Over the past decade or so, the limited series has become one of the most prestigious and respected entertainment formats. Shows like "The Queen's Gambit", "Chernobyl" and "The People v. Acclaimed shows like I Can Destroy You, Easttown Mare, Unorthodox and Ripley — all of which would likely have been winners in previous years — recently lost out on well-earned nominations.

But what exactly is limited edition? The current official rules of Academy of Television Arts and Sciences state that to be eligible for any awards in the limited series categories, a show must have "two (2) or more episodes totaling at least 150 program minutes that tell a complete, unique story." Additionally, "a story arc must be fully resolved in its season, with no ongoing story and/or main characters in subsequent seasons."

These days, Emmy Awards the limited series categories also include anthology series, defined as any show of two or more episodes that "tells a complete, unrepeatable story in each 'episode' and has no ongoing story and/or main characters in subsequent episodes," even though "the program can be thematically linked throughout the episodes." That said, since the category was expanded to include anthology series in 2021, none were nominated. So how did the limited series become so popular? format and how does it differ from a miniseries?

To put it bluntly, a limited series is just a new name for a miniseries. However, because of how TV changes over time, there are some key technical differences between the two, and the respective Emmy Awards categories have changed many times to accommodate the trends of the day.

Given the term's recent buzz, you might be surprised to learn that the Emmy category was called "outstanding limited series" a few decades ago—an evolution of its previous title, "outstanding drama or limited-episode comedy." The award only received the "miniseries" moniker in 1986, though it was changed back to "limited series" in 2015.

Why all the back and forth? Mainly because studio executives decided the "miniseries" lost its luster sometime in the 2000s. The format declined significantly in popularity at the end of the decade, with only two Emmy nominees each year in 2009 and 2010. Because of what was commonly referred to as a miniseries at the time, the category was mostly associated with British dramas or high-concept film events such as Band of Brothers.

Outside of those genres, the form was for a time associated with trope-laden melodramas. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, then-CW head Mark Pedowitz said he believed the word "miniseries" had been tainted by such shows, hence the change to "limited series". That same year, there was even an extravagant and star-studded spoof series, The Spoils of Babylon, which was specifically designed to poke fun at which became the miniseries in the public eye.

While "limited series" and "event series" are as much marketing terms as anything else, the classification from the Television Academy specifies that they must have self-contained stories that do not flow into future installments. But that doesn't mean all limited series end after just one season. "American Horror Story," which is credited with revitalizing the format during its dark days in 2011, has been on the air for more than a decade. Every season of American Horror Story. brings a new cast of characters, setting and story. Shows like Fargo follow the same model and have seen similar success.

While it's still the norm for most limited series to end after one season, it's becoming more common for them to continue in various ways if they find success. For example, Netflix's "Beef," which was counted by the Emmys as a limited series, is getting another season with a new cast. At the end of the day, shows that find an audience and do well will always have the potential to be revived, regardless of how they were originally conceived. Another reason the "limited series" moniker may have become more popular than "miniseries" is that it leaves things a little more open to that possibility if the show catches on.

As noted above, the key difference between a limited series and a traditional TV series is that the former must wrap up all of its storylines by the end of a season. This can lead to some other common differences in production style that are not always common across the board, but are more likely in the case of a limited run.

For example, in the case of Replay on Netflix, every episode is written and directed by the same person - praised director Steven Zailian. The same goes for The Queen's Gambit, which was entirely written and directed by Scott Frank. Typically, you wouldn't see that kind of singular creative focus on a traditional series, which would involve a larger writers' room and team of creatives to pull the work apart.

That said, while the Emmys' rules are somewhat strict, the limited series has them bent. Although American Horror Story doesn't have any major storylines that stick around between seasons, certain characters from past installments return from time to time, connecting the different seasons. Creative decisions like these make the whole division a bit of a gray area, but that hasn't stopped the limited series from becoming a prestigious badge over the past few years.