British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series

British Academy Television Award
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts
First awarded1992
Currently held byTop Boy (2024)
Websitehttp://www.bafta.org/

The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards (BAFTAs), the primary awards ceremony of the British television industry. The category is described on the official BAFTA website as being open a drama series "of between two and 19 episodes, that is intended to return."[1]

The category has been through several name and category changes:

  • From 1958 to 1972 the award was presented usually individually under the name "Best Drama Production".
  • Also during the same period another category was awarded briefly as "Best Drama Series" from 1964 to 1970.
  • Then from 1970 to 1991 it was joined with drama serials into a category named "Best Drama Series or Serial" with the exception of the years 87, 88 and 89 where it was awarded just as "Best Drama Series".

From 1992 onwards,[2] the category was split in two, with a separate Best Drama Serial category also established.

Inspector Morse, Cracker, The Cops, The Street and Happy Valley have all won the category twice, all except the last in successive years.

  1. ^ "Rules and Guidelines" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-03-02.
  2. ^ "TV and Craft Winners 1990–1999" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 2007-04-06.