How well do fact-based limited and anthology series perform at the Emmys? (Spoiler alert: very well)

Luca Giliberti
·5 min read

Just as limited and anthology series based on real events have taken over the TV landscape, they have taken over the Emmys. But how well have programs of this particular genre actually gone over with the academy throughout the past few years?

Let’s take a look back at all nominations earned by limited and anthology series starting in 2015; that’s the year in which the rules were tweaked to require that a program can only compete as a limited series if it has a minimum of two episodes with a total running time of at least 150 minutes, tells a complete, non-recurring story, and doesn’t have an ongoing storyline and/or main characters in subsequent seasons.

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This rule change came just a year after limited series (referred to as “miniseries” at the time) and TV movies were once again split up into separate program categories, undoing a three-year-old change that consolidated the two awards. It also forced anthology series without any ongoing storylines and/or main characters from past or in future installments to compete as a limited series (note: the top category was not renamed to “Best Limited/Anthology Series” until more specific rules for anthology series eligibility were introduced in 2021).

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Since 2015, 35 fact-based limited or anthology series have nabbed at least one bid in any above- or below-the-line Emmy category. Not included among those are any telefilms (e.g., 2015’s “Bessie”) or multi-season series forced to compete as TV movies following the aforementioned rule change (e.g., “Luther” and “Sherlock”), nor any limited or anthology series that are based on real events and/or people but are ultimately works of historical fiction (e.g., 2020’s “The Good Lord Bird” and 2015’s “Wolf Hall”) or alternate history fiction (e.g., 2020’s “The Plot Against America”).

Here are all limited and anthology series based on true stories that have been cited every year since 2015, as well as the number of nominations and wins received by each:

2015:
— “Houdini”: 10 nominations and 2 wins
— “Texas Rising”: 3 nominations
— “The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe”: 3 nominations

2016:
— “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story”: 22 nominations and 9 wins, including Best Limited Series

2017:
— “Feud: Bette and Joan”: 18 nominations, including Best Limited Series, and 2 wins
— “Genius: Einstein”: 10 nominations, including Best Limited Series

2018:
— “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”: 18 nominations and 7 wins, including Best Limited Series
— “Genius: Picasso”: 7 nominations, including Best Limited Series, and 2 wins
— “The Looming Tower”: 4 nominations
— “Waco”: 3 nominations
— “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders”: 1 nomination

2019:
— “Chernobyl”: 19 nominations and 10 wins, including Best Limited Series
— “Fosse/Verdon”: 17 nominations, including Best Limited Series, and 4 wins
— “When They See Us”: 16 nominations, including Best Limited Series, and 2 wins
— “Escape at Dannemora”: 12 nominations, including Best Limited Series
— “A Very English Scandal”: 4 nominations and 1 win
— “The Act”: 2 nominations and 1 win

2020:
— “Mrs. America”: 10 nominations, including Best Limited Series, and 1 win
— “Unbelievable”: 4 nominations, including Best Limited Series
— “Catherine the Great”: 1 nomination
— “Self Made”: 1 nomination

2021:
— “Halston”: 5 nominations and 1 win
— “Genius: Aretha”: 3 nominations

2022:
— “Dopesick”: 14 nominations, including Best Limited/Anthology Series, and 2 wins
— “Pam and Tommy”: 10 nominations, including Best Limited/Anthology Series, and 1 win
— “The Dropout”: 6 nominations, including Best Limited/Anthology Series, and 1 win
— “Impeachment: American Crime Story”: 5 nominations and 1 win
— “Gaslit”: 4 nominations
— “Angelyne”: 3 nominations
— “The First Lady”: 3 nominations
— “Inventing Anna”: 3 nominations, including Best Limited/Anthology Series
— “The Staircase”: 2 nominations
— “A Very British Scandal”: 1 nomination
— “Candy”: 1 nomination
— “Under the Banner of Heaven”: 1 nomination

All in all, the 35 listed shows racked up a total 47 wins from 246 nominations. While 2022 saw the highest number of fact-based limited/anthology series nominated with 12, it is 2019 that saw both the most noms and the most wins earned by such programs with 70 and 18, respectively. Of the 35 shows, 15 were nominated for Best Limited(/Anthology) Series and three ended up winning the category.

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So, in short, limited and anthology series that are based on real happenings have performed very well at the Emmys throughout the past few years. And since such programs are dominating this season’s TV landscape once again — with series like Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” Apple TV+’s “Black Bird” and Showtime’s “George and Tammy,” among several others, having already established themselves as top awards contenders over the winter — that trend is unlikely to be bucked this year.

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