The Outstanding Limited Series Emmy category has had quite the history. Before we get into the Primetime Emmy Awards winners, some background on the category might be useful. In 1973, the category as we know it today started out as Outstanding Drama/Comedy – Limited Series. A year later, it was renamed Outstanding Limited Series, and then Outstanding Miniseries in 1986. In 1991, the miniseries numbers dwindled, causing the category to be combined to form Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special and Miniseries. In 2011, the number of miniseries dwindled more and merged to form Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie. It stayed this way until 2014 when the miniseries gained more traction thanks to the FX anthology series, American Horror Story.
Since 2015, the category as we know it today, Outstanding Limited Series, requires the series to have at least two episodes and, if it was a regular series, it could not have more than five episodes. Essentially, the run time needs to be at least 150 minutes. This change allowed more short-seasoned cable TV programs, such as the popular Downton Abbey, to compete, although most of the miniseries that have gone on to win the award came from streaming services, especially HBO.
Over the years, the miniseries format has certainly become a popular format for TV storytelling. With the number of submissions each year growing, we look forward to where the category will go next. Let’s take look at the 2010 submissions of every Outstanding Limited Series Emmy winner, ranked.
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9 Game Change
HBO Films
Game Change is a made-for-TV movie about Governor Sarah Palin becoming Senator John McCain’s running mate in the 2008 Presidential election. The film dropped in 2012 and starred Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin, Ed Harris as John McCain, and Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, the man whose idea it was for McCain to bring Palin onto his team. The film aired on HBO and was based on the best-selling novel Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by Mark Halperin and John Heilemann. Game Change won five Emmys, including Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.
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8 Behind the Candelabra
In 2013, HBO released another Emmy-winning made-for-TV movie called Behind the Candelabra. The film centers around two lovers, megastar Liberace, played by Michael Douglas, and his young lover, Scott Thorson, played by Matt Damon. Over their six-year romance, the film touches on how the two began and ended with Scott seeking legal help after being tossed on the street to make way for Liberace’s new lover. It’s been said that the film was originally intended for theatrical release, but was released through HBO, per IndieWire, after no major Hollywood studio picked up the script, which was based on the real-life Liberace. Hollywood clearly missed out as the film ended up winning 11 Emmys.
7 Downton Abbey (Season 1)
PBS
Season One of the still popular Downton Abbey franchise explored the lives of the Crawley family and their staff. The timeline of the first season spans two years from the day after the RMS Titanic sank in April 1912 to the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914. In the first season alone, the show touched on serious issues such as pre-marital sex in the 1900s, queernes, and class and gender norms. The first season won six of its 11 Emmy nominations in 2011. After the second season was announced, the show was no longer eligible to remain in the Limited Series category as the second season turned the show officially into a Drama Series.
6 Olive Kitteridge
HBO
Olive Kitteridge was a four-episode miniseries that aired on HBO in 2014. It followed the story of Olive and Henry Kitteridge, played by Frances McDormand and Richard Jenkins respectively, over the course of their 25-year-long marriage. The show, which sounds like a typical love story, received much praise for the unconventional love the two shared. Olive and Henry could not be more opposite. Her misanthropic and strict demeanor overpowers her husband’s calm, kind-hearted personality. Their son resents his mother and calls his father a victim of his mother’s harshness. From the acting to the script, this miniseries rightfully won eight Emmys.
5 The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
FX
In 2018, American Crime Story issued their take on the infamous assassination of designer Gianni Versace. Told over the course of nine episodes, the miniseries followed the life of the killer Andrew Cunanan, his relationships with other men including Gianni Versace, and, of course, the events leading to the murder of the beloved designer. As the episodes progress, viewers get to watch Andrew slowly break down, turning from a man who has everything to a man on the run. The Assassination of Gianni Versace won eight of its 17 Emmy nominations.
4 Big Little Lies (Season 1)
Big Little Lies was arguably one of the most talked-about shows of 2017. The show was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Liane Moriarty and follows the tale of a group of mothers and a murder. Backed by a stellar cast of Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoë Kravitz as the mothers, the show won eight Emmy Awards. The show did end up having a second season, which effectively moved it from a miniseries or limited series to a full drama series.
3 Fargo (Season 1)
2014 gave viewers a TV show version of the beloved 1996 film of the same name. The first season of Fargo aired on FX in 2014 and was recently renewed for a fifth season earlier this year. Season one of the hit show took place from January 2006 to February 2007 and followed hitman Lorne Malvo, played by Billy Bob Thorton, and a local Minnesota mild-mannered insurance salesman, Lester Nygaard, played by Martin Freeman. Lorne influences Lester to team up. Meanwhile, officers are investigating a series of murders and crimes that are linked to the two, which takes them back to Fargo, North Dakota. The show won three Emmys for its first season.
2 The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
As perhaps one of the most famous trials, the first anthology of American Crime Story covers the trial of The People vs O.J. Simpson. The show, which aired on FX in 2016, stars Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson, Sterling K. Brown as Christopher Darden, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, and Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, though that is only a handful of the stars in the series. The series covers the time of the murder and spans throughout the entire trial, with the trial being the main focus. The season won nine Emmys.
1 Chernobyl
Warner Bros. Television Distribution
No stranger to successful miniseries, HBO released another Emmy-winning show in 2019 called Chernobyl, which covered the true events of the April 1986 nuclear explosion at the Chernobyl Power Plant. Starring Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgärd as the two main actors, the five-episode limited series won a staggering ten Emmys and has maintained a 95% rating on both Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb.
