Most Popular Emmy Nominated Shows

“Bob’s Burgers,” a cartoon revolving around family man Bob Belcher’s dream restaurant, has won two Emmy awards over its 10-season run. Both of these awards were for Outstanding Animated Program — the same award it is nominated for this year.

“Free Solo” is a documentary about rock climber Alex Honnold who works without ropes or safety gear. Produced in part by National Geographic, the film won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature this year. It also had its television premiere on the National Geographic Channel, making it eligible for its seven Emmy nominations this year.

The limited series whose stars include George Clooney retells Joseph Heller’s satirical novel about American airmen in World War II. The comedy/drama has been nominated for two Emmy awards.

Netflix sitcom “Grace and Frankie” has been on air for five seasons, with a sixth planned for 2020. Over this period it’s been nominated for 10 Emmys, though failed to win any. It has a chance this year to win with its 11th nomination, which is for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes.

After a 12-year hiatus, the sit-com that debuted in 1998 returned and resumed adding Emmy nominations. The series has 18 wins so far.

“Three Identical Strangers” is a documentary directed by Tim Wardle about three young men who were all adopted who meet in New York in 1980 and discover they’re triplets separated at birth. Their attempt to discover why becomes a dark journey to the truth.

The cat-and-mouse drama that sometimes pits the FBI against an elusive master criminal (James Spader) has been nominated for seven Emmy awards and won one since the series debuted in 2013.

The series, which debuted last year, is based on stories by prolific fright-meister Stephen King centers around characters from the fictional town Castle Rock. Oscar-nominated composter Thomas Newman was nominated for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for “Castle Rock.”

The reboot of Rod Serling’s groundbreaking series that explored the unexplained and macabre stars Jordan Peele (“Get Out”). Kumail Nanjiani received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Netflix’s blue-collar sitcom “The Ranch” tells the story of Colorado-based ranching family the Bennetts. While the show features the talent of actors such as Sam Elliott, Debra Winger, and Ashton Kutcher, its three Emmy nominations — and one win — have been for cinematography.

The drama that debuted in 2013 stars Liev Schreiber in the title role as a “fixer” for the rich and famous, who can’t fix his own problems. This year the show was nominated in the category for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)

In “Barry,” comedian Bill Hader plays a hit man from the Midwest who moves to Los Angeles and gets involved the city’s art scene. The show is in its third season and has three Emmy wins so far.

Neil Patrick Harris takes on the role of the scheming Count Olaf, who is out to steal a fortune left to two orphaned children. The show ran for three seasons and is up for three Emmy awards this year.

Ralph Macchio and William Zabka, who played martial-arts combatants in “The Karate Kid” in 1984, renew their rivalry decades later. In its third season, “Cobra Kai” has been nominated this year for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series or a Variety Program.

TV personality and drag queen RuPaul’s reality series in search of the next drag superstar is in its 11th season. The series won five Emmys last year and is up for nine this year. From 2009 to 2014, the show failed to receive a single Emmy nomination. Since then, it has received a total 29 including this year.

“Escape At Dannemora” is based on a true story about an employee at a New York state prison who becomes romantically involved with two inmates and helps them escape. The seven-episode mini-series that ran last year snagged 12 Emmy award nominations, including one for Oscar winner Patricia Arquette.

FOX’s “Gotham” is a prequel series exploring the events leading up to Bruce Wayne’s becoming Batman. The show had its finale in April 2019, marking the end of the program’s five seasons. It won one Emmy over this run (Best Visual Effects) and could potentially win its second this year for sound editing.

NBC’s drama “Blindspot” is about a mysteriously tattooed woman who is discovered in New York City’s Times Square with amnesia. The series has been nominated for Best Stunt Coordination For A Drama Series each year beginning in 2017, but has yet to win the award.

A collection of animated short stories airing on Netflix in the genres of science fiction, horror, and comedy. The program is starting its second season and has been nominated for two Emmy awards.

Netflix has only released one season of its dark comedy series “Dead to Me” so far with Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini in the lead roles. Applegate has been nominated for a Best Lead Actress award for her work on the show. While it is the first nomination connected to “Dead to Me,” it’s the actress’ career fifth nomination.

