And so begins the final wishlist for an Emmys featuring Game of Thrones among the contenders. I’m a real sucker for awards, you guys. I know, I know that they don’t REALLY mean anything, but they do to me! It’s the time we get to gather together and celebrate the best the small screen has to offer, and boy howdy does it offer something in this Golden Age of Television of which we are all so #blessed to be a part. Going into this there are a few things you should bear in mind:
- The actual list of Emmy nominations will be announced on July 16th by D’Arcy Carden and Ken Jeong. Therefore, what you are about to read is my personal wishlist of whom I wish to see be nominated on the drama side of things (aka, the categories in which GOT could be a contender (it could be somebodyyyy)).
- Anything on my wishlist has to be something I’ve actually seen. I’m not going to suggest an actor whom I like get nominated just because I’ve seen them in something else – I have to have seen them in the would-be-nominated role.
- Lastly…I watch a lot of genre and period TV, you guys. Like, a LOT of it. So with all that, let’s dive in!
Best Drama Wishlist:
Counterpart season 2 (Starz)
Elementary season 6 (CBS)
Game of Thrones season 8 (HBO)
The Man In The High Castle season 3 (Amazon Prime)
Marvel’s Daredevil season 3 (Netflix)
Outlander season 4 (Starz)
Vikings season 5b (History)
…Did I mention that I watch a lot of genre TV? Anyways…GOT is more than likely a sure bet to be nominated, while realistically, zero of the other above shows will make the cut. None of them has ever been Emmy material. The question really is…will the overwhelmingly negative reaction to 4 out of the 6 episodes of season 8 stop it in dead in its tracks? Time will tell, but my money is still on it actually winning. As for the rest of these shows, The Man in the High Castle and Counterpart have put out three and two, respectively, exceptional seasons, and I can’t recommend those shows enough. Vikings and Outlander continue to be fun underdog alternatives to GOT. Daredevil had some truly elevated storytelling during much of its 3rd and sadly final season. And yes, that is indeed CBS procedural Elementary you see on there. I watch one major network drama, and it happens to be very good (much better than Sherlock, I’ll add).
Best Actor Wishlist:
Richard Madden as David Budd (Bodyguard)
J. K. Simmons as Howard Silk/Howard Prime (Counterpart)
Kit Harington as Jon Snow (Game of Thrones)
Rufus Sewell as Obergruppenführer John Smith (The Man In The High Castle)
Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle (Marvel’s The Punisher)
Sam Heughan as Jamie Fraser (Outlander)
This one is exciting. The only people up here who are actual contenders to get nominated are brothers from other mothers Richard Madden and Kit Harington. It would be so awesome to see Jon Snow go up against Robb Stark! Although, if you want my personal pick (though he’ll never be nominated), that would be Rufus Sewell, whose turn as John Smith is hauntingly brilliant and beautiful, crafting one of the most remarkable, terrifying, and empathetic portraits of a Nazi I could ever fathom. Yes. His character is a Nazi. Yes. I am Jewish. And yes. He is that good. J. K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Sam Heughan: love you guys, thanks for playing.
Best Actress Wishlist:
Olivia Williams as Emily Silk/Emily Prime (Counterpart)
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones)
Suranne Jones as Anne Lister (Gentleman Jack)
Jodie Comer as Villanelle (Killing Eve)
Alexa Davalos as Juliana Crain (The Man In The High Castle)
Caitriona Balfe as Claire Randall Fraser (Outlander)
This has to be Emilia’s year, right? Right!?!? Her facial expressions in ‘The Bells’ alone should do it. I do believe that she will not only be nominated, but I believe she will win as well. Her only actual competition will likely come in the form of Suranne Jones, who creates a character I’d somehow never seen on screen before. It’s entirely worth watching Gentleman Jack for her alone. As for the others, the only one I can see having a shot is Jodie Comer, though I’ll be sad when Olivia Williams goes unnoticed (as will the rest of her brilliant show). Doesn’t mean I love Caitriona Balfe or Alexa Davalos any less!
Best Supporting Actor Wishlist:
Harry Lloyd as Peter Quayle (Counterpart)
Pilou Asbæk as Euron Greyjoy (Game of Thrones)
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones)
Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma aka The Riddler (Gotham)
Joel De la Fuente as Inspector Kido (The Man In The High Castle)
Rupert Evans as Frank Frink (The Man In The High Castle)
Alex Høgh Andersen as Ivar (Vikings)
This one’s a toughie – There were so many GOT cast members to choose from, but I’ve whittled it down to (naturally) those I’d personally nominate for season 8. That leaves me with Peter Dinklage, who is oft scoffed at for his repeat nominations (this would be 8/8), but I think people sometimes forget just how good he is. He basically ran the finale himself, with several monologues back to back, and he nailed each and every one of them. Secondly, I just have to hand it to Pilou. After Euron’s didn’t make a splash (lol puns) at first, he came back swinging in seasons 7 and 8, and boy did he ever make an impression. “Swaggering rock ‘n roll pirate” is as a good a descriptor as an actor can get, and he just nailed it, in my opinion. I’d like to throw a separate shout out to reformed bad boy Viserys, whose actor Harry Lloyd did tremendous work on Counterpart. Meanwhile, hard at work are the actors on The Man in the High Castle, whose products are so consistently wonderful, most notably among them Joel De la Fuente and Rupert Evans. Cory Michael Smith turned in 5 weird years as the very weird Riddler and I think he finally deserves some recognition. And lastly, Alex Høgh Andersen’s impressive work as Ivar isn’t just good enough for a nomination, in my opinion; he’s good enough to WIN! (He won’t get either, but that’s another story).
