee Molly Smith Metzler · Snaps from Maid
73rd Emmys · 2021
- Winner Michaela Coel · I May Destroy You
- Nominee Scott Frank · The Queen's Gambit
- Nominee Brad Ingelsby · Mare of Easttown
- Nominee Chuck Hayward, Peter Cameron · All-New Halloween Spooktacular! from WandaVision
- Nominee Jac Schaeffer · Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience from WandaVision
- Nominee Laura Donney · Previously On from WandaVision
70th Emmys · 2018
- Winner Charlie Brooker · USS Callister
- Nominee Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus · Clean Up from American Vandal
- Nominee David Nicholls · Patrick Melrose
- Nominee Mark Frost, David Lynch · Twin Peaks
- Nominee Scott Frank · Godless
- Nominee Tom Rob Smith · House by the Lake from The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
69th Emmys · 2017
- Winner Charlie Brooker · San Junipero from Black Mirror
- Nominee Ryan Murphy · And the Winner Is... (The Oscars of 1963) from Feud: Bette and Joan
- Nominee Richard Price, Steven Zaillian · The Call of the Wild from The Night Of
- Nominee Noah Hawley · The Law of Vacant Places from Fargo
- Nominee Jaffe Cohen · Pilot from Feud: Bette and Joan
- Nominee David E. Kelley · Big Little Lies
68th Emmys · 2016
- Winner D. V. DeVincentis · Marcia, Marcia, Marcia from The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
- Nominee Noah Hawley · Palindrome from Fargo
- Nominee Joe Robert Cole · The Race Card from The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
- Nominee Bob DeLaurentis · Loplop from Fargo
- Nominee Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander · From the Ashes of Tragedy from The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story
- Nominee David Farr · The Night Manager
67th Emmys · 2015
- Winner Jane Anderson · Olive Kitteridge
- Nominee Peter Straughan · Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light
- Nominee Dee Rees, Bettina Gilois, Horton Foote · Bessie
- Nominee John Ridley · Episode One from American Crime
- Nominee Hugo Blick · The Honourable Woman
- Nominee Stephen Merchant, Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg · The Movie from Hello Ladies
66th Emmys · 2014
- Winner Steven Moffat · His Last Vow from Sherlock
- Nominee Neil Cross · Luther
- Nominee David Simon, Eric Overmyer · ...To Miss New Orleans from Treme
- Nominee Larry Kramer · The Normal Heart
- Nominee Noah Hawley · The Crocodile's Dilemma from Fargo
- Nominee Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk · Bitchcraft from American Horror Story: Coven
65th Emmys · 2013
- Winner Abi Morgan · The Hour
- Nominee Richard LaGravenese · Behind the Candelabra
- Nominee Jane Campion, Gerard Lee · Top of the Lake
- Nominee David Mamet · Phil Spector
- Nominee Tom Stoppard · Parade's End
64th Emmys · 2012
- Winner Danny Strong · Game Change
- Nominee Abi Morgan · The Hour
- Nominee Steven Moffat · A Scandal in Belgravia from Sherlock
- Nominee Bill Kerby, Ted Mann, Ronald Parker · Hatfields & McCoys
- Nominee Neil Cross · Luther
63rd Emmys · 2011
- Winner Julian Fellowes · Downton Abbey
- Nominee Heidi Thomas · Upstairs Downstairs
- Nominee Todd Haynes · Mildred Pierce
- Nominee Peter Gould · Too Big to Fail
- Nominee Steven Moffat · A Study in Pink from Sherlock
62nd Emmys · 2010
- Winner Adam Mazer · You Don't Know Jack
- Nominee Michelle Ashford · Iwo Jima from The Pacific
- Nominee Peter Morgan · The Special Relationship
- Nominee Bruce C. McKenna, Robert Schenkkan · Home from The Pacific
- Nominee Christopher Monger · Temple Grandin
