As far as TV award shows go, the Emmys are the industry’s big night. This year, Game of Thrones made an excellent showing, taking statutes for Outstanding Writing (for “Battle of the Bastards”), Outstanding Directing (ditto), and Outstanding Drama, not to mention nine Creative Arts Emmys. Still, some awards eluded it, including statues for any of its actors. Could a redemption be in the near future?
Today, the nominees for the Critics’ Choice Television Awards were announced. The most decorated series was FX’s The People vs. O.J. Simpson, which earned six nominations. Game of Thrones was right behind it with five. Here they are:
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones (HBO)
John Lithgow, The Crown (Netflix)
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland (Showtime)
Christian Slater, Mr. Robot (USA)
Jon Voight, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife (CBS)
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Thandie Newton, Westworld (HBO)
Maura Tierney, The Affair (Showtime)
Constance Zimmer, UnREAL (Lifetime)
BEST DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Mr. Robot (USA)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
The Crown (Netflix)
This Is Us (NBC)
Westworld (HBO)
For some reason, the Critics’ Choice Awards don’t include categories for stuff like writing and directing. Isn’t that something critics should care about?
In any case, this represents a chance for the likes of Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, and Emilia Clarke, all of whom were nominated for but didn’t win an Emmy, to take home a statue. In both cases, the actors who beat them (Bloodline’s Ben Mendelsohn for Supporting Actor and Downton Abbey’s Maggie Smith for Supporting Actress) aren’t on the ballot, which may help their chances. However, they’ll face new challenges from the likes of John Lithgow (The Crown) and Thandie Newton (Westworld), who were on shows that weren’t out in time for the Emmys.
The Critics’ Choice Television Awards will air live on December 11 at 8:00 p.m. EST on A&E.