Game of Thrones already has more Emmy wins and nominations than any scripted show ever, and now it has the most nominations in a single year, too.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards nominees were announced on Tuesday, and they’re really good? It’s hard to complain when Barry, Fleabag, The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Russian Doll, Schitt’s Creek, and Veep are up for Outstanding Comedy Series, alongside Better Call Saul, Killing Eve, Pose, and Succession for Outstanding Drama Series. Thrones was also nominated for the night’s biggest award; it’s one of 32 nominations for season eight of the HBO hit, breaking the previous record set by NYPD Blue.
Thrones is up for, among others, Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress (Emilia Clarke), Outstanding Lead Actor (Kit Harington), Outstanding Supporting Actor (Alfie Allen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Peter Dinklage), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams), Outstanding Guest Actress (Carice van Houten), as well as a slew of technical categories. The staggering number of nominations was met with excitement by Thrones fans, with the exception of one: Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for “The Iron Throne.” That’s the series finale, penned by co-showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, which led to headlines like, “The GoT Cast Was ‘Upset’ by How Much Everyone Hated the Finale.” Reactions to the Emmy nomination were, let’s say, mixed.
Game of Thrones series finale getting a writing nom pic.twitter.com/tYNmILmwvM
— Frazier Tharpe II (@The_SummerMan) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/xasoiaf/status/1151163489060315147
the iron throne for best writing? i have to laugh pic.twitter.com/P2I4F1rY8s
— sophie on vacation (@mraksmagus) July 16, 2019
‘the iron throne’ actually got nominated for outstanding writing…. pic.twitter.com/DIX923808U
— kash (@targaryenheir) July 16, 2019
https://twitter.com/reyzando/status/1151161396039520257
https://twitter.com/FireWPhoenix/status/1151165327209840642
honestly the only emmys game of thrones deserves to win for this season are the acting ones. seriously the cast tried so hard to save the writing.
— shan (@sapphicrogue) July 16, 2019
It was a near-lock that Thrones, the biggest show on television, would get a writing nomination, but it’s puzzling why they went with “The Iron Throne” over “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” the most-applauded episode of the final season. Whatever the reason, the finale will compete against episodes of Better Call Saul, Bodyguard, Killing Eve, Succession, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards air on September 22.