61st Emmys · 2009
- Winner Andrew Davies · Little Dorrit
- Nominee Patricia Rozema, Michael Sucsy · Grey Gardens
- Nominee David Simon, Ed Burns · Bomb in the Garden from Generation Kill
- Nominee Hugh Whitemore · Into the Storm
- Nominee Ross Katz, Michael Strobl · Taking Chance
59th Emmys · 2007
- Winner Frank Deasy · The Final Act from Prime Suspect
- Nominee Josann McGibbon, Sara Parriott · The Starter Wife
- Nominee Daniel Giat · Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
- Nominee Sandy Welch · Jane Eyre
- Nominee Alan Geoffrion · Broken Trail
58th Emmys · 2006
- Winner Richard Curtis · The Girl in the Café
- Nominee Andrew Davies · Bleak House
- Nominee Nevin Schreiner · Flight 93
- Nominee Nigel Williams · Elizabeth I
- Nominee Phyllis Nagy · Mrs. Harris
57th Emmys · 2005
- Winner Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely · The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
- Nominee Scott Peters, René Echevarria · Pilot from The 4400
- Nominee Richard Russo · Empire Falls
- Nominee Margaret Nagle · Warm Springs
- Nominee Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant · Christmas Special from The Office
56th Emmys · 2004
- Winner Tony Kushner · Angels in America
- Nominee Thomas Rickman · The Reagans
- Nominee Sally Robinson, Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, Raymond Singer, Jennifer Friedes · Iron Jawed Angels
- Nominee Peter Silverman, Robert Caswell · Something the Lord Made
- Nominee Larry Gelbart · And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
55th Emmys · 2003
- Winner William H. Macy · Door to Door
- Nominee John Patrick Shanley · Live from Baghdad
- Nominee Laura Cahill · Hysterical Blindness
- Nominee Hugh Whitemore · My House in Umbria
- Nominee Jane Anderson · Normal
54th Emmys · 2002
- Winner Hugh Whitemore · The Gathering Storm
- Nominee Daniel Giat · Path to War
- Nominee Charles Sturridge · Shackleton
- Nominee Erik Bork, Eric Max Frye, Tom Hanks, Erik Jendresen, Bruce C. McKenna, John Orloff, Graham Yost · Band of Brothers
- Nominee Stephen Belber, Moisés Kaufman, Andy Paris · The Laramie Project
53rd Emmys · 2001
- Winner Loring Mandel · Conspiracy
- Nominee Kirk Ellis · Anne Frank: The Whole Story
- Nominee Emma Thompson, Mike Nichols · Wit
- Nominee Robert L. Freedman · Me and My Shadows from Life with Judy Garland
- Nominee Hank Steinberg · 61*
52nd Emmys · 2000
- Winner David Simon, David Mills · The Corner
- Nominee John Logan · RKO 281
- Nominee John Stockwell · Cheaters
- Nominee Jane Anderson · 1961 from If These Walls Could Talk 2
- Nominee Eric Overmyer, James Yoshimura, Tom Fontana · The Movie from Homicide
51st Emmys · 1999
- Winner Ann Peacock · A Lesson Before Dying
- Nominee Kario Salem · The Rat Pack
- Nominee Jane Anderson · Baby Blues
- Nominee Jerrold L. Ludwig · Dash and Lilly
- Nominee Martyn Burke · Pirates of Silicon Valley
50th Emmys · 1998
- Winner Kario Salem · Only in America from Don King
- Nominee Nicholas Wright · Tales of the City
- Nominee Graham Yost · Part II from From the Earth to the Moon
- Nominee Edward Khmara, David Stevens, Peter Barnes · Merlin
- Nominee Jay McInerney, Michael Cristofer · Gia
49th Emmys · 1997
- Winner Horton Foote · William Faulkner
- Nominee Larry Gelbart · Weapons of Mass Distraction
- Nominee Walter Bernstein · Miss Evers' Boys
- Nominee William Nicholson · Crime of the Century
- Nominee Steve Shagan · Gotti
48th Emmys · 1996
- Winner Simon Moore · Gulliver's Travels
- Nominee Andrew Davies · Pride and Prejudice
