The annual Primetime Emmy Awards is a night dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the outstanding achievements made in television that year. It honors series in all genres including dramas, comedies, and limited or anthology series, to name a few. The competition is always tough in every category, but one of the most anticipated of the night is the award for Outstanding Drama Series. For the past three years, the award has been won by The Crown, Succession, and Game of Thrones, three incredibly successful and beloved television series.
On July 12, 2022, the Primetime Emmy Awards nominees for Outstanding Drama Series were announced, as outlined by The Hollywood Reporter. All the nominees in the category are very deserving, but only one can win. The nominees include Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, Ozark, Euphoria, Stranger Things, Squid Game, Severance, and Succession. On September 12, per Variety, we will finally get to see which television series will be taking home the award, but for now, here is our list of the 2022 Outstanding Drama Series nominees, ranked.
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8 Better Call Saul
Sony Pictures Television
This year, the sixth season of Better Call Saul was released, and the show is just as popular as ever. Bob Odenkirk stars in the drama series as Saul Goodman himself alongside Rhea Seehorn, Jonathan Banks, Patrick Fabian, Michael Mando, and Giancarlo Esposito. Better Call Saul is a prequel to the award-winning and critically acclaimed hit series Breaking Bad, taking place nearly six years before Saul Goodman became Walter White’s lawyer. Unfortunately, the show will not be returning for a seventh season as this is the end of the road for Saul Goodman, which makes this nomination even more special. In addition to the series, both Odenkirk and Seehorn received nominations for their performances.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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7 Yellowjackets
Showtime
Yellowjackets is a psychological drama that tells the story of a high school girls soccer team who survive a plane crash and are now stranded in the wild. The show involves very complex and dramatic scenes where the girls resort to cannibalism and are stuck making life or death decisions. It has already been confirmed that Yellowjackets will be returning for a second season due to the first season’s extreme popularity and incredible ratings, including a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Showtime series also received Emmy nominations for Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci.
6 Severance
Red Hour Productions
The Apple TV+ original drama series Severance was a top contender when looking at which shows would be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series this year. Adam Scott plays the leading role of Mark, starring alongside Britt Lower, Patricia Arquette, Dichen Lachman, John Turturro, and Zach Cherry. In the show, Mark is at the head of his office leading his co-workers in a job where their memories have all been compromised and divided between work and personal life. The employees go on an unexpected journey to discover what is actually going on at their job.
5 Succession
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Succession is definitely no stranger to the Emmys as it is a show we constantly see receiving nominations and winning awards year after year. Since 2019, the HBO series has received 16 Emmy nominations and won twice in 2020 in the categories of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Jeremy Strong’s work on the show and for Outstanding Drama Series. This year, Succession earned eight nominations for its third season and has a good shot at taking home multiple awards.
4 Euphoria
HBO
By far one of the most popular and talked about shows of the year has been Euphoria. Not only is the show wildly successful, but it has become a part of pop culture. Despite how extreme some characters may seem, people do see pieces of themselves in each of them, making them relate to the show even more. One of the reasons why people love Euphoria so much is because it is able to take real problems teenagers and young adults face every day and dramatize them, creating a plot that is equally relatable as it is entertaining. Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, and Barbie Ferreira have all dominated the television world with their remarkable talent and commitment to their characters on the show. Both Zendaya and Sweeney received Emmy nominations for their work this year.
3 Squid Game
Netflix
Squid Game’s success lies in its originality and total unexpectedness. The show is violent and wild, but also filled with beautiful and extremely well-thought-out themes. When watching Squid Game, it becomes clear how well planned and articulated this concept was. The South Korean drama dominated the Netflix charts, holding the number one spot for 47 weeks, the longest a show has ever remained at the top spot. The series is valued at over $900 million and is already confirmed to have a second season. This year, Squid Game made Emmys history as the first non-English-language show to receive a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series.
2 Ozark
The fourth and final season of Ozark marked the end of the Byrde’s journey and was nothing short of incredible. Ozark is known for having wild and jaw-dropping season finales, but this was one that nobody expected. Considering that this was the final season of a beloved series, we have high hopes for Ozark this Emmy season in not only the Outstanding Drama Series category, but also in the categories of Supporting Actress, Lead Actress, and Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Julia Garner, Laura Linney, and Jason Bateman’s incredible portrayals, respectively.
1 Stranger Things
The best word to sum up Stranger Things season four is epic. The season was broken up into two volumes, the first including episodes one to seven, and the second volume including episodes eight and nine, with each running for an hour and 30 minutes and two hours and 30 minutes long, respectively. In this season, we see lots of storylines come together, and the truth behind what is really happening to Hawkins becomes clear. Eleven must fight harder than ever to protect her friends, her town, and the world. Stranger Things has become somewhat of a phenomenon, and this season elevated its popularity and respect even higher than it was before. Season five will be the show’s final season and even though fans are dying to see what happens next, we can confidently say it will, unfortunately, be a while until we get a release date.