Best Supporting Actress Wishlist:
Nazanin Boniadi as Clare (Counterpart)
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark (Game of Thrones)
Fiona Shaw as Carolyn Martens (Killing Eve)
Chelah Horsdal as Helen Smith (The Man In The High Castle)
Uzo Aduba as Suzanne ‘Crazy Eyes’ Warren (Orange is the New Black)
Danielle Brooks as Tasha ‘Taystee’ Jefferson (Orange is the New Black)
Selenis Levya as Gloria Mendoza (Orange is the New Black)
There were a lot of Game of Thrones cast members on this ballot as well, but unfortunately, given the constraints of the shortened season 8, very few of them got a longer chance to shine. Maisie Williams was not one of them, however. Her final turn as Arya Stark was one for the ages, most perfectly captured in her tumultuous escape from King’s Landing, as I’d noted in her Take a Bow. I really really hope she wins this one. Fiona Shaw was, for me, the best part of Killing Eve, a show of which I otherwise wasn’t too fond (sorry, @The Internet). Nazanin Boniadi played a double agent on Counterpart, and got to often play opposite Harry Lloyd, her husband whom she was deceiving. It was very easy for Chelah Horsdal’s Helen to be overshadowed by her husband John Smith, but this season, the writers of of The Man in the High Castle gave her so much more to do, and she ran with it. And lastly, the ladies of Orange is the New Black have so many candidates on the Emmy ballot, but I picked three I felt were most deserving, in Uzo Aduba, Danielle Brooks, and Selenis Levya.
Best Guest Actor Wishlist:
Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes (The Walking Dead)
Welp. GOT isn’t on the ballot for anyone in this category, but it won’t stop me from both appreciating Andrew Lincoln’s 9 years on The Walking Dead. It’s kind of funny that he was in few enough episodes to qualify for best guest actor, but here we are. And you know what? I haven’t gotten a chance to look into all the other people on the ballot (as mentioned, I’ll only list people whose performances I saw), but I figure he has a good shot of actually winning, after not being nominated for 8 years.
Best Guest Actress Wishlist:
Carice Van Houten as Melisandre (Game of Thrones)
Alexa Davalos as Beth Quinn (The Punisher)
Maria Doyle Kennedy as Jocasta (Outlander)
Thanks to Melisandre’s eleventh hour return to save the day at the Battle of Winterfell, Carice Van Houten has a chance to finally clinch that nomination she’s long deserved. The liklihood of her nomination has certainly increased with the sharp decrease of competition she’ll be facing, but I am still highly doubtful, unfortunately, that she won’t win. If Dame Diana Rigg couldn’t win after all those years, then Carice is rather unlikely to. As for my other placements, Alexa Davalos and Maria Doyle Kennedy, I’ll say thank you for your work, but it is unfortunately unlikely to be recognized.
So there you have it. My highly personalized list of shows and actors I want to see on the ballot on July 16th. While I unfortunately couldn’t place all the eligible GOT cast members on my wishlist, we will soon have the WOTW Awards coming up in which you will be able to vote for your favorite Greyjoy to your heart’s content! Where did I err? What under-appreciated actor did I recognize? What does your wishlist look like? Let us know in the comments below!
I haven’t seen all of those, but I heartily agree with you about Rufus Sewell in TMITHC. Also like Joel de la Fuente in that, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (who you don’t mention). I can’t agree about Alexa Davalos, who seems to display one single facial expression throughout.
Jodie Comer is brilliant in Killing Eve, and Fiona Shaw is also excellent. Shame it wasn’t as good as S1, but I had my doubts that it would sustain another season. They should have wrapped it up as a one-off, imo, or taken it in a wholly different direction.
I would have nominated Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in a HEARTBEAT! Believe it or not, he isn’t on the ballot. I would know. I looked for him.
Nothing for King Bran?
Really!
What about his advice when others were confused; his inspirational talk with everyone; his honest appraisal of the challenge; his sacrifice of himself to protect others; his risk taking to drive the cause forward; his bravery in protecting others; his humor that made his nation love him; ….
Wait, wait…oh, wrong guy.
Yes yes yes to Jodie Comer for Killing Eve! She is fantastic!!
“I watch one major network drama, and it happens to be very good (much better than Sherlock, I’ll add).”
Thems fightin’ words, David.
Also is Chernobyl eligible? Nominations for everyone! You get a nomination. You get a nomination. Everyone gets nominations!! But seriously for Jared Harris at least.
And I do hope Emilia gets nominated. She really brought it this season!
Interesting piece although I haven’t seen a lot of the shows mentioned – I love the Marvel shows and I’m just about to watch Daredevil S3 so I expect this to be strong. I do expect GOT to sweep the board though for best show, Alfie would be my nomination for best supporting actor and I think Emilia/Kit will be in with a good shout for leads. Also love the nomination fro Maisie and it would be very well deserved.
It is, but GOT isn’t competing in the miniseries categories. FWIW, I would nominate Chernobyl for that.
Chernobyl would come under what they term a Limited Series, I think.
It is certainly the most compelling TV I’ve watched in a long time, and should sweep everything in its categories.
I don’t think anything can stop GoT from another win.
They defeated Stranger Things, The Crown, The Americans, Westworld and THT last year. GoT’s competition this year is laughable.
Ballot? Oh, I didn’t realise you were picking from an official list. I thought it was just your personal picks. Where would we find this list?
My personal awards wishlist: Lena Headey, Alfie Allen, Rory McCann.
I would take Outlander off the list – I thought S4 bordered on ridiculousness and convinced me to stop watching S5. Two shows I would love to see nominated (but never will) are Noah Hawley’s Legion (another that the excellent Harry Lloyd appeared in) and The Last Kingdom. These two shows have great acting as well. My two cents.