- Nominee Thomas Rickman · Truman
- Nominee T. S. Cook, Trey Ellis, Ron Hutchinson, Paris Qualles · The Tuskegee Airmen
- Nominee George Armitage · The Late Shift
47th Emmys · 1995
- Winner Alison Cross · The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story from Serving in Silence
- Nominee Abby Mann · The McMartin Trial from Indictment
- Nominee Chris Gerolmo · Citizen X
- Nominee William Mastrosimone, Michael Tolkin, Ron Hutchinson · The Burning Season
- Nominee August Wilson · Hallmark Hall of Fame
- Nominee August Wilson · The Piano Lesson
46th Emmys · 1994
- Winner Bob Randall · David's Mother
- Nominee Arnold Schulman · And the Band Played On
- Nominee Lynda La Plante · Prime Suspect III
- Nominee Robert W. Lenski · Breathing Lessons
- Nominee Richard Kramer · Tales of the City
45th Emmys · 1993
- Winner Jane Anderson · The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom
- Nominee Paul Monash · Stalin
- Nominee Larry Gelbart · Barbarians at the Gate
- Nominee Jennifer Miller · Family Pictures
- Nominee David Franzoni · Citizen Cohn
44th Emmys · 1992
- Winner Joshua Brand, John Falsey · Pilot from I'll Fly Away
- Nominee Anna Sandor · Miss Rose White
- Nominee Neil Simon · Broadway Bound
- Nominee Robert Bolt · The James Brady Story from Without Warning
- Nominee James Duff · Doing Time on Maple Drive
43rd Emmys · 1991
- Winner Andrew Davies · House of Cards
- Nominee George Stevens Jr. · Separate But Equal
- Nominee Patricia MacLachlan · Sarah, Plain and Tall
- Nominee Robert W. Lenski · Decoration Day
- Nominee Peter Dexter · Paris Trout
42nd Emmys · 1990
- Winner Terrence McNally · Andre's Mother
- Nominee Caroline?
- Nominee Hugh Whitemore · The Final Days
- Nominee William Hanley · The Kennedys of Massachusetts
- Nominee Michael Norell · The Incident
41st Emmys · 1989
- Winner Abby Mann, Ron Hutchinson · The Simon Wiesenthal Story from Murderers Among Us
- Nominee William G. Borchert · My Name Is Bill W.
- Nominee Alison Cross · Roe vs. Wade
- Nominee J.P. Miller, Cynthia Whitcomb · I Know My First Name is Steven
- Nominee Bill Wyttliff · Part I from Lonesome Dove
40th Emmys · 1988
- Winner William Hanley · The Hiding of Anne Frank from The Attic
- Nominee Gy Waldron · Part I from Billionaire Boys Club
- Nominee Susan Cooper · Foxfire
- Nominee Larry McMurtry · The Murder of Mary Phagan
- Nominee James Steven Sadwith · Part I from Baby M Case
39th Emmys · 1987
- Winner Ken Blackwell, Richard Friedenberg · Promise
- Nominee Hugh Whitemore · Pack of Lies
- Nominee William Hanley · Part II from Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder
- Nominee Joshua Brand, John Falsey · The First Christmas from A Year in the Life
- Nominee Reginald Rose · Escape from Sobibor
38th Emmys · 1986
- Winner Sherman Yellen, Ron Cowen, Daniel Lipman · An Early Frost
37th Emmys · 1985
- Winner Vickie Patik · Do You Remember Love
- Nominee Gerald Green · A Hero's Story from Wallenberg
- Nominee John Gay · Fatal Vision
- Nominee Rose Leiman Goldemberg · The Burning Bed
- Nominee Ken Taylor · Crossing the River from The Jewel in the Crown
36th Emmys · 1984
- Winner William Hanley · Something About Amelia
- Nominee April Smith · Between the Laughter
- Nominee Edward Hume · The Day After
- Nominee Allan Leicht · Adam
- Nominee Susan Cooper, Hume Cronyn · The Dollmaker
35th Emmys · 1983
- Winner Marshall Herskovitz · Special Bulletin
- Nominee David Edgar · Part IV from The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
- Nominee Michael Bortman · Who Will Love My Children?
