INTRODUCTION
This page shows statistics about major television awards including Emmy and BAFTA winners in different genres and other interesting facts.
Charts
1. Share of International (non-American) Emmy Award for Best Documentary 1967 – 2022
2. Best Drama Series BAFTA Winners by Decade and Broadcaster
3. Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series by Decade and Network
4. Writing Emmy Winners by Gender and Genre 2000 – Present
This chart shows the dominance of the United Kingdom in international (non-American) Emmy Awards for Best Documentary, accounting for nearly half of all wins. This reflects the UK’s long-standing strength in documentary filmmaking, supported by institutions like the BBC and a strong public broadcasting tradition. Other countries such as France, Canada, and Germany also have notable shares, though significantly smaller. The diversity of “Other” countries suggests a wide global interest in documentary production, but with less consistent success. Overall, the chart highlights how a few countries dominate high-quality documentary output internationally.
The BAFTA for Best Drama Series provides an interesting picture of how British television has evolved and which broadcasters have dominated prestige drama. The BBC is clearly the most successful broadcaster, winning the majority of awards in every decade shown. Its dominance is particularly pronounced in the 2000s and 2010s, when BBC programmes accounted for seven and eight wins respectively. ITV was a stronger competitor in the 1980s and 1990s, while Channel 4 has also maintained a presence, particularly in more recent years. The 1990s are notable for being the only decade in which Sky appears, although its single win demonstrates how relatively limited its impact was compared with the established terrestrial broadcasters. The 2020s are still incomplete, so the small number of awards should not be interpreted as a decline in drama production. Overall, the chart illustrates the BBC’s remarkably consistent position at the centre of British television drama, while also showing the gradual diversification of the broadcasting landscape.
The Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series shows a much more dramatic transformation in television than the BAFTA drama chart. During the 1960s through the 1990s, traditional American broadcast networks dominated, particularly NBC, ABC and CBS. NBC was especially successful during the 1980s and 1990s, winning a large proportion of the awards during those decades. The 2000s continued to be dominated by the traditional networks, although HBO began to establish itself as a major force. The 2010s mark a significant turning point, with ABC, HBO and streaming service Prime Video all winning awards, reflecting the growing importance of cable and streaming television. The 2020s go further still: Apple TV+ and Pop TV appear, illustrating how fragmented the television market has become. The shift is significant because winning an Emmy is no longer primarily about succeeding on one of the traditional broadcast networks. The rise of premium cable and streaming has dramatically expanded the number of platforms capable of producing award-winning comedy.
This chart shows the gender distribution of writing Emmy winners for drama and comedy since 2000. Male writers have won the clear majority in both genres, although the difference is considerably smaller in comedy. In drama, approximately 22 of the 23 winners represented in the chart are male, with only one female winner. Comedy is more balanced, with around 16 male winners, five female winners and two mixed-gender winning teams.
The difference may partly reflect the historical structure of television writing, where writers’ rooms and senior creative positions were traditionally dominated by men. The larger female representation in comedy may indicate that the genre has offered greater opportunities for women writers, particularly as television has increasingly embraced diverse perspectives and experiences. Nevertheless, the overall figures show that gender inequality remains substantial among Emmy-recognised television writers. The chart also provides an interesting comparison with changes in acting and directing, where female representation has generally increased more visibly over the same period.
This chart compares six of the television series that have received the most nominations for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, while also showing how many of those nominations resulted in victories. Cheers and All in the Family are particularly notable for their conversion of nominations into awards, with each winning four times. Frasier and Modern Family performed even better proportionally, converting five of their eight nominations into victories.
At the other end of the spectrum, Curb Your Enthusiasm and MAS*H stand out for having received many nominations without winning nearly as often. Curb Your Enthusiasm is especially striking: despite accumulating eleven nominations, it did not win the Outstanding Comedy Series award. This illustrates an important distinction between critical recognition and actually taking home the award. Long-running programmes can accumulate nominations simply through sustained popularity and quality, while competition from other exceptional shows can prevent them from winning. The chart therefore provides an interesting measure not just of success, but of how consistently each series was recognised as the best comedy on television.
Sources:
Drama Series or Serial – Bafta
Banner image by Alan Light – Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0