Despite a nearly 14-season run, “America’s Got Talent” has only accumulated five Emmy nominations, including this year’s nod for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction. The show remains popular among viewers, however, as it is often the most viewed program in its primetime time slot.

The four-hour HBO documentary that aired in March was about two men who alleged pop-star Michael Jackson sexually molested them when they were boys. “Leaving Neverland” has been nominated for five Emmy awards.

“Saturday Night Live” is the fourth-longest running show in television history, and with President Trump providing a trove of comedy material to work with, the series shows no signs of ending its nearly 44-year run. SNL has more Emmy nominations, 270, than any other show, and has taken home 67 Emmy statuettes.

The quirky cartoon “BoJack Horseman” has been a hit for Netflix, earning five seasons with a sixth on the way. It was nominated for Best Animated Program at this year’s Emmys — specifically for the episode “Free Churro,” which has an exceptional 9.8 out of 10 rating on IMDb.

The Amazon original series is a comedy about a woman living London who is coping with tragedy. The series debuted in 2017 and was not nominated for an Emmy until this year when it snagged 11 nominations. “Fleabag” creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge has been nominated for an Emmy five times.

Netflix’s animated series “Big Mouth” has featured numerous comedic heavy weights including Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Fred Armisen, Maya Rudolph, and Jordan Peele. It’s been nominated for its second-ever Emmy this year for Best Animated Program for the episode “The Planned Parenthood Show” — the fifth episode of its second season.

The seven-season series that aired on Netflix was about a well-heeled New Yorker chucked into a women’s prison after she gets picked up for a past crime. The show has garnered 20 nominations and four wins since it debuted in 2013.

“Schitt’s Creek” follows the once-wealthy Rose clan as they navigate their lives in rural Schitt’s Creek following the loss of their fortune. While the show has run for five seasons thus far, it has only just received Emmy nods this year. These include Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress nominations for Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.

Television’s most popular animated aquatic sea creature, “SpongeBob SquarePants” has been nominated 10 times for an Emmy — including this year’s nomination — but has yet to win one since the cartoon debuted in 1999. The program was nominated for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program in 2019.

Created by and starring Seth MacFarlane — the man behind “Family Guy” — sci-fi show “The Orville” combines comedy and drama to create a unique series. It’s been nominated for its first Emmy this year for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for its episode “Identity Part II.” The episode was viewed by some critics as being thematically — and somewhat uncharacteristically — dark.

“Star Trek: Discovery,” which has run for three seasons, takes place 10 years before the exploits of Kirk and Spock as Starfleet encounters new lifeforms and civilizations. Among its four Emmy nominations this year, “Star Trek: Discovery” was nominated for Outstanding Special Visual Effects.

NBC’s heartwarming series about a couple and their set of triplets — told at different points in time — has entertained audiences since 2016, earning a notable 8.7 out of 10 rating on IMDb. The show has also won three Emmy awards and was recognized by the Television Academy Honors in 2017.

“The Man In The High Castle,” an Amazon Prime series, is a counterfactual history series based on a book by Philip Dick that considers what the world would look if the Axis powers had won World War II. The series has two wins and has been nominated for an Emmy 10 times.

The Amazon Prime series about a 1950s housewife who enters the world of comedy has two seasons under its belt with a third on the way. Despite the show’s relatively short existence it has already won eight Emmy awards, including Best Comedy Series in 2018. It’s been nominated for the same award this year and 19 others, the most nominations for any comedy series.

Irreverent cartoon comedy “Family Guy” premiered 20 years ago and will soon begin its 18th season. Over this period it’s picked up a total of seven Emmy wins, four of which were for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance. The series has been nominated for two more awards in this field this year, for actors Alex Borstein and Seth MacFarlane.

The four-episode limited series on Netflix recounts the story of the Central Park jogger rape case in 1989 in which five minority youths were convicted of the crime and were ultimately exonerated in 2014. The drama was directed and co-written by Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Ava DuVernay and is a scathing indictment of the justice system. The cast includes Emmy nominees and winners such as Michael K. Williams, John Leguizamo, Felicity Huffman, and Blair Underwood.

