Emmy season is finally upon us, and among the strong contenders for the September 17 primetime awards are fan favorites Stranger Things, This Is Us, Westworld and The Handmaid’s Tale. Unfortunately, one show we won’t be seeing take awards home will be Game of Thrones. That’s right, for the first time in six years, the beloved series is being left out of the ceremony.
What in the Seven Kingdoms happened, you ask? Here’s the thing, for a show to be considered for an award by the Television Academy this year, the series needed to have premiered at some point between June 1, 2016 and May 31, 2017. Game of Thrones‘ seventh season missed the mark by premiering on July 16, 2017.
You can chalk that up to Season 7’s long development process, due to difficulties caused by the weather conditions the production crew had to film under. This will probably be frustrating for fans since the show has been an Emmy darling since it first premiered. Game of Thrones holds the record for most wins in Emmy history with 35 awards out of 110 nominations spanning various categories, such as writing, directing, and acting (mainly thanks to #PeterDinklage‘s Tyrion Lannister).
Don’t swing your swords just yet though, because the Seven Kingdoms will have the spotlight next year. The show’s seventh season will fortunately be eligible for the 2018 Emmys, and let’s face it, it will probably do well. On a side note, Season 8 has been rumored to be released either in 2018 or 2019. If it comes out during the former year, it would be in the same situation as its predecessor when it comes to awards season.
Will The Absence Of ‘Game Of Thrones’ Impact HBO In Any Way?
You may be wondering whether Game of Thrones‘ absence from the Emmys will be a loss for HBO, but fortunately that’s not the case. Don’t get me wrong, the show is one of the company’s heaviest hitters, but #HBO has the odds in its favor despite the lack of nominations for the juggernaut series.
The Creative Arts Emmys took place on September 12, and HBO came out of the event triumphant, bagging 19 wins thanks to six TV series: Westworld (for sound mixing, hairstyling, visual effects, makeup and creative achievement in interactive programming), Veep (for casting, cinematography and production design), Big Little Lies (for casting, music supervision, and contemporary costumes), The Night Of (for sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography and editing), Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (outstanding interactive program and editing), and Once Upon A Sesame Street Christmas (outstanding children’s program).
To put it into perspective, HBO earned 16 wins last year. That’s a definite improvement, and considering that Creative Arts winners are usually strong contenders for Primetime Emmys, I’m sure HBO will do just fine without Westeros by its side.
How do you feel about Game of Thrones not being in the Emmys this year? Let me know in the comments!
[Sources: Polygon, Emmys, Vanity Fair]
