Despite the mixed reaction to its final season, the Television Academy bestowed ‘Game of Thrones’ with 32 Primetime Emmy nominations, the biggest total for any show this year. ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Chernobyl’, ‘Barry’, and ‘Veep’ were just some of the shows that propelled HBO to become the most Emmy-nominated network of 2019, with the premium network receiving 137 nominations in total.
Netflix was not too far behind in second place with 117 nominations. ‘When They See Us’, ‘Ozark’, ‘Russian Doll’, and ‘Our Planet’ helped the streaming service stay largely in the Emmy race after hit shows like ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘The Crown’ weren’t eligible for nominations this year.
In a distant third and fourth place in total nominations were NBC and Amazon with 58 and 47 nominations respectively.
NBC’s ‘The Good Place’ garnered its first nomination for Best Comedy Series. Also from NBC, ‘This is Us’ got in the Best Drama Series category, making these two shows the only series from a traditional network to be nominated in their respective categories.
‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ once again reigned supreme for Amazon with 20 nominations being earned for its second season, making it the second most nominated show this year.
There were some noticeable first-time nominations for shows that have thus far had something of a cult following. ‘Fleabag’, the British tragicomedy from Amazon and creator/star Phoebe Waller-Bridge broke into several categories for the first time including Best Comedy Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for recent Oscar winner Olivia Colman.
In its fifth season, Schitt’s Creek, the Canadian family-driven comedy starring Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara, gave POP TV its first-ever Emmy nominations including nods for both Levy and O’Hara, and Best Comedy Series.
The LGBTQ and disability communities also had something to celebrate when the nominations were announced.
‘Pose’, the transgender and LGBTQ people of color-led FX show garnered 6 nominations, while pioneer transgender actress Laverne Cox was once again nominated for her work in ‘Orange is the New Black’. Netflix’s short-form comedy ‘Special’, starring and created by disabled/gay writer Ryan O’Connell received 4 nominations.
When the 71st Primetime Emmys air on FOX September 22nd, history could be made on several fronts. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, nominated for the final season of ‘Veep’, could become the winningest performer, male or female, in Emmy history. ‘Game of Thrones’ could also have the distinction of winning the most Emmys by a show in a single season, beating its own record.
Below is the list of shows with 10+ nominations:
Game of Thrones – 32
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel – 20
Chernobyl – 19
Saturday Night Live – 18
Barry – 17
Fosse/Verdon – 17
When They See Us – 16
Russian Doll – 13
Escape at Dannemora – 12
Fleabag – 11
The Handmaid’s Tale – 11
Our Planet – 10
For the full list of Emmy nominations, visit https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners
The Creative Arts Emmy ceremony will air September 21st on FXX.
