‘Game of Thrones’ back to slay rivals
LOS ANGELES: Hollywood’s Alisters gather to honour the best in television at the Emmy Awards, with recordbreaking fantasy epic Game of Thrones back in the competition and once again looking to slay its rivals.
But winter could come early for HBO’s bloodspattered smash hit if it fails to snare the coveted best drama series prize, with last year’s winner The Handmaid’s Tale hotly tipped to defend its crown.
Both shows have already picked up some Emmys hardware: Game of Thrones won seven statuettes in technical categories at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys, while The Handmaid’s Tale scooped up three.
And both are likely to add to that haul at tomorrow’s glittering gala in downtown Los Angeles, but the race for the top prize still seems to be a crapshoot, with dark horse pick The Americans also in the hunt.
Can Handmaid – Hulu’s bleak take on a totalitarian America where women are oppressed, based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel – again win over voters, especially in the #MeToo era?
Will The Americans – the gripping FX thriller about Soviet sleeper agents in the United States during the Cold War – finally earn some Emmys love after a critically acclaimed sixseason run?
Or will GoT, the cinematic tale of noble families vying for the Iron Throne, reign supreme once again, on the back of its whopping 22 nominations?
Others in the best drama category include HBO’s futuristic western Westworld, Netflix favourites The Crown and retro scifi mystery Stranger Things, and NBC family saga This is Us.
The Television Academy’s 22,000plus members have already cast their ballots for the 70th Primetime Emmys, the smallscreen answer to the Oscars – so it’s time for red carpet glamour and heartfelt speeches.
With perennial heavy hitter Veep
out of contention this year, FX’s
Atlanta – a quirky look at the rap scene in the Georgia capital – is squaring off with Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs Maisel for top honours.
Atlanta star and creator Donald Glover, a winner last year for best lead comedy actor, is tipped to repeat. Overall, the show earned 16 nominations.
In 2016, Game of Thrones made history, picking up 12 awards and becoming the most decorated fictional show since the Television Academy first handed out prizes in 1949.
With the seven statuettes it won last weekend, GoT – which will return in 2019 for an eighth and final season – now has 45 Emmys overall.
Darren Criss is the favourite to win the starstudded race for best actor in a limited series or movie for his searing portrayal of Versace’s killer Andrew Cunanan.
But he faces stiff competition from a clutch of boldface names including Antonio Banderas, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jeff Daniels and John Legend.