‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Barry’ and ‘Chernobyl’ give HBO the Emmy
Thanks to the final seasons of long-running hit Game of Thrones
and second-year comedy Barry,
HBO captured 137 nominations for the 2019 Emmy Awards, the most of any network and topping streaming rival Netflix.
The Television Academy announced Tuesday that Game of Thrones earned 32 nominations – the most of any series this year and a new all-time record – including best drama. Game of Thrones has won 47 Emmys, the most of any prime time series.
Barry, the second-year HBO series starring Bill Hader as a hit man-turned-actor, scored 17 nominations, the most of any comedy series. NBC’s sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live earned 18 nominations.
HBO also got a boost from Chernobyl,
the limited series about the 1986 nuclear reactor disaster from screenwriter-director Craig Mazin, which earned 19 nominations, ranking second to Game of Thrones.
Another long-running HBO favorite, Veep, earned nine nominations, including best comedy and best actress in a comedy for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who has won six times – the most for any performer in a single role.
HBO returned to the top of the Emmy nomination heap after seeing its 17-year streak stopped in 2018 by Netflix. But its regained reign may just be temporary. Netflix’s 117 nominations topped its record of 112 set last year without its most heralded original series, Stranger Things and The Crown, neither of which ran during this year’s eligibility period for the Emmys, which ended May 31.
The winners of the major awards will be announced in a September 22 ceremony broadcast on Fox.
The Emmys have become an essential tool for networks and streaming services to market their shows to viewers faced with an ever-expanding number of choices. The rapidly growing Emmy track record for streaming services has become a lure for top actors and producers.
Television Academy members who vote on the awards have a fondness for returning favorites, which helped HBO at a time when it is experiencing institutional upheaval under new owner AT&T. AT&T
is using HBO, long the best brand name in television, to drive consumers to a new direct-to-consumer streaming service called HBO Max, which will have a broader array of TV shows and movies.
Whether changes in corporate strategy dilute the mystique that enabled HBO to dominate the Emmy competition in recent years remains to be seen. But the burgeoning strength of Netflix, which is expected to spend $15 billion on programming this year – up from $12 billion in 2018 – is only becoming more apparent.
Netflix was bolstered by 16 nominations for the limited series When They See Us, writer-director Ava Duvernay’s take on the wrongful 1990 conviction of five teenage boys from Harlem in the rape and near-deadly assault of a 28-year-old female jogger in Central Park.
The service also saw 13 nominations for the comedy series Russian Doll, and four nominations for The Kominsky Method. The drama series Ozark earned nine nominations.
Amazon also had a strong showing, with 47 nominations – up from 22 last year – including two in the comedy category with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, a winner last year, and Fleabag, a BBC co-production from writer Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who is also the show’s star and also nominated for best actress. Rachel Brosnahan, who won a best actress trophy for Mrs. Maisel, was nominated again. Fleabag
received a total of 11 nominations, while Mrs. Maisel received 20.
The growth of streaming television continued to put an Emmy squeeze on the broadcast networks. Last year’s leader, NBC saw its nomination total drop from 78 to 58. CBS has 43 followed by ABC (26) and Fox (18).
ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, which along with their associated production studios, do not invest heavily in the kind of the expensive Emmy campaigns and star-studded “for your consideration” events that have become the standard among the streaming services.
The Walt Disney Co.’s ad-supported cable network FX led all ad-supported cable networks with 32 nominations, down from 50 last year. FX’s Fosse/Verdon
scored 17 nominations, the most of any limited drama series.
AMC scored 11 nominations after only having one in 2018. All were for the returning drama Better Call Saul. AMC Network-owned channel BBC America had nine nominations, all for its drama series Killing Eve.