This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score).
Starting in 2019, the category recognizes scripted programs. Unscripted programs compete for Music Composition for a Documentary Series or Special (Original Dramatic Score).
Winners and nominations 1950s Year Program Nominee(s) Network 1955 Dragnet Walter Schumann NBC Amahl and the Night Visitors Gian-Carlo Menotti NBC A Christmas Carol Bernard Herrmann CBS Light's Diamond Jubilee Victor Young Light's Diamond Jubilee was simulcast on ABC, CBS, DuMont and NBC. Medic NBC 1956 No Award Given 1957 No Award Given 1958 No Award Given 1959 No Award Given
Note: The award presented in 1955 was for "Best Original Music Composed for TV"
1960s Year Program Nominee(s) Network 1960 No Award Given 1961 No Award Given 1962 Winston Churchill: The Valiant Years Richard Rodgers ABC The Price of Tomatoes Leith Stevens NBC Project XX Robert Russell Bennett Second Chance John Williams ABC Vincent Van Gogh: A Self-Portrait Jacques Belasco NBC 1963 Project XX Robert Russell Bennett NBC The Dick Powell Show Joseph Mullendore NBC Flashing Spikes John Williams ABC Labyrinth Gian-Carlo Menotti NBC 1964 The Making of the President 1960 Elmer Bernstein ABC East Side/West Side Kenyon HopkinsCBS Elizabeth Taylor in London John Barry Greece: The Golden Age George KleinsingerNBC The Kremlin Georges Auric Saga of a Western Man Ulpio Minucci, Joe Moon and Rayburn Wright ABC 1965 No Award Given 1966 No Award Given 1967 No Award Given 1968 No Award Given 1969 No Award Given
Note: Award titled Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composed for Television 1962–64
1970s Year Program Episode Nominee(s) Network 1970(22nd) The Challengers Pete Rugolo CBS Gene Kelly's Wonderful World of Girls Van Alexander NBC 1971(23rd) The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau "The Tragedy of the Red Salmon" Walter Scharf ABC Do You Take This Stranger? Pete RugoloNBC Hamlet John Addison 1972(24th) Jane Eyre John Williams NBC Brian's Song Michel Legrand ABC The Snow Goose Carl Davis NBC 1973(25th) The Red Pony Jerry Goldsmith NBC A Brand New Life Billy Goldenberg ABC Liza with a Z John Kander and Fred Ebb NBC 1974(26th) The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Fred Karlin CBS The Migrants Billy Goldenberg CBS Portrait: A Man Whose Name Was John Laurence Rosenthal ABC 1975(27th) QB VII "Part 1 & 2" Jerry Goldsmith ABC Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Billy Goldenberg CBS 1976(28th) Babe Jerry Goldsmith CBS Dark Victory Billy Goldenberg NBC Gypsy in My Soul Cy ColemanCBS The Supercops Jack Urbont 1977(29th) Sybil Leonard Rosenman and Alan and Marilyn Bergman NBC Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years John Barry ABC Helter Skelter Billy GoldenbergCBS Minstrel Man Fred Karlin Raid on Entebbe David Shire NBC 1978(30th) See How She Runs Jimmie Haskell CBS Actor Billy Goldenberg PBS The Defection of Simas Kudirka David Shire CBS Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women Dick DeBenedictis NBC 1979(31st) Friendly Fire Leonard Rosenman ABC First, You Cry Peter Matz CBS The Hal Linden Special Ken Welch and Mitzie Welch ABC The Word Alex North CBS
