Why Isn’t ‘Game Of Thrones’ Nominated For Emmys This Year?
During last year’s Emmy Awards, Game of Thrones broke records with 12 wins, bringing its total to 38 and making it the most awarded fictional series ever. Why then, is it not nominated for a single award this year?
The answer is simple, the latest season didn’t premiere in time to be eligible. Only shows that aired between June 1, 2016, and May 31, 2017 were eligible to be nominated. However, production for the latest season of GOT was delayed due to weather, and pushed back the premiere date to July 16, 2017. Therefore, the latest season of the popular HBO series will be eligible for next year’s awards. Previous seasons had started in April, which is why it had always been eligible for that year’s awards in the past.
This is the first time since 2010 that Game of Thrones hasn’t been in the Emmy race, which gives other shows a huge opportunity in the Best Drama category. Game of Thrones had won the category the last two years, and despite the most recent season being less than spectacular, there is no reason to believe it wouldn’t have won again.
According to Gold Derby, this year it comes down to a close race or a “photo finish” between Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Netflix’s Stranger Things. If one of those shows does win, it will be the first time a streaming service show will pick up the Best Drama award, and that would be a huge game changer for the television industry.
The Gold Derby odds have Stranger Things in first place now, but the predictions seem to land mostly with The Handmaid’s Tale winning the prize. Other nominees in the category include AMC’s Better Call Saul, NBC’s This Is Us, Netflix’s The Crown and House of Cards, and HBO’s Westworld.
Another show that was left out of this year’s nominations was the critically acclaimed Twin Peaks, because it only aired four episodes in the eligibility period. A show has to air more than half of its episodes in the June to May time period to be eligible.
The 69th Emmy Awards airs Sunday, September 17, on ABC and they will be hosted by The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert.
[Featured Image by HBO]
