Which Netflix series was the first non-English-language show nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series? Squid Game was the first.
The South Korean survival drama, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, received the Outstanding Drama Series nomination at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2022. Its nomination marked the first time a non-English-language series had entered that category.
Released globally by Netflix on September 17, 2021, Squid Game follows 456 financially desperate contestants competing in deadly versions of children’s games. Its international success made Korean-language television central to mainstream awards conversations.
Squid Game did not merely receive a nomination: it won six Emmys. Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian actor to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, while Hwang won for directing. Later non-English nominees, including the Japanese series Shōgun, do not change Squid Game’s status as the first.