1980s Year Program Episode Nominee(s) Network 1980(32nd) High Midnight Jerry Fielding (posthumously) CBS The Last Convertible "Part 1" Pete Rugolo NBC Salem's Lot Harry Sukman CBS The Silent Lovers Gerald Fried NBC 1981(33rd) Masada "Part 2" Jerry Goldsmith ABC Father Damien: The Leper Priest Peter Matz NBC Homeward Bound Fred Karlin CBS Masada "Part 4" Morton Stevens ABC The Tempest Live with the San Francisco Ballet (Great Performances) Paul Chihara PBS 1982(34th) The Princess and the Cabbie Patrick Williams CBS Ivanhoe Allyn Ferguson CBS Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Billy Goldenberg ABC Killjoy Bruce Broughton CBS The Letter Laurence Rosenthal ABC A Woman Called Golda Michel Legrand Syndicated 1983(35th) Rage of Angels Billy Goldenberg NBC The Blue and the Gray "Part 2" Bruce BroughtonCBS Drop-Out Father Peter Matz The Thorn Birds "Part 1" Henry Mancini ABC V Joe Harnell NBC Who Will Love My Children? Laurence Rosenthal ABC 1984(36th) The First Olympics: Athens 1896 "Part 1" Bruce Broughton NBC Concealed Enemies "Investigation" Jonathan Tunick PBS Master of the Game "Part 1" Allyn Ferguson CBS The Mystic Warrior "Part 1" Gerald FriedABC Something About Amelia Mark Snow 1985(37th) Camille Allyn Ferguson CBS Do You Remember Love David ShireCBS Murder with Mirrors Richard Rodney Bennett Seduced Patrick Williams 1986(38th) Peter the Great "Part 1" Laurence Rosenthal NBC Death of a Salesman Alex North CBS An Early Frost John KanderNBC A Letter to Three Wives Johnny Mandel North and South "Part 1" Bill Conti ABC 1987(39th) Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna "Part 1" Laurence Rosenthal NBC The Last Days of Patton Allyn Ferguson CBS LBJ: The Early Years Johnny MandelNBC Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder "Part 2" Billy Goldenberg Under the Influence Nan Schwartz CBS 1988(40th) The Bourne Identity "Part 1" Laurence Rosenthal ABC April Morning Allyn FergusonCBS Foxfire Johnny Mandel Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story "Part 3" Gerald Fried ABC Perry Mason: The Case of the Avenging Ace Dick DeBenedictis NBC 1989(41st) Lonesome Dove "The Return" Basil Poledouris CBS Bridge to Silence Fred Karlin CBS The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro Chris Boardman NBC Pancho Barnes Allyn Ferguson CBS War and Remembrance "Part 11" Bob Cobert ABC
1990s Year Program Episode Nominee(s) Network 1990(42nd) The Shell Seekers James Di Pasquale ABC Do You Know the Muffin Man? Lee Holdridge CBS The Kennedys of Massachusetts "Part 3" David Shire ABC Last Flight Out Christopher Young NBC The Old Man and the Sea Bruce Broughton People Like Us "Part 2" Billy Goldenberg The Phantom of the Opera "Part 2" John Addison 1991(43rd) It "Part 1" Richard Bellis ABC Decoration Day Patrick Williams NBC Johnny Ryan Chris Boardman The Killing Mind James Di Pasquale Lifetime Lies Before Kisses Don Davis CBS 1992(44th) O Pioneers! Bruce Broughton CBS Doublecrossed Richard Bellis HBO Fire in the Dark Arthur Kempel CBS A Little Piece of Heaven Don Davis NBC Survive the Savage Sea Fred Karlin ABC 1993(45th) Danielle Steele's Jewels "Part 1" Patrick Williams NBC An American Story Mark Snow CBS Call of the Wild Lee Holdridge Mortal Sins Joseph Conlan USA The Sea Wolf Charles Bernstein TNT 1994(46th) Lush Life Lennie Niehaus Showtime Double, Double, Toil and Trouble Richard Bellis ABC Geronimo Patrick Williams TNT Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All "Part 1" Mark Snow CBS Stephen King's The Stand "Part 4" W. G. Snuffy Walden ABC 1995(47th) Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies Laurence Rosenthal Family Buffalo Girls "Part 1" Lee Holdridge CBS Children of the Dust "Part 1" Mark Snow Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long Patrick Williams TNT 30 Years of National Geographic Specials Jay Chattaway NBC 1996(48th) The Canterville Ghost Ernest Troost ABC Annie: A Royal Adventure! David Michael Frank