Political drama “House of Cards” was highly popular prior to concluding in 2018, winning a total of seven Emmy awards. Following sexual misconduct allegations against lead actor Kevin Spacey, Netflix canceled the series following its sixth season. That final season — which did not include Spacey — was poorly received among fans, with the final episode receiving a rating of 2.6 out of 10 on IMDb compared with the series’ overall rating of 8.8.

“The Good Place,” created by Michael Schur (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and “Parks and Recreation”) is an NBC comedy about a woman (Kristen Bell) who passes into the afterlife and undeservedly goes to the Good Place. She uses the opportunity to earn her place in the Good Place. Included in the cast is television veteran and Emmy-nominated Ted Danson (“Cheers”) who has been nominated 17 times and has won twice.

“Better Call Saul,” scheduled to begin its fifth season on AMC in 2020, is a prequel to the runaway cable hit “Breaking Bad.” Before he links up with teacher-turned-crystal-meth dealer Walter White, Saul is Jimmy McGill, a small-time attorney struggling to succeed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Saul is played by Bob Odenkirk, who has been nominated for an Emmy 14 times and has won twice. He has been nominated this year for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama.

Netflix’s superhero series “The Umbrella Academy” premiered in February 2019, yet has already become quite popular. In the past 12 months, the show’s Wikipedia page has received nearly 5 million views — more than twice that of the page for the well-established “SpongeBob SquarePants.” “The Umbrella Academy” has been nominated for two Emmy awards this year — one for special effects and one for production design.

The 11-season sit-com about a blended family is tied with “Frasier” for the most Emmy wins — five — for a comedy series. “Modern Family” has racked up 82 Emmy nominations, including this year’s, and has won 22 total Emmys since it debuted in 2009.

The longest-running primetime scripted series in U.S. television history, which satirizes American suburban culture, has been on Fox for almost 30 years. The series, created by Matt Groening, has rolled up 33 Emmy wins and 92 nominations

A British agent (Sandra Oh) and assassin (Jodie Comer) engage in a cat and mouse game and, in the process, become obsessed with each other in this quirky thriller on AMC created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the creator and star of the series “Fleabag.” “Killing Eve” will soon begin its third season, and the critically acclaimed show and audience favorite has received 11 Emmy nominations though it has yet to win a statue.

The FX anthology series features inventive takes on classic horror locales and themes: a house with a deadly past, an insane asylum, witches, a creepy hotel, the occult, and a summer camp terrorized by a serial killer. This season is the first time the show has competed as a drama series at the Emmys, with past seasons competing as stand alone limited series. “Apocalypse” garnered five nominations, including one for Jessica Lange, who has been nominated for five Emmy awards for her work on the series’ various seasons.

HBO’s gritty detective drama “True Detective” is an audience favorite, with a rating of 9 out of 10 on IMDb with more than 450,000 users voting. It’s done well at the Emmys, garnering a total of 22 nominations. It’s won five of the awards so far, for elements including casting, directing, and cinematography.

Based on Margaret Atwood’s novel, the series that runs on Hulu presents a dystopian future in which a theocratic regime has taken over most of the United States and has put women in reproductive servitude. Since premiering in 2017, the series has posted 11 Emmy award wins.

ESPN’s documentary series debuted in 2009 and looks at significant sports events and athletes that made news between 1979 — when ESPN came on the air — and 2009 and impact they had on popular culture. The series has been nominated for three Emmy awards.

The HBO limited series “Chernobyl” dramatizes the efforts of Soviet citizens to avert disaster after an accident in 1986 involving a nuclear power plant threatens to devastate Europe. The five-part drama received 19 nominations, the most for a miniseries or limited series.

The long-running sitcom about science nerds building their careers and finding love has been nominated for an Emmy 55 times and won 10 times.

HBO’s “Game of Thrones” was a television sensation. Not only is the entire series highly regarded among viewers — it currently has an exceptional 9.4 out of 10 rating on IMDb — but its recent series finale set the record for all-time highest viewership for the popular network. The series has received an abundance of critical praise as well. This year alone it is nominated for 32 Emmys — the most nominations ever for a drama series in a single year. This gives the show a total of 160 nominations, which is the second most of any television series in Emmy history behind only “Saturday Night Live.”