- Nominee William Hanley · Little Gloria... Happy at Last
- Nominee Norman Mailer · The Executioner's Song
34th Emmys · 1982
- Winner Barry Morrow · Bill
- Nominee Ernest Kinoy · Skokie
- Nominee Oliver Hailey · A Girl's Best Friend from Sidney Shorr
- Nominee Peter Prince · Part V from Oppenheimer
- Nominee John Mortimer · Et in Arcadia Ego from Brideshead Revisited
33rd Emmys · 1981
- Winner Arthur Miller · Playing for Time
- Nominee Richard Friedenberg · Bitter Harvest
- Nominee Michael Cristofer · The Shadow Box
- Nominee Joel Oliansky · Part IV from Masada
- Nominee Eric Bercovici · Part 5 from Shōgun
32nd Emmys · 1980
- Winner David Chase · Off the Minnesota Strip
- Nominee David W. Rintels · Gideon's Trumpet
- Nominee Ken Trevey · Amber Waves
- Nominee James S. Henerson · Attica
- Nominee James Lee · This Year's Blonde from Moviola
31st Emmys · 1979
- Winner Michael Mann · The Jericho Mile
- Nominee Paul Dubov, Gwen Bagni · Book One from Backstairs at the White House
- Nominee Fay Kanin · Friendly Fire
- Nominee Jane-Howard Hammerstein · Summer of My German Soldier
- Nominee Ernest Kinoy · Part I from Roots: The Next Generations
30th Emmys · 1978
- Winner Caryl Ledner · Mary White
- Winner George Rubino · The Last Tenant
- Nominee Jerry McNeely · Something for Joey
- Nominee Richard Levinson, William Link · The Storyteller
- Nominee James Poe · The Gathering
- Nominee Bruce Feldman · The Defection of Simas Kudirka
- Nominee Jerome Lawrence · Actor
- Nominee Albert Innaurato · USO Girl from Verna
- Nominee Loring Mandel · Breaking Up
- Nominee Blanche Hanalis · The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story from A Love Affair
- Nominee Barbara Turner · The War Between the Tates
29th Emmys · 1977
- Winner Stewart Stern · Sybil
- Winner Lane Slate · Tail Gunner Joe
- Nominee John McGreevey · Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys
- Nominee Barry Beckerman · Raid on Entebbe
- Nominee James Costigan · The White House Years from Eleanor and Franklin
- Nominee Steve Gethers · A Circle of Children
- Nominee William Bast · The Man in the Iron Mask
- Nominee Ernest Kinoy · Victory at Entebbe
- Nominee Carol Sobieski · Plain Speaking
- Nominee Joe Morgenstern, Douglas Day Stewart · The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
28th Emmys · 1976
- Winner David W. Rintels · Fear on Trial
- Winner James Costigan · Eleanor and Franklin
- Nominee Joanna Lee · Babe
- Nominee Theodore Strauss · I Will Fight No More Forever
- Nominee Elliott Baker · The Entertainer
- Nominee Nicholas Meyer · The Night that Panicked America
- Nominee J.P. Miller · The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case
- Nominee Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James D. Houston, John Korty · Farewell to Manzanar
27th Emmys · 1975
- Winner James Costigan · Love Among the Ruins
- Winner David W. Rintels · Clarence Darrow
- Nominee Jerome Kass · Queen of the Stardust Ballroom
- Nominee Joel Oliansky · The Law
- Nominee Stanley R. Greenberg · The Missiles of October
- Nominee Fay Kanin · Hustling
- Nominee Edward Anhalt · QB VII
26th Emmys · 1974
- Winner Tracy Keenan Wynn · The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
- Winner Fay Kanin · Tell Me Where It Hurts
- Nominee Bruce Jay Friedman · Steambath
- Nominee Will Lorin · Cry Rape
- Nominee Richard Levinson, William Link · The Execution of Private Slovik
- Nominee Lanford Wilson · The Migrants