It’s a travesty that Alfie Allen was never nominated.
David Rosenblatt,
I’m glad you mentioned “Elementary” starring Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes.
Although I’m about 29 episodes behind, I’m definitely watching tonight’s episode, “Miss Understood,” featuring the return of Ally Ioannides, the terrific young actress in the January 7, 2016 episode “Miss Taken.”
https://www.emmys.com/ballots/2019
He has one more chance as he was submitted for this year.
Game of thrones should win this year. Can’t think of a show that came close this year that could be nominated. All the big ones coming later this year. But daredevil season 3 was also a master piece. I’m not a big fan of superhero stories but season 3 of daredevil was amazing. Gotham season 5 I found not that great this year.
As for best actress: hope Emilia wins. But Caitriona Balfe was also amazing in season 4 of outlander. (even when season 4 wasn’t that great)
Alex Høgh Andersen deserves in my eyes the win. It’s not his fault season 5 of Vikings was bad. And his acting is just amazing.
Maissie or gwendoline for the win of supporting actress.
Carice van houten for win for best guest role. But I found Maria Doyle Kennedy amazing in season 4 of outlander. She did an amazing job.
And it seems I’m one of the few who doesn’t like the acting of Andrew Lincoln on the walking dead. For me he always act ove the top and too much fake breathing.
While I do watch many shows and like a lot of actors, I really only wish for GoT nominations. I’d like all of them to be nominated but I realize that’s not going to happen. I do think Lena’s chances rest on her having been nominated for the past four seasons since she had such a small part in S8. I’ll be a bit upset if some others aren’t nominated, but, I will be PISSED if Maisie is snubbed.
Outlander season 4 was a dumpster fire.
The actress who plays the daughter is insufferable to put up with on screen. I don’t know if it’s her acting or the way the character is supposed to behave, but it’s brutal.
and the plot just gets cornier and more contrived with every episode. It’s the same thing over and over.
Thanks, Clob!
I’d forgotten about Sex Education, I loved that.
Thank you!
I really enjoyed seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 was….eh, ok, but definitely a step back. Season 4 was just awful. It’s not trending well for season 5, but I think I’ll still give it a shot.
I generally don’t have time to watch very many tv shows right now, but I am currently watching Stranger Things (in the middle of season 2 right now) and I enjoy that show quite a bit. I don’t know if it’s award worthy or not, but I think the kids do a great job of acting and the plot is consistently engaging. It’s a fairly easy show to digest too.
mau,
Wow, you have really high hopes bro 🙂
Game of Thrones does not deserve the victory honestly. The only reason I can see GoT could win is simply by being a show that came to an end.
But in specific categories, yeah – no problem. I don’t really think Kit deserves the award – he was quite a pooper hit season (and honestly, I never liked that much his acting; but on the other hand I disliked Emilia’s acting in season 7, but in the final season… that was pure gold). Emilia – 100% award. Maisie, and I would also go for Sophie. Definitely – Gwendoline. Carice, as far as I love her acting, she had like 10 minutes of screen time this season, so she’s out of competition to be fair. Peter Dinklage – well, mixed feelings there, but the last episode was on point.
Writing award is definitely lost. There is no way they can win it. That would be dishonest to give them an award, since that was a pure butchery.
Directing – yeah, strong point there.
Main Title design – sure.
Cinematography – easy bet.
Costumes – there is no way GoT lose it. The same story with make-up probably.
Music – yeah, no needs for a comment.
I think there is also a category with lighting – well, episode 3 and the crypts 🙂
I have the same thoughts on Outlander. It took me a while to get through S3 and I have yet to finished S4. When I started watching I’d read a synopsis of the books and even those seem like they went a direction I wouldn’t have enjoyed so I wasn’t surprised when the show did. I do think Caitriona Balfe is very underrated though. She’s won a couple People’s Choice Awards and keeps being nominated for the Golden Globe but hasn’t gotten Emmy recognition yet.
I realized Emilia Clarke was a way better actress than i thought this year
Clob,
I would definitely agree with you on Caitriona. She’s one of my favorite actresses. I thought she was the best actress in television during seasons 1 and 2. Something about her just captivates my attention.
Her acting is still great now, but the writing of that show is making a lot of the characters become insufferable to put up with lately, including Claire.
The plot points on that show have just become so repetitive. There’s always a rape to avenge, and there’s always a kidnapping that requires the other lover to go on an expedition to find their partner. Wash, rinse, repeat. Seriously, I don’t even know why Claire and Jaime ever let themselves out of each other’s site anymore. Every time they do, one of them disappears.
They’re also hamfisting the “woke” politics into the show more and more now, which just takes me out of the show. It’s just become obvious pandering to score political points. It’s unbelievably patronizing. I mean, give the audience some credit that maybe not everyone watching the show is racist, homophobic, etc… I don’t think the types of people they are trying to reach would be watching Outlander in the first place, so it feels pointless.
Claire has always been a “strong woman” on the show, and I’ve enjoyed that, but now they’re making a point to shove it in the audience’s face every chance they get in an inorganic way. It’s even worse with the daughter. Again, the people that they are trying to reach are probably not watching Outlander in the first place.
I’ve never agreed with the amount of criticism she got. I think a lot of judgement was based on her “throne persona” that was pretty much emotionless. Emilia really had to portray a role that was almost like a character with multiple personalities and I’ll always think she did as good of a job as anyone could have.
Mr Derp,
I haven’t read the books so I don’t know how closely they’ve been following them. Their numbers dropped quite a bit for S4 so, whatever the case, what they’re doing isn’t building an audience. I have one female friend that had read the released books when the show started and during those first two seasons she talked about it like I would GoT. She never brings it up anymore. I’m guessing what she enjoyed most with the series was the romance elements of it. *shrug*
Clob,
I definitely think Emilia deserves at least a nomination for season 8. Especially considering what she had to work with.
