‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Veep’ make last Emmy Awards stand
LOS ANGELES >> “Game of Thrones” has dominated the Emmy Awards with the formidable power of, say, your average fearsome, flame-belching dragon. Same goes for “Veep,” but picture a cutthroat politician instead.
The drama and comedy series are among the front-runners for Sunday’s ceremony (8 p.m. EDT, Fox) for their concluding seasons, a last chance to rule. But will they? There’s suspense as well over the never-crowned women of “Game of Thrones,” whether Sandra Oh and Billy Porter will make Emmy history, and how much streaming services such as Netflix can chip away at old-guard cable and older-guard broadcasting.
Cue HBO’s blockbuster drama and critically adored political satire.
“It’s the big farewell to the Emmy giants ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Veep,’” said Tom O’Neil, author of “The Emmys” and editor of the Gold Derby awards website. “The question is, how big will their sweeps be?”
“Game of Thrones” has the most Emmys of any drama or comedy series in history, 57, and it’s been undefeated each time it was nominated in recent years. It holds the record for most Emmys won by a series in a single season, 12, set in 2015 and matched the following year.
If the fantasy saga that brought cinematic sweep to TV successfully defends its best drama series title to net a fourth trophy, it will join a select club that can boast the same: “Hill Street Blues,” ‘’L.A. Law,” ‘’The West Wing” and “Mad Men.”
TV academy members brushed aside the anti-finale fan chorus in bestowing a single-year record 32 nominations on “Game of Thrones,” but it remains to be seen if they’re as generous Sunday. There’s worthy competition, including BBC America’s “Killing Eve”; AMC’s “Better Call Saul”; FX’s “Pose,” Netflix’s “Bodyguard” and “Ozark”; HBO’s “Succession,” and NBC’s “This Is Us.”
On the comedy side, “Veep” ruled as best series the past three times it was nominated, but was sidelined last year when star Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ breast cancer treatment delayed production. Amazon Prime Video’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” won and will defend the title against “Veep”; “Fleabag,” also on Amazon; HBO’s “Barry”; Netflix’s “Russian Doll”; NBC’s “The Good Place,” and Pop TV’s “Schitt’s Creek.”
Louis-Dreyfus could become a seven-time winner for the political satire and, with the two Emmys she holds for “Seinfeld” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” break her tie with Cloris Leachman as the mosthonored performer in Emmy history. Rachel Brosnahan of “Mrs. Maisel” won last year and is nominated again.
There will be stars aplenty but no ringmaster for the three-hour show. It could go as smoothly as February’s nohost Oscars but, fingers crossed, there might be an outbreak of the spontaneity that a live telecast should have if presenters and winners cooperate. (Please don’t thank your agent, dog walker, et al.)
Nominees would do well to recall the splash that Glenn Weiss made last year, proposing to his fiancee from the stage as he accepted a directing Emmy, and prepare accordingly.
The lack of an emcee makes extended political comedy riffs less likely, but there’s always room for a skit poking fun at Washington or a soapbox acceptance speech, as Bradley Whitford offered at last weekend’s creative arts ceremony when he won a guest acting trophy for “The Handmaid’s Tale.”