PRIMAL SCREEN A golden era

If there’s still anyone out there who doubts that we’ve been living through a golden age of television, one glance at the nominations for the 71st Primetime Emmy awards should be enough to settle the matter. For a start, nobody thought that any programme could ever hope to match the record haul of 26 nominations established by the legendary procedural drama, NYPD Blue, back in 1994. That record has been smashed by the final season of Game of Thrones which, when you include its nods for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, has racked up a whopping 32 nominations in total, including nods for Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams and Gwendoline Christie (of whom more later). But even taking the Northern Ireland based fantasy series out of the equation, the talent in each category is so remarkable, you could argue that winning an Emmy this year is more difficult than winning an Academy award, the gold standard for the acting profession.

If Kit Harington is to land his leading actor gong, for example, he’s going to have to overcome Jason Bateman ( Ozark), Bob Odenkirk

( Better Call Saul) and Milo Ventimiglia ( This is Us). It gets harder for Emilia Clarke. If the Mother of Dragons is going to become the Winner of Emmys, she will have to get the better of Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh ( Killing Eve), Laura Linney ( Ozark), Viola Davis ( How to Get Away With

Murder) and Robin Wright ( House of Cards). The supporting categories are no easier to call. On the drama front, Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau are the headline male nominees for Game of Thrones; but they’re up against Giancarlo Esposito ( Better Call Saul) and Michael Kelly ( House of Cards). On the female front, Lena Headey will have to get the better of three of her co-stars (Gwendoline Christie, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams); not to mention our own Fiona Shaw ( Killing Eve) and Julia Garner ( Ozark). That category is a Red Wedding all of its own. When it comes to the Limited Series categories, the competition is just as fierce. Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie pits Hugh Grant ( A Very English Scandal) against Jared Harris ( Chernobyl), Benicio Del Toro ( Escape at Dannemore) and Mahershala Ali ( True Detective). Meanwhile, bookies’ favourite Patrica Arquette ( Escape at Dannemore) has to contend with Amy Adams ( Sharp Objects) and Michelle Williams ( Fosse/ Verdon). Other acting nomines for the 71st Primetime Emmy awards include Stellan Skarsgård and Emily Watson ( Chernobyl), Vera Farmiga and Michael K. Williams ( When They See Us), Phoebe WallerBridge and Olivia Colman ( Fleabag), Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin ( The Kominsky Method) and award-magnet Julia-Louis Dreyfus for

Veep. Good luck picking the winners from that lot.

It promises to be a fascinating night, but all eyes will be on Sir Brienne of Tarth. When HBO decided not to put Gwendoline Christie’s name forward for nomination, the actress herself stumped up the $225 fee and entered the race. Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy) and Carice van Houten (Melisandre), duly followed her lead, and all three were rewarded with Emmy nominations. Talk about a fascinating sub-plot. All will be revealed on September 23