'Game Of Thrones' Season 8 Just Shattered This Emmy Record
The pack survived on Game of Thrones, and the efforts of the living Starks and their fallen comrades are not going unnoticed. Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced on July 16, and the final season of HBO's hit fantasy drama has raked in plenty of recognition. So, how many 2019 Emmy nominations did Game of Thrones get? The epic series scored a record-breaking total of 32 nominations.
Game of Thrones' six-episode Season 8 wasn't a universal favorite among viewers, as fans criticized the final episodes for feeling rushed and demonstrating unsatisfying character development. The last bunch of episodes even inspired an online petition to remake Season 8, but in a world of reboots and revivals, redoing an entire season is apparently the ultimate faux pas. Plus, given characters' emotional sendoffs and the large-scale battle scenes throughout the season, recognition for acting, costuming, production, and everything in between seemed inevitable.
During the nominations announcement, The Masked Singer's Ken Jeong and The Good Place's D'Arcy Carden only delivered nominees for the main series and acting categories, but upon the reveal of all nominees afterwards, fans learned that the series earned a massive total of 32 nods. According to The Washington Post, Game of Thrones surpassed an all-time series record of 27 nominations earned by NYPD Blue in 1994. Fans can root for the legendary series in the race for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as several technical categories, but there's even more to celebrate.
On the acting side, Kit Harington is nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama, while Emilia Clarke is included among the Lead Actress in a Drama nominees. For Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama, Alfie Allen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Peter Dinklage were recognized for their work. In the Guest Actress in a Drama category, Carice van Houten was also nominated for her role as Melisandre. Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams make up four of six Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama slots, upping the chances of at least one Game of Thrones cast member leaving the Emmys ceremony with a trophy in hand.
Concluding its final season on May 19, Game of Thrones has previously won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series three times. In addition to the show earning several acting, writing, and direction nominations over the years, original cast member Peter Dinklage has won in the Supporting Actor category three times. Headey, Diana Rigg, Clarke, Harington, Williams, and Coster-Waldau have each received at least one nomination for Game of Thrones prior to this year. According to the Emmys' official website, the show had a total of 128 nominations and 47 wins before the 2019 nominations were announced. No one from Westeros takes a competition like this lightly, huh?
Winter came and went, but Game of Thrones' reign at award shows isn't over just yet. Fans have to wait and see how the fantasy drama's final attempt at a victory lap fares. The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards air at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 22, on FOX.