I would almost give her an award just for being able to keep it secret for over a year that she was going to be the villain in the end. That’s gotta be hard to keep a secret for so long.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. It’s one thing to be an actor and act. It’s another to be an actor and have to act on top of a fake dragon all the while convincingly enunciating a partially made-up language. I’d give her extra points for difficulty.
As for season 8 as a whole, I think the best of the best (in no particular order) were:
Maisie Williams
Sophie Turner
Emilia Clarke
Peter Dinklage
I kind of wish the Emmys had a special award for overall performance during the entirety of a show’s run. I would give awards to:
Alfie Allen
Lena Headey
Peter Dinklage
Clob,
Yea, I think a lot of the show’s early success was due to the fact that the show centered largely around Scotland and Highland culture. Once the show left Scotland, the show just wasn’t the same.
I tend to treat settings just like characters. Certain settings/characters are crucial to a story being successful. IMO, Scotland was one of the main “characters” that made Outlander what it was early on.
I would compare it to GoT in a way. Once certain characters were killed off, IMO, the show just wasn’t quite as engaging for me. I would cite Tywin Lannister as one. He was a prick no doubt, but a fun prick to watch onscreen and he was really the only intelligent “bad guy” in the show. Once he left, the IQ level of the characters seemed to drop significantly.
I would also put Joffrey into that category. He was such a little shit, but it was fun to watch.
Out of the Game of Thrones cast Emilia Clarke is the only actor/actress who deserves the nomination/victory this year imo.
She carried s8 on her shoulders, and in so many scenes (just like in the previous seasons) her screen counterpart was ‘green stuff’ instead of an actual living person. She also had to do a lot of acting in whole different language, switching smoothly between dothraki/valyrian to common tongue of Westeros.
Peter, Maisie, Lena.. What it comes to acting in season 8, they are nothing compared to Emilia Clarke.
Mr Derp,
I think that’s a big part of my issue with it. I loved the 1700’s Scotland part and was bummed right away when she went ‘back’ home the first time. After that moving around to other countries changed the entire feel of the show.
You know I’d have to give one of those to Maisie too. 😀
I’d just suggest to not focus almost entirely on dialogue and verbal interactions. Expression, non-verbal emotion and physical acting is all part of a performance as well. I think it could even be a bigger part when it comes to supporting categories as well – smaller roles with typically less dialogue than leading actors.
Maisie Williams’s S8 performance merits an Emmy based solely on her last scene with Sandor in S8e5, i.e., the way she transforms from snarling and angry (at 0:41 – 0:49) to innocent and compassionate (at 1:00 – 1:15):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DgACkATLvA
Just about all of her Season 8 episodes’ scenes were MVP-worthy. (I’m discounting Arya materializing out of thin air to pulverize NK in e3.)
Ditto as to Rory McCann. For S4 or S8.
Whilst I feel and recognise that S8 was probably Emilia’s best work on the show I would consider it disrespectful not to recognise Maisie Williams and Alfie Allen who were both also superb.
David Rosenblatt,
Re: Supporting Actress
“There were a lot of Game of Thrones cast members on this ballot as well, but unfortunately, given the constraints of the shortened season 8, very few of them got a longer chance to shine. Maisie Williams was not one of them, however. Her final turn as Arya Stark was one for the ages, most perfectly captured in her tumultuous escape from King’s Landing, as I’d noted in her Take a Bow. I really really hope she wins this one.“
_______
I do too.
Clob,
Nina,
True I totally agree Emilia was phenomenal
I love Alfie’s work, but I don’t know that I would put him up there just for season 8 alone. Theon had very little to do. He basically stood next to Bran so Bran could give him the “ok, yea thanks, you can go ahead and die now” speech.
His rescue of Yara also took about 5 seconds of screen time.
Come to think of it, Bran could’ve told Theon to just chill and stand with him for a moment and wait since Arya was only a few seconds away from killing the NK. Damn you Bran! You could’ve saved Theon!
He should’ve won for seasons 4, 5, 6, and maybe 7, IMO.
It’s not hope. It’s what will happen. GoT will take another Emmy for Outstanding Drama. Nothing can beat it.
Ten Bears,
S8 was probably the best for Maisie Williams and I think she will get that nomination for sure.
If only Lena is nominated alongside her in that category, she could even win.
Jon Snowed,
As well as agreeing on Kit and Emilia, I really have thought for years that Alfie Allen has knocked it out of the park. I mean he’s essentially played three characters… original Theon, lost and tortured Theon, and the surviving ‘what’s left of him’ Theon. I can’t imagine how the acting world can overlook him.
Ramin Djawadi deserves ten awards…he really outdid himself this year.
PS I’m also an Outlander and Vikings fan, and think they deserve recognition, but not at the expense of my Got faves winning.
Yes, I meant it was a travesty that he hadn’t been nominated for those seasons. It’s too late now.
Re Emilia, this last season was certainly her best performance, but I can’t say more than that. Sorry.
Grandmaester Flash,
Nothing to be sorry about. This is all subjective anyway. I can deal with dissenting opinions. Particularly when done respectfully and in good faith. It’s more thought-provoking and engaging than having an echo chamber of sycophants who just agree with each other all the time on everything and only hear what they want to hear.
I should’ve tagged Jon Snowed, because that’s who I was responding to, but I generally agree with you that Alfie has been snubbed in the past and deserves more recognition for his work.
Ramin Djawadi deserves ten awards… He really outdid himself.
