Fantasy and Horror Shows Lead Emmy Nominations
It still feels like we are a long way from award season, but the Emmy Awards, given for achievement in television, are less than two months away. The nominees were announced last week and there is much for geeks to be happy about. Okay maybe there’s not too much from our favorite genres, but the fact that a horror show and a series with dragons in it are the two most nominated shows gives us something to root for. There are plenty of others instances too.
Fantasy and Horror Breakthrough
I wouldn’t say it’s surprising that “Game of Thrones” earned some nominations because it has happened the last two years. But in the main categories that are shown on the telecast, the fantasy epic has a few legitimate chances at gold. Peter Dinklage has been nominated for the third straight year in the Supporting Actor Drama category. He won in 2011 for playing Tyrion Lannister, so he’ll try to get back to his winning ways. This season had less Tyrion in it than the previous ones, so we’ll see how he does. Emilia Clarke earned her first nomination as Daenerys ‘Dany’ Khaleesi Stormborn Mother of Dragons Targaryen. I hope I didn’t forget any names, but either way she’s nominated. This season, Dany finally had some control. When she ordered her dragons to fry the slave owner, I think the viewing public realized she is for real. So she gets the well-deserved nomination.
“Game of Thrones” also shows up in the Outstanding Drama Series category alongside heavyweights like “Homeland” and “Mad Men.” Maybe the “Red Wedding” and its ground breaking brutality pushed the show near the top of the list. Speaking of the “Red Wedding,” David Benioff and DB Weiss were nominated in the drama writing category for that episode, “The Rains of Castemere.” The show received 16 nominations in all.
That total is second only to “American Horror Story” that has 17. “AMS” is an interesting case since it’s actually listed as a miniseries. There’s no way of knowing if that attributes to the plentiful nods it gets, but my guess is that it does. There are more traditional dramas than mini-series on television. Since the show is presented as a story with a clear cut start and finish each season, it’s classified as a miniseries. It has a different title each season too, “American Horror Story: Asylum.” for example. The show’s major nominations include Outstanding Miniseries or Made for Television Movie and acting nominations for Jessica Lange, who won last year, Sarah Paulson, James Cromwell and Zachary Quinto.
A somewhat surprising development in the nominee list sees Netflix emerging as a viable competitor to the cable giants that fill the ballot box. The online video service received 14 nominations, but it seems those reruns of “Firefly” and “Power Rangers” I keep watching on there were left off. Jason Bateman got a nomination for the recently resurrected “Arrested Development” even though reviews were very mixed for the season. Most of the hoopla surrounds the Kevin Spacey led vehicle “House of Cards.” The political thriller tracked very well on Netflix and proved the week long wait between episodes wasn’t important to the Academy. It’s good to know they’re binge-watching just like us.
In terms of other geek-friendly nominations, “The Big Bang Theory” got eight nominations to try and keep their place near the top of the comedy peak. Also, “Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome” received three technical nominations. To see how your favorite shows did check out the full list of nominees here. The Primetime Emmy Awards will be given out on September 22nd in Los Angeles.