Game of Thrones Emmy 2015 Predictions

The Emmy nominations will be announced in just 24 hours, and we here at WiC are on pins and needles to see how many nominations Game of Thrones will get. Over the last four years, the show has been nominated 59 times across a broad range of categories, and taken the prize home 14 times. Unfortunately, due to the way the Emmys split their awards show up, 13 of these wins haven’t been televised. Only one, Peter Dinklage’s win in 2011 for Best Supporting Actor, made the televised evening program. All the rest have been what are referred to as the “Creative Arts Emmys,” and get their own separate awards show. Some of these categories include Costumes, Make Up, Visual Effects, Sound Direction, Opening Titles, just to name a few that the show has won that weren’t shown on TV.

We are assuming Game of Thrones will be nominated for quite a few of those Creative Arts Emmys for this season. If I had to pick which episode will be nominated the most, it will be “Hardhome.” Outstanding Visual Effects is probably not just a lock for a nomination—it’s probably a lock for the win. “Hardhome” is also nearly certain to get an Outstanding Prosthetic Make Up nomination and an Outstanding Make Up nomination. All of these categories are ones which the show has been nominated in and won for the past few years. The question is if the show will be nominated against itself. “The Dance Of Dragons” could all also land nominations in these categories. The show could also easily be nominated for Art Direction (another category it’s won before.)

I’d also love to see nominations in  Outstanding Costume and Outstanding Hairstyling for this season, especially for “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” and Sansa’s wedding look. Margaery’s wedding was also gorgeous, but was such a short part of that episode I doubt it will be able to get a nomination.

“Guest Star” roles are also relegated to the Creative Emmys. Last year, Diana Rigg garnered a nomination in Outstanding Guest Actress for murdering Joffrey right under everyone’s nose. (It was her second for the show, she was also nominated in 2013.) It would be nice to see her nominated again, and maybe win this time. Another slot the show could earn a nomination for is Outstanding Guest Actor, for Jonathan Pryce’s turn as the High Sparrow.

Moving on to the Primetime Awards, Game of Thrones is most likely a lock for its fifth straight Outstanding Drama nomination, along with one for Outstanding Writing. The real question, of course, is who among the cast—if anyone—will be nominated in the supporting categories. (The cast is so large and vast no one ever gets nominated for Lead Actor or Actress in a Drama.)

Peter Dinklage has been nominated on and off for Supporting Actor, and as a former winner, has a better chance of winning a second time. But after his turn last season didn’t win, I don’t have much hope for him this season. I would love a surprise nomination for someone like Iain Glen, who’s performance as the single-minded Jorah this season was a stand out in my book. One might even hope that Harington would get some recognition, since he’s no longer on the show. (OR IS HE?) But when they ignored Michelle’s Fairley’s role in the Red Wedding a few years back, I gave up hoping for those sorts of nods.

In the Supporting Actress category, both Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey have gotten nods before. I wouldn’t mind also seeing Sophie Turner or Maisie Williams nominated, but no one seems to be considering it. The buzz right now is that Headey will be given the nod again for “Mother’s Mercy.” Whether or not she can win is another matter. There’s the matter of the “body double” that was used for most of that scene, and the shocking nature of it might cause the voters to shy away.

The truth is that Game of Thrones, for all the nominations it may receive tomorrow, is almost certain to walk away empty handed on Prime Time night, even if it comes in and sweeps the Creative Arts Emmys. Though the Emmys may not be as obviously out-of-touch as, say, the Grammys (they do not have a Milli Vanilli people can point to), the voters are knows for their very safe voting practices and have a tendency to award the same shows year after year, even after they’ve lost any relevance. This is how a show like Fraiser winds up with north of 35 Emmy Awards. (In the Outstanding Comedy category, Modern Family has found itself in this position in the last couple of years. The cast has at least had the grace to look slightly embarrassed about it.)

Hence the caveat that Dinkaleg’s win gives him the better chance of winning again. But not this year. The other habit the Emmy voters have is to give all the awards to a show that’s just ended, regardless of the final season’s quality. With Mad Men having just ended its run (and having spent several years of it’s award eligibility stuck behind Emmy favorite Breaking Bad), chances are all the wins on Primetime Emmy Night that the show can muster will go to the Mad Men cast and production team. But still, as they say, it’s an honor just to be nominated.

We’ll see how many nominations Game of Thrones picks up tomorrow.

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