I think Emilia could bring first Emmy nomination for GoT in that category. It’s not sure thing, but it’s very possible.
mau,
Maybe it will happen. It doesn’t mean Game of Thrones last season is worth it. Curiously enough, you stated that Emilia’s Emmy is “nothing sure”, while it’s way much safer bet than GoT’s award itself.
If GoT is about to win the award, it would basically be simply because it’s the show that came to an end. It didn’t offer much, on the contrary, it brought a massive backlash, which is not surprising at all, even within it’s own core fanbase.
Nothing agaisnt the series getting the Emmy, yet I sincerely hope D&D won’t be awarded.
Emmys should reward performance. GoT season 8 has enough high performances to be rewarded.
May the best win!
(Actually, I heard that the voting system rewards the least hated – small difference).
Excellent, David. And what a relief someone has more offbeat tastes than I do!! I’m glad you mentioned Man in the High Castle. Wehad been disappointed with S2 and didn’t watch 3. Tagawa was phenomenal, and Rupert Sewell–I know people who melt at the sight of him. We shall watch after all.
Your list was excellent. And of shows we saw, I agree with your judgments with one exception: Alfie Allen. Peter would beat him because Peter, plus Tyrion had so many great speeches and scenes. But Alfie, who has been excellent all along, made gold out of Theon’s every moment on-screen. Despite little screen time, he (and Lena) deserve the kudo of a nomination.
Sadly, Jon had a weak season. Jodie Comer is electrifying, but Emilia had her best season despite Dany’s challenging character arc. I think she’ll win, but for the wrong reason–her medical revelation garnered much attention and sympathy. Actors embrace others for whom “the show must go on.” Maisie also had her best season of several good ones and was very prominent (second longest filming). As she said in one interview, she got to play every note of Arya, including sex! Actors admire versatility, and especially admire physical acting, and hers was off the roof. She even had a mini-arc in Ep 5: confident assassin reverted to young girl convinced to to postpone confronting her mortality ( thank you, Sandor), then fought tooth and nail to survive Dany’s Inferno, and tried desperately to keep innocents alive. And on the cusp of despair, she looked from that black burnt horse toy to the white horse (‘sent’ to rescue her?) and accepted peace…and survived. Whew!
BTW, good luck at the Con. I shan’t be there this year, so you’ll have to defend The Children on your own! I hope the whole WotW staff have a wonderful time, and of course the posters who attend as well. Cheers!
I haven’t seen a lot of these shows. I’ve liked Suranne Jones’s work in the past but I was annoyed with the BBC (Gentleman Jack is shown on that network in the UK) for putting out a programme about Anne Lister (and waxing lyrical about it being new blah-de-blah) when they had shown a standalone dramatisation of the story in 2010 with Maxine Peake playing the title role. Still the BBC is known for repeating things – and repeating things – and repeating things. Though I suppose 9 years is a long gap – longer than GoT was broadcast. I’d like GoT to do well, controversial final season or not. I watched some of the first season of Outlander and though it’s well acted with nice scenery as someone said upthread it got a bit “rapey” for me. I know there was sex and violence in GoT but somehow it didn’t upset me as much as Outlander.
Yes, I hope Emilia Clarke gets a nomination this year!
I’ve always always loved Lena Headey and I thought we were woefully deprived of Cersei this season (especially Cersei/Dany scenes — my god, how I wanted those. And not Cersei smirking from on high while Dany did her all to make “if looks could kill” a reality but a real, real, real conversation with those two!) I thought this should have been a great season for LH but there was hardly enough of her. Criminally not enough.
Mr Derp,
Yes. I agree with this. I’ve got a lot of thoughts on that daughter and even more on her boyfriend/ex-boyfriend/ok-I’ll-marry-you-since-you’re-here-I-guess husband and their… storyline… I was giving myself headaches because of my constant eye-rolling… which turned into banging my head on the computer. And now I’m getting worked up again!! UGH Brienne/Roger UGH UGH UGH (I’m sorry, any Brienne/Roger fans who might be reading! I know the heart ships what it ships! <3)
And totally, totally agree about Caitriona Balfe. Amazing, amazing actress, very underrated. Also, very pretty crier! The kind of crier I strive to be!
Adrianacandle,
A small but major typo. By ‘Brienne’, I mean Brianna 😉 I’m sorry, Brienne!
Emilia’s Emmy win is not sure at all. It’s not even sure she will be nominated. GoT was never nominated in that category.
On the other hand, they’ve already won main Emmy 3 times and against much stronger competition like Mad Man, The Americans, The Crown, Westworld, BCS, THT, Stranger Things and so on.
Which show can beat GoT this year? Nothing can stop them. Online backlash doesn’t matter. GoT is the most ambitious show in history. Academy will appreciate that.
Listen what other TV writers and producers have to say about GoT and Benioff and Weiss. They will vote, not internet.
D&D will be awarded as producers if the show gets Outstading Drama award. Together with other producers like GRRM, Bernadette Caulfield, Sapochnik, Nutter and the rest.
I don’t expect the show to win Emmy for writing, but they will be nominated.
Mr Derp,
I think that’s the character, I never read the books but I read that she is annoying there too. But I read the problem with season 4 of outlander is I think the same problem that people had with GoT season 8. They crammed to much into one season. I read they skipped half the book. It should have been filmed like SOS I read into 2 seasons. I hope season 5 is more like season 1,2 or 3.
Mr Derp,
I have to say season 3 is the best season of outlander. It’s also the best rated season. That season was for me one of the best seasons out there (of all the shows I watched and that list is long). Season 1 and 2 were ok for me, season 3 was a master peace, and season 4 for me lacked that you cared for the characters. They didn’t dive into the story like they used too.
