Gold Derby’s Emmy Experts have spoken, and they believe that “Game of Thrones” will win Best Drama Series for the fourth time at the upcoming ceremony. A whopping 21 of these 24 Experts from major media outlets have the HBO fantasy epic in their #1 positions, but what about the other three? Well, Nikki Novak (Fandango) and Debbie Day (Rotten Tomatoes) both believe that BBC America’s cat-and-mouse crime thriller “Killing Eve” will prevail, while Matt Webb Mitovich (TVLine) goes out on a limb for “Pose,” FX’s series about the LGBT community’s ballroom culture in the 1980s.
If “GoT” ends up taking home its fourth statue for Best Drama Series, it will tie the record of four classic TV series. Cop show “Hill Street Blues” first prevailed from 1981 to 1984 and held the Emmy record until legal drama “L.A. Law” matched its four wins, though not consecutively, in 1987 and 1989-91. Then came political series “The West Wing,” which won four in a row between 2000 and 2003. Finally, period drama “Mad Men” is TV’s most recent four-timer, claiming the top trophy from 2008 to 2011.
It took a while for “Game of Thrones” to click with Emmy voters, as it didn’t win Best Drama Series until its fifth season in 2015. The show then prevailed a second time in 2016 before taking off a year due to ineligibility; it returned in 2018 with its third victory. It helps that this eighth and final season, which just aired this April and May, is still fresh in voters’ minds, but might “GoT” be hurt by the fact that reviews were subpar for its farewell episodes?
Here are the 21 Emmy Experts that believe “Game of Thrones” will prevail: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Jen Chaney (Vulture), Eric Deggans (NPR), Lynn Elber (Associated Press), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Chris Harnick (E!), Kelly Lawler (USA Today), Ed Martin (Media Village), Mary Murphy (Gold Derby), Tom O’Neil (Gold Derby), Lynette Rice (Ent. Weekly), Robert Rorke (New York Post), Matt Roush (TV Guide Magazine), Kaitlin Thomas (TVGuide.com), Anne Thompson (Indiewire), Ben Travers (Indiewire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Ken Tucker (Yahoo), Glenn Whipp (LA Times), Stacey Wilson Hunt (Gold Derby) and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby).
All nine of Gold Derby’s staff editors who cover awards year-round are betting on “Game of Thrones”: Chris Beachum, Eng, Marcus James Dixon, Rob Licuria, Daniel Montgomery, Matt Noble, O’Neil, Paul Sheehan and Wloszczyna.
In addition, 18 of our Top 24 Users who did the best at predicting last year’s Emmy nominations now choose “Game of Thrones,” while 21 of our All-Star Users who’ve excelled at the past couple of years also predict a victory for the reigning champion. See more Emmy odds and rankings.
PREDICT the Emmys now; change them until July 16
Be sure to make your 2019 Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominations are announced on July 16. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s newsletter with experts’ latest predictions