ABC Larry McMurtry's Dead Man's Walk "Part 1" David Bell Norma Jean & Marilyn Christopher Young HBO The Tuskegee Airmen Lee Holdridge 1997(49th) The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Travels with Father Laurence Rosenthal Family After Jimmy Patrick Williams CBS Calm at Sunset Ernest Troost Quicksilver Highway Mark Mothersbaugh Fox True Women Bruce Broughton CBS 1998(50th) Glory & Honor Bruce Broughton TNT Forbidden Territory: Stanley's Search for Livingstone Mark Adler ABC From the Earth to the Moon "1968" Michael Kamen HBO House of Frankenstein "Part 2" Don Davis NBC Merlin "Part 1" Trevor Jones 1999(51st) Alice in Wonderland Richard Hartley NBC David and Lisa Marco Beltrami ABC Mutiny Lee Holdridge NBC Rear Window David Shire ABC Winnie the Pooh: A Valentine for You Carl Johnson
2000s Year Program Episode Nominee(s) Network 2000(52nd) RKO 281 John Altman HBO Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder Ernest Troost CBS Don Quixote Richard Hartley TNT Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble Charles Bernstein Showtime Walking with Dinosaurs Ben Bartlett Discovery 2001(53rd) For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story Arturo Sandoval HBO Bailey's Mistake Mason Daring ABC Haven Lawrence Shragge CBS Jackie, Ethel, Joan: The Women of Camelot Martin Davich NBC Papa's Angels Velton Ray Bunch CBS 2002(54th) Shackleton "Part 2" Adrian Johnston A&E Dinner with Friends Dave Grusin HBO Last Call Brian Tyler Showtime Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story "Part 2" Rupert Gregson-Williams CBS The Mists of Avalon "Part 1" Lee Holdridge TNT We Were the Mulvaneys Patrick Williams Lifetime 2003(55th) Eloise at the Plaza Bruce Broughton ABC Hitler: The Rise of Evil Normand Corbeil CBS The Lost World "Part 2" Robert Lane A&E Martin and Lewis Ernest Troost CBS The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone John Altman Showtime 2004(56th) Eloise at Christmastime Bruce Broughton ABC Dance in America: Lar Lubovitch's Othello (Great Performances) Elliot Goldenthal PBS Fallen Angel Ernest Troost CBS Helter Skelter Mark Snow The Last King "Part 2" Robert Lane A&E The Nazi Officer's Wife Sheldon Mirowitz 2005(57th) Warm Springs Bruce Broughton HBO Miracle Run Joseph Conlan Lifetime Pride George Fenton A&E Revelations "Part 1" Joseph Vitarelli NBC Salem's Lot Christopher Gordon and Lisa Gerrard TNT Sometimes in April Bruno Coulais HBO 2006(58th) Into the West Geoff Zanelli TNT The Dive from Clausen's Pier Bruce Broughton Lifetime Human Trafficking "Part 1" Normand Corbeil Sleeper Cell "Al-Faitha" Paul Haslinger Showtime The Water Is Wide Jeff Beal CBS 2007(59th) Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King "Battleground" Jeff Beal TNT Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters Todd Boekelheide HBO Broken Trail David Mansfield and Van Dyke Parks AMC Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee George S. Clinton HBO The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines Joseph LoDuca TNT Longford Robert Lane HBO The Path to 9/11 John Cameron ABC 2008(60th) The Company "Part 1" Jeff Beal TNT Bernard and Doris Alex Wurman HBO For One More Day Lennie Niehaus ABC John Adams "Independence" Robert Lane HBO Masters of Science Fiction "Jerry Was a Man" Laura Karpman Showtime Sense and Sensibility Martin Phipps PBS 2009(61st) Into the Storm Howard Goodall HBO Grey Gardens Rachel Portman HBO Little Dorrit "Part 5" John Lunn PBS Loving Leah Jeff Beal CBS Taking Chance Marcelo Zarvos HBO 24: Redemption Sean Callery Fox
2010s