As for Stranger Things. That show is amazing. Still need to watch season 3, but I think I wait a while. Not watching it alone.
Mr Derp,
LOL I remember when rant and ravers from westeros.org were circlejerking during S5 how Outlander is much better show than GoT.
mau,
Circle jerking is what Westeros.org does best.
I remember when season 6 of GoT was airing at the same time that season 2 of Outlander was airing. Summer of 2016 I believe. Outlander was still on Saturdays at that time, while GoT was, of course, on Sundays.
They were my two favorite shows at the time, so I played a little game where I would select whether I liked the Outlander or GoT episode better each weekend. GoT definitely won most of the weekends, but there were actually a few times where I thought Outlander was the better show for the weekend.
GoT definitely aged better than Outlander through the seasons though. No question about it.
mau,
It did have (some of) the better sex/nude/love scenes in the first couple seasons than GoT ever did. I think one scene had to be close to twenty minutes!! (I didn’t mind) 😀 Of course, that’s something it should have since among the genres listed for both books and show is ‘romance.’
Damn edit timer.
It was strange in a way because I watched Clive Russell play Lord Lovat in Outlander one night and then play the Blackfish in GoT the next night. It was a fun summer for tv.
Interesting side note:
The guy who plays Jamie in Outlander actually auditioned for Game of Thrones multiples times. he auditioned for Renly, Loras, and a member of the NW.
Mr Derp,
I’m not laughing at idea that someone thinks Outlander is better than GoT. But what was laughable was the way they did it.
Like they really thought Outlander was threat to GoT in terms of popularity, acclaim and success. And they were praising how faithful Outlander was to the books compared to GoT S5. I mean, every adaptation is really faithful at the beginning.
No one cares about that show, just like no one cared about Black Sails. And those shows wouldn’t even exist without success Got had. Benioff and Weiss changed the idea what was possible to do on TV. It’s like TV version of Star Wars. Complete game-changer. First TV blockbuster.
kevin1989,
I’m currently on season 2, episode 7 of Stranger Things. The controversial one where Eleven meets up with her lost sister from the Hawkins lab. From what I’ve heard it’s the worst episode in the show, so I’m looking forward to getting that one over with so I can move onto the good stuff. I really enjoy the show. I think I like season 1 better than season 2 so far, but they’re just kind of different. I enjoy them both.
Season 1 was more straight forward and didn’t spend a lot of time getting to know the characters as much as season 2 does. There’s also a lot more characters added in season 2, but the characters are more fleshed out, I think.
As far as Outlander goes, I didn’t hate season 3, but to me, it started to show the cracks. The new characters, IMO, were all kind of obnoxious and hard to root for. Young Ian, for example. ugh. The older version of Fergus. Ugh. Younger Fergus in season 2 was such a delight. It was a shame to trade him in for the older version.
Agree Mau, I can see the problems people had with season 8, but it’s still much better then the average show we get to show on screen.
mau,
Agree
Adrianacandle,
Strange that I dislike Brienna that much in outlander, but I think Claire was one of the best characters created on screen. Her love with jaime I buy, but Brienna and Rogier I don’t. But maybe that’s because I like Rogier a lot, and I think he deserves better than Brienna which I found very self-centered.
I DID like season 1 better. When I finished S2 I just kind of thought “eh,” and that not much reeeally happened. Maybe that’s why I’m slow-boating S3 and only through a couple episodes so far. I’m also seeing it rated slightly below the first two so…… hmm…
Mr Derp,
I always find it funny that a fan of GoT blame outlander for having rape in their show. GoT season 1 till 4 had more rape then outlander season 1 till 4. We have Dany being raped by Drogo in season which resulted in her loving her. Season 2 have the almost rape of Sansa and Sallador Saan talking about raping the queen, oh no he will not rape her but make love to her yikes. Season 3 had the almost rape of Theon, and Joffrey telling Sansa she will be raped later that night by him. Season 4 had the Jaime/Cersei scene in the crypts. Season 5 had the Sansa rape and the almost rape of Gilly. Season 6 had already talk by the dothraki about raping Dany again. And season 8 had the raping in episode 5. The only season which didn’t have rape was season 7, or did I forget one scene there.
So a GoT fan blaming Outlander for having to much rape in it, is like the pot calling the Kettle black.
mau,
+1 Luckily for GoT the Academics will vote not the viewers.
Mr Derp,
I still hope Outlander goes back to the way it was before season 4. I liked the setting of season 4 and Jacosta. And not really having problem with the story, more how it was put to screen. It felt like they tried to get past this book/season. And I felt sorry for the book fans, I read book 4 was the best of all the books of Outlander, and it had the worst season. It’s like SOS was crammed into one season and the best book became the worst season.
Mr Derp,
Agree with Stranger Things. And episode 7 was indeed the worst, but not bad. It had its moments with Eleven. And if I remembered correctly season 2 had an amazing beautiful ending so you have that to look forward too.
About outlander, personally I didn’t care for Young Ian, but older Fergus I liked much better than the young one. And I liked Mr. Willoughby a lot, I think one of my favorites of outlander. Shame he had to go in season 4. I have to say that I liked part 1 season 3 better, that you saw all the years going by and the reunion. I though that was beautifully done. I felt at least a lot of emotion there, the feeling not being whole. Season 4 also had my favorite episode of the show because of that. Jaime with his son. Even when season 4 lacked, I cried my eyes out with that episode. It was beautifully done.
