‘Thrones’ holds iron grip over Emmy nods
HBO edges Netflix for most nominations behind drama series’ record-setting haul
LOS ANGELES — HBO’s “Game of Thrones” slashed its way to a record-setting 32 Emmy nominations Tuesday for its eighth and final season, leading HBO back to dominance over Netflix, the streaming service that bumped it last year from atop the increasingly crowded television heap.
The bloodthirsty saga’s total eclipsed the all-time series record of 27 nods earned by “NYPD Blue” in 1994.
If “Game of Thrones” successfully defends it best drama series title and claims a fourth trophy, it will join the quartet of most-honored dramas that includes “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “The West Wing” and “Mad Men.”
The Emmy voters’ acclaim stands in sharp contrast to fan reaction to the show’s last hurrah, which included howls of laughter for a to-go coffee cup inadvertently included in one scene and a finale that detractors called unsatisfying. But the show’s ratings never faltered for the series based on George R.R. Martin’s novels, setting new highs for HBO.
A wealth of recognition for the cast and guest stars, including the show’s only previous winner, Peter Dinklage with three awards, helped “Game of Thrones” add to its already record haul of nominations, now at 160 total.
Series star Emilia Clarke’s decision to seek a best actress nomination after a series of supporting actress bids paid off. She’s competing in a category that’s notable for its diversity, including past winner Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder” and repeat nominee Sandra Oh for “Killing Eve,” who has another chance to become the first actress of Asian descent to win the trophy. Oh lost last year to Claire Foy for Netflix’s “The Crown.”
Two actors of color, Billy Porter for “Pose” and previous winner Sterling K. Brown for “This Is Us,” earned drama series nods.
The rest of the drama series field includes “Better Call Saul,” “Bodyguard,” “Killing Eve,” “Ozark,” “Pose,” “Succession” and, as the only network entry, “This is Us.” Mandy Moore, who plays the NBC drama’s matriarch, earned her first best actress nod.
Battle of comedy titans
Last year’s best comedy series, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” led the comedy pack with 20 bids, including for its star and defending champion Rachel Brosnahan. She’ll vie with Emmy record-holder Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Veep,” who didn’t compete in last year’s awards because her breast cancer treatment delayed production of the political satire.
Louis-Dreyfus, who with Cloris Leachman shares the record for most Emmys won by a performer, eight, has a shot at solo glory if she wins again.
“Veep” received nine nominations for its final season, a warm farewell and one that wasn’t to be for “The Big Bang Theory,” the long-running sitcom that failed to capture a best comedy nod or any for its actors. The show has company in other hit sitcoms of the past: Neither “Friends” nor “Frasier” was nominated for best series for its final year, both in 2004.
TV academy members’ outwith-the-old approach created openings for a number of buzzy comedy newcomers and their stars and creators, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s “Fleabag” and Natasha Lyonne’s “Russian Doll.” Other best comedy contenders include “Barry,” which won acting trophies last year for Bill Hader and Henry Winkler, and sole network entry “The Good Place.”
A surprising entry: the quirky “Schitt’s Creek,” which received its first best comedy series nomination for its penultimate season and bids for stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara.
“Uhhhhh. Shocked. Grateful. Holy crap!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!” Christina Applegate tweeted after learning of her lead comedy series nomination for “Dead To Me.” “Best part of the morning was my kid finding out and she screamed. Haha”
Other top nominees include the nuclear disaster miniseries “Chernobyl” with 19 nominations and “Saturday Night Live,” which drew on Robert De Niro’s talents to play Robert Mueller last season, with 18. “When They See Us,” the miniseries that dramatized the Central Park Five case and its aftermath, received 16 bids.
The leading miniseries nominee is “Fosse/Verdon,” the biopic about dancer Gwen Verdon and choreographer Bob Fosse that earned 17 bids, including the first Emmy nominations for stars Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell.
There was a significant drop in diversity among this year’s group of nominees compared to 2018, when more than a third of the 101 nominees in acting categories were ethnic minorities. This year, the figure was less than a quarter, with diversity especially absent in comedy.
Just two of the 26 acting nominees were people of color — Anthony Anderson for “blackish” and Don Cheadle for “Black Monday” — and three of the four categories had only white nominees.
Categories dominated by the overwhelmingly white “Game of Thrones” were also short on inclusion, including supporting actress in a drama — zero nominees — and supporting drama actor, with only Giancarlo Esposito of “Better Call Saul” receiving a nomination.
Bounty for Beyoncé
Beyoncé’s “Homecoming” film scored six Emmy nominations, while documentaries on Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and the disastrous Fyre Festival also picked up nominations.
Beyoncé, who has 23 Grammys, earned Emmy nominations in the past for her “Lemonade” visual project, her Super Bowl halftime show performance and her “On the Run” tour with Jay-Z. Her nominations this year include outstanding directing for a variety special, outstanding writing for a variety special and outstanding music direction. In the outstanding variety special (prerecorded) category, she is nominated as an executive producer of “Homecoming.”
In the overall tally contest among outlets, HBO received a whopping 137 nominations Tuesday, riding the dragon wings of “Game of Thrones” and the big tallies for “Chernobyl” and “Barry.” Netflix, which last year ended HBO’s 17-year reign to win the most Emmy nominations, was bumped to second this year with 117. Amazon’s Prime Video was second to Netflix among streamers with 47 nominations.
Broadcast networks, steadily eclipsed by the rise of cable and now streaming, were far behind, with NBC getting 58 nods to top CBS’ 43, ABC’s 26 and Fox’s 18.
The 71st Emmy Awards will air Sept. 22 on Fox.