The Saturn Awards are again upon us. This particular award group focuses on genre entertainment, celebrating the best in sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, and pretty much anything else that lives in that one section of every Barnes & Noble on Earth. (You know the one I’m talking about.) The nominations were announced yesterday and Game of Thrones was present in four categories: Best Fantasy TV Series, Best Supporting TV Actor (for Kit Harington), Best Supporting TV Actress (Lena Headey, no surprise), and Best Younger TV Actor (Breneck O’Connor, a.k.a. Olly, and Maisie Williams, a.k.a. Arya St—uhh, No One).
Clash, ye titans.
There’s fairly stiff competition in every category. Best Fantasy TV Series has the most bizarre combination, placing shows like The Shannara Chronicles and The Magicians (still in their inaugural seasons) next to recently-canceled SyFy series Haven and, of all things, The Muppets. Muppet shenanigans aside, though, it’s a list of well-received shows, capped by Thrones, Outlander, and BBC miniseries Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. It’s way more fun to watch Thrones stand next to its genre counterparts as opposed to watching the Emmys nominate the same five or six shows for everything, of course.
The acting categories present more conventional challenges. Harington faces the inimitable David Tennant as Kilgrave in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk in Marvel’s Daredevil, and Richard Armitage as Francis Dolarhyde in Hannibal. Meanwhile, Headey’s up against the ladies of The Walking Dead (Tovah Feldshuh, Danai Gurira, and Melissa McBride) as well as Gillian Anderson, for her work in Hannibal, and Calista Flockhart’s for her excellent turn as Cat Grant in CBS’s Supergirl. The younger kids are up against performers from horror series, with actors from both The Walking Dead and spinoff Fear the Walking Dead grabbing a nomination, and cast members from Teen Wolf and The Strain showing up as well. (Regardless, I continue to have the utmost faith in Maisie Williams, who has risen to every challenge the show has thrown at her so far.)
Check out the full nomination list over at GeekNation. It’s a veritable who’s-who of excellent genre entertainment from the past year. You can also find some fancy nomination videos at the Saturn Awards’ official YouTube channel.