I admit, I’m not a Roger fan — but I agree with everything else (Brianna vs. Claire, Roger/Brianna vs. Claire/Jamie). Brianna is so self-centered, entitled, and selfish. That crap she pulled with Lord John. God… Plus, everybody’s focus always has to be OMG Brianna! When she gets to the 18th century, Brianna is the Princess in the Tower who nearly everybody is auto-protective of. She’s got built-in family, friends, and allies via Claire and Jamie, and all of them would die for her right from the start. We haven’t seen Brianna work to win this loyalty as Claire has had to do.
Claire has needed saving, totally, and I think a case can be made for Jamie being protective of Claire as soon as they met but Claire had some big hills to climb with everyone else and as a result, she’s always had to have that measure of agency and do-it-herself-ness about her. Claire was kind of the underdog when she got to the 18th century. She was a stranger, nobody knew her, she was viewed with suspicion because she’s English and knew stuff nobody else did. So we’ve witnessed Claire struggle to earn the trust of those around her, make allies and friends, resist falling in love and accept falling in love, and we got to see all these relationships develop. And Claire still wasn’t able to make friends with some (Dougal).
And I think Claire comes off better because we’ve seen Claire develop from who she was with Frank at the beginning of season 4 to who she is in season 4 with two intense, focused seasons that were primarily about Claire and Jamie, exploring who those characters are. The trials and tribulations Claire and Jamie have been through allowed us to see these traits of Claire’s develop. We don’t really get that with Brianna, we’re just told she’s awesome, she’s just like both her parents, her flaw is that she’s so headstrong and stubborn (while it is a flaw, it’s the kind of flaw meant to be endearing and good — kind of like “my biggest flaw is that I care too much” ;D) and it feels DG (while I love her stories) is trying too hard to make Brianna this perfect combo of Claire/Jamie without growing it organically.
But yeah, that’s just my opinion 😉 I saw a related discussion on Reddit re: Serena vs. OfMatthew of The Handmaid’s Tale about why Serena is praised as being this complex, interesting character while people just dislike OfMatthew. I think the answer is because Serena’s had three seasons of development as one of the primary characters while OfMatthew is a new character, we barely know anything about her, and she hasn’t been explored yet. We’ve gotten hints but that’s it. However, in contrast to Brianna, I think OfMatthew’s character has potential to be really interesting because we’re told barely anything about her and we’re just getting hints dropped here and there. I do really, really want to know who OfMatthew was in the Before time and what her story is.
And the Emmy goes too..
Emilia Clarke!
Maisie Williams!
Those are the ones I’m most rooting for. I’m sure Peter will win again (deservedly so), but I really wish NCW would have taken one home for all his work as Jaime. I’d also be very happy if Lena takes it, though she did not have the best season this year which is why I’m pulling for Maisie. Lena really should have won last year (and not been so criminally underused this season).
So you have no problem with Season 8 receiving an Emmy but you don’t want the two men responsible for Season 8 winning an Emmy to be rewarded for it? I’m not sure I follow that logic.
And the year before that and the year before that.
…especially Cersei/Dany scenes — my god, how I wanted those. And not Cersei smirking from on high while Dany did her all to make “if looks could kill” a reality but a real, real, real conversation with those two!
It wouldn’t have been as great as you might believe…
Cersei: *I* am the one true Queen!
Dany: Dracarys
Adrianacandle,
Agree, but I think that comes when you skip half a book, when you are in a season that you need to learn a character. I still wonder why they didn’t put more scenes of them in season 3 so that the story would flow better. Hopefully season 5 will show a better side of her.
Enharmony1625,
Agree.
Young Dragon,
I think people blow things out of proportions. They already are blaming D&D for what they were missing. I mean lots of things could have happened that wasn’t D&D fault. Maybe somethings we were missing were just cut when filming, when editing that there was no time to edit them or HBO cut the runtime per episode towards 80 minutes. I mean how is it that when they write a story per episode, that everyone is 79/82 minutes. Instead of like season 7 more wildly spread. I mean if they really wrote per episode and put in what was needed there it would be more logical if it was more like 90 minutes, 85 minutes 79 minutes 95 minutes for instance. Not everything perfectly 80 minutes.
So it’s possible that the script D&D put in for the Emmy nominations had more in there then was shown on screen. Also important with scriptwriting is if the directions are put into account, that make the job of the director more easier. And I read that D&D always are amazing with that.
Wow, I stopped watching Outlander after Season 2, but I’ve read all of the books up to date. Sounds like they did a bit of a hatchet job on Brianna’s character. TBH, although I didn’t see her in action, I’ve seen photos of Sophie Skelton on set and she just looks and feels all wrong somehow. Bri in the books is also a bit stubborn but not so bad, just her youth and inexperience showing. She does grow into a wonderful woman in the books.
I rarely even watch TV anymore anyhow, except GoT so I can’t really nominate anyone. The absolutely hands-down best show I’ve watched in recent times – even better than the last couple of seasons of GoT – is a Netflix show called Dark. It won’t get Emmy nominations anyhow though, not only did it air too late but it’s relatively unknown to U.S. audiences because it’s a German show. If you like smart and well-plotted and twisty shows that really make you think and guess and speculate though, I’d recommend watching it! It does have English dubbing available that is pretty decently done, but most people agree the best way to watch it is in the original language with subtitles. It sounds like UGH SUBTITLES but it’s totally worth it.
People recommend it after watching Stranger Things but I’ve heard it more compared to stuff like Lost and Twin Peaks.
In years past I’ve still rooted for GoT in the Emmys despite my displeasure over the latter seasons. However, this year I think I’m going to take a neutral approach. Not rooting for it to win, but not rooting against it. I’m sure there are plenty of more deserving shows this year.
kevin1989,
It’s not the rape scenes themselves that bother me so much. I’m not one of those people who gets squeamish and complains about having my wittle feewings get hurt or bitch and moan about needing some safe space or something because something bad is happening. I can handle it.
