Too many jewels in ‘Game of Thrones’ crown?
Kelly Lawler: HBO show is a cultural phenomenon, but TV Academy overdid it with 32 Emmy nominations.
The lords and ladies of Westeros may need to clear off some shelf space after the 2019 Emmy Awards.
The nominees for the 71st edition of TV’s biggest awards show were announced Tuesday, and, as many pundits and fans predicted, the final season of HBO’s phenomenon “Game of Thrones” walked away with quite a few nominations – 32, to be precise, a record for any show in a single season.
That number includes one for outstanding drama series, 10 acting nominations (including guest actress), multiple directing nods, one for writing and a host of technical and craft nominations. The series with the next-highest number of nominations is Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” with 20.
The dominance of “Thrones,” a longtime Emmy favorite in its final awards push, has been all but predetermined for years. Emmy voters love to shower departing series with accolades, even if the final seasons don’t match the quality of earlier ones. (That sentiment helped HBO’s “Veep” score nine nominations for a so-so ending, but did nothing for CBS’ “The Big Bang Theory,” which was shut out.) And considering the cultural dominance of “Thrones,” it would have been wildly tone-deaf for the Television Academy to ignore the dragons, direwolves and white walkers that drew such an immense audience.
But perhaps they could have acknowledged the significance of “Thrones” without giving the series
so many nominations it truly doesn’t deserve.
The rising tide of “Thrones” always was going to lift a lot of boats, but the extent to which the Academy spread the love was shocking. There are some awards-worthy contributions in Season 8, especially performances from Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams and the wonderful special effects, but plenty of others that aren’t so great, from average performances, mediocre writing and terrible direction, that received the honor of a nomination.
Alfie Allen has done good work on “Thrones” for all eight seasons, but can voters justify rewarding him if it means Bobby Cannavale is left out for “Homecoming” or Kieran Culkin was snubbed for “Succession”? Did “The Long Night” episode, which was so dark it was impossible to see for many viewers, really deserve a directing nomination? Was the widely derided finale really as wellwritten as the likes of “Killing Eve” or “Better Call Saul”?
Simply put, “Thrones” was good, but not good enough to warrant the outpouring of Emmy love. And assuming it pulls off some big wins during the Sept. 22 ceremony, it won’t deserve all the trophies, either.
The fantasy drama already has conquered television. It has the fans, the merchandising, the pending prequel and more Halloween costumes than you can count. It will go down in history as one of the most influential series of all time, no matter what happens at the Emmys. Which means this is a great time for voters to recognize all the other great series that aired this year, from surprise nominees such as FX’s “Pose” to such favorites as “Killing Eve.” There’s a whole world of television out there that has nothing to do with Westeros.
Maybe next year, when “Thrones” is just a memory, the Emmy voters will finally see it.