It’s moreso that they use rape as a plot device so much that it’s become a cliche on the show. They’ve pretty much run out of people to rape on that show. I think EVERY SINGLE MAJOR CHARACTER on that show has been raped. It’s lazy writing.
I also didn’t make any comments on my feelings about the rape scenes in GoT known to you, so your whole “pot calling the kettle black” analogy comment that you threw in there is incorrect.
I put that on my list because I’d heard and read some good things about it but I haven’t started it yet. I should do that this weekend.
Clob,
Oh, I hope you do! Just two things: It may seem a bit slow and confusing in the very first episode, but it really launches into another gear at the end of episode 2, and also, don’t feel bad if it’s a bit hard to keep track of peoples’ names and relationships at first. If you get a bit lost there are family tree chart things online for season 1 – although as an old hand at watching GoT you might have an easier time than a lot of people!
I only care about Emilia being nominated.
What she was able to do with such a mishandled character arc was incredible.
Lena Headey getting completely shafted by the writers really ruined this for me.
Was really expecting this to be her year.
kevin1989,
Personally, I was perfectly fine with the final season and don’t think anything was missing. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t have minded if they added more episodes, but it wasn’t absolutely necessary.
The Many-Faced Goddess,
Love Dark! Such a mind bender and its atmosphere is just creepy! But you are right- it will never be nominated.
I’ve been thinking about giving that a try! I’ll have to now 🙂
I hope so but Bri’s never been a fave of mine, even in the books :/ I definitely appreciate what DG was trying to do with her, I really really like the idea of Brianna but as a character (in both the books and the show), I’m not a fan, unfortunately,:/
But that’s only my opinion!! I don’t mean to say she shouldn’t be anyone’s favourite character, a close friend of mine just loves Bri to pieces! 🙂 I mean, I actually kind of like Willie, even when he’s grown 😅 And he can be the biggest spoiled brat but I’m interested in seeing how his relationship with Jamie progresses. Likewise, love the relationship between Bri and Frank <3
Attack on Titan was by far the best drama this year according to pretty much everyone who watched it–check out those IMDb ratings for Season 3! Too bad TV critics don’t watch it. That’d be #1 on my “not gonna happen” wishlist. Speaking of which, has an animated drama show ever been nominated in any major categories at the Emmys? I can’t think of any from immediate memory.
outdoorcats,
I think animated shows have their own category. Also, Attack on Titan is amazing!
Never watched Outlander. I tried several times to get through book 1 (I mean this is my kinda plot: middle ages, time travel, Scotland) But it was just so bad I gave up…. But I know many who loved it, and loved the series. Just not for me
GOT actors I think deserve an emmy for season 8: Alfie, Maisie, Sofia, Gwendoline, Jon.
Others I might have nominated either didn’t have much to do or were hobbled by a horrible script.
outdoorcats,
Simpsons, Futurama comes to mind.
list of animated series which won Emmys
Just realized Dexter’s Lab is on there!
ash,
Maisie Williams could potentially hit the Daily Double: Best Supporting Actress as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, and Best Female Vocal Performance as Cammie McCloud in gen:LOCK.
https://www.inverse.com/article/56604-rooster-teeth-emmy-nominations-for-genlock-is-about-future-of-media
___________
(Excerpt from linked article above):
Rooster Teeth, best known for Red Vs. Blue and RWBY, is submitting its newest series, gen:LOCK, for several Emmy Award considerations. These include: Best Animated Series, Best Male Vocal Performance (for Michael B. Jordan), Best Female Vocal Performance (for Maisie Williams), Outstanding Main Title Design, and a “variety of technical credits,” says series creator Gray G. Haddock.
___________
#ASNAWP 👸🏻
outdoorcats,
If you’re into them I’m sorry to say you’re not going to see many Japanese manga series nominated, or for that matter, even submitted for the Primetime Emmy Awards. I haven’t looked at eligibility requirements for animated categories but from the looks of it they don’t even submit for nomination.
Well… I did start watching Dark on Friday night. I was only able to watch SEVEN episodes before I couldn’t stay awake any longer. 😛 Very intriguing show – and very good for binging!
HOLY SHIRT! All of these were nominated!?!?
Kit
Emilia
Maisie
Lena
Sophie
Gwendoline
Peter
Nikolaj
Alfie
ASNAWP!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/gameofthrones/status/1151157694465826816
People can say they didn’t like S8 or that it sucked, but whatever… it still piled up a ton of nominations. 😀
https://twitter.com/GameOfThrones/status/1151160990995746816
Yes, ASNAWP!! Or should I saw MASNAWP? 🙂
I’m seriously happy for all the deserved nominations, but.. wow, FOUR in the best supporting actress category? I’m a bit concerned that the vote will be split too much between them for any of them to win, but we’ll see. #VoteMaisie :p
Enharmony1625,
I know I’m biased, but I think one of them will win… and, considering what each of them had in S8 and only S8, I’d easily pick Maisie over the others. Some may say Lena deserves a win for her overall series performance but I think Maisie does as well on an equal level.
Clob,
Totally agree! I’d be very happy for Lena to win, but I’m pulling for Maisie for all the reasons. 🙂
ash,
Thanks for the list! That being said, if we narrow it down to drama series, it becomes an interestingly small list.
Just AoT at the moment. Kind of similar to how I feel about GoT in relation to fantasy. I’m not really into fantasy, or historical dramas for that matter, but GoT had amazing characters, a great story, and was a fantastic production all around, so I loved it. Same as how I feel with Attack on Titan and anime. I’m not really an anime fan, but a great show is a great show. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone, including people who aren’t into animation or anime.