Preview: Game of Thrones Season 6 enters awards season

Game of Thrones Season 6 has already made several laps on the awards season circuit. It won big at the Emmys, lost big at the Golden Globes, triumphed at the Critics Choice Awards and went home empty-handed from the People’s Choice Awards. But in some ways, awards season is just getting a started. People in the film and television industries really, really like handing out awards, and Game of Thrones is eligible for a boatload over the next month. We threw together a guide to where, when, and what Season 6 stands to win as awards season enters its final weeks.


National Television Awards (January 25)

Best Drama

  • Casualty (WINNER)
  • The Night Manager
  • Cold Feet
  • Game of Thrones
  • Happy Valley

The viewing public gets to vote on this one—head here to cast your vote until noon today.

ACE Eddie Awards (January 27)

Best Edited One-Hour Series – Non-commercial

  • The Crown, “Assassins” (Yan Miles, ACE)
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards” (Tim Porter, ACE) (WINNER)
  • Stranger Things, “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” (Dean Zimmerman)
  • Stranger Things, “Chapter Seven: The Bathtub” (Kevin D. Ross)
  • Westworld, “The Original” (Stephen Semel, ACE & Marc Jozefowicz)

Producers Guild Awards (January 28)

Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama

  • Better Call Saul, Season 2 (Producers: Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Melissa Bernstein, Mark Johnson, Thomas Schnauz, Gennifer Hutchison, Nina Jack, Robin Sweet, Diane Mercer, Bob Odenkirk)
  • Game of Thrones, Season 6 (Producers: David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence)
  • House of Cards, Season 4 (Producers: Beau Willimon, Dana Brunetti, Michael Dobbs, Josh Donen, David Fincher, Eric Roth, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, John Mankiewicz, Robert Zotnowski, Jay Carson, Frank Pugliese, Boris Malden, Hameed Shaukat)
  • Stranger Things, Season 1 (Producers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Iain Paterson) (WINNER)
  • Westworld, Season 1 (Producers: J.J. Abrams, Jonathan Nolan, Lisa Joy, Bryan Burk, Athena Wickham, Kathy Lingg, Richard J. Lewis, Roberto Patino, Katherine Lingenfelter, Cherylanne Martin)

Screen Actor’s Guild Awards (January 29)

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series

  • Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
  • Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
  • John Lithgow, The Crown (WINNER)
  • Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
  • Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

  • The Crown
  • Downton Abbey
  • Game of Thrones
  • Stranger Things (WINNER)
  • Westworld

Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series

  • Game of Thrones (WINNER)
  • Marvel’s Daredevil
  • Marvel’s Luke Cage
  • The Walking Dead
  • Westworld

Directors Guild Awards (February 4)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series

  • The Duffer Brothers—Stranger Things, “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers”
  • Ryan Murphy—The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, “From the Ashes of Tragedy”
  • Jonathan Nolan—Westworld, “The Original”
  • Miguel Sapochnik—Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards” (WINNER)
  • John Singleton—The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, “The Race Card”

Visual Effects Society Awards (February 7)

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

  • Black Mirror, “Playtest”
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards” (WINNER)
  • Stranger Things, “Demogorgon”
  • The Expanse, “Salvage”
  • Westworld, “The Bicameral Mind”

Outstanding Animated Performance in an Episode or Real-Time Project

  • Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare—Omar
  • Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”—Drogon (WINNER)
  • Game of Thrones, “Home”—Emaciated Dragon

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

  • Black Sails, “XXVIII”—Maroon Island
  • Dishonored 2, Clockwork Mansion
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”—Meereen City (WINNER)
  • Game of Thrones, “The Winds of Winter”—Citadel
  • The Man in the High Castle, “Volkshalle”

Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal Project

  • Doctor Strange—New York Mirror Dimension
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story—Space Battle
  • The Jungle Book (WINNER)

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”—Meereen City (WINNER)
  • John Lewis, “Buster the Boxer”
  • Sky, “Q”

Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode

  • Black Sails, “XX”—Sailing Ships
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”—Meereen City
  • Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”—Retaking Winterfell (WINNER)
  • Game of Thrones, “The Door”—Land of Always Winter

Excellence in Production Design Awards (February 11)

One-hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series

  • Game of Thrones: “Blood of My Blood,” “The Broken Man,” “No One.” Production Designer: Deborah Riley
  • Stranger Things: “The Vanishing of Will Byers,” “Holly, Jolly,” “The Upside Down.” Production Designer: Chris Trujillo
  • The Crown: “Wolferton Splash,” “Hyde Park Corner,” “Smoke and Mirrors.” Production Designer: Martin Childs
  • The Man in High Castle: “The Tiger’s Cave,” “Land O’ Smiles,” “Fallout.” Production Designer: Drew Boughton
  • Westworld: “Pilot.” Production Designer: Nathan Crowley (WINNER)

Writers Guild Awards (February 19) 

Drama Series

  • The Americans (WINNER)
  • Better Call Saul
  • Game of Thrones
  • Stranger Things
  • Westworld

Episodic Drama

  • Better Call Saul, “Gloves Off,” written by Gordon Smith; AMC
  • Shameless, “I Am a Storm,” written by Sheila Callaghan; Showtime
  • Better Call Saul, “Klick,” written by Heather Marion & Vince Gilligan; AMC
  • Better Call Saul, “Switch,” written by Thomas Schnauz; AMC
  • This Is Us, “The Trip,” written by Vera Herbert; NBC (WINNER)
  • Game of Thrones, “The Winds of Winter,” written for Television by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss; HBO

Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards (February 19)

TV and New Media Series – Best Period / Character Marke-up

  • Game of Thrones (Make-Up Artists: Jane Walker, Kay Bilk) (WINNER)
  • Penny Dreadful (Make-Up Artists: Enzo Mastrantonio, Clare Lambe)
  • Saturday Night Live (Make-Up Artists: Louie Zakarian, Amy Tagliamonti, Jason Milani)
  • Stranger Things (Make-Up Artists: Amy L. Forsythe, Samantha Smith)
  • Westworld (Make-Up Artists: Christien Tinsley, Myriam Arougheti, Rolf Keppler)

TV and New Media Series – Best Period / Character Hair Stylings

  • Game of Thrones (Hair Stylists: Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks) (WINNER)
  • Masters of Sex (Hair Stylists: Mary Ann Valdes, Matthew Holman, George Guzman)
  • Penny Dreadful (Hair Stylists: Luca Vannella, Alexis Continente)
  • Saturday Night Live (Hair Stylists: Jodi Mancuso, Jennifer Serio, Inga Thrasher)
  • Stranger Things (Hair Stylists: Sarah Hindsgaul, Evelyn Roach)

TV and New Media Series – Best Special Make-up Effects

  • Game of Thrones (Make-Up Artists: Barrie Gower, Sarah Gower)
  • Penny Dreadful (Make-Up Artists: Nick Dudman, Sarita Alliso)
  • Saturday Night Live (Make-Up Artists: Louie Zakarian, Jason Milani, Tom Dernier)
  • The Walking Dead (Make-Up Artists: Greg Nicotero, Jake Garber)
  • Westworld (Make-Up Artists: Christien Tinsley, Hiroshi Yada) (WINNER)

Costume Designers Guild Awards (February 21)

Excellence in a Fantasy TV Series

  • Game of Thrones–Michele Clapton, April Ferry
  • The Man in the High Castle–J.R. Hawbaker
  • Once Upon a Time–Eduardo Castro
  • Sleepy Hollow–Mairi Chisholm
  • The Walking Dead–Eulyn C. Womble

Imagine if someone had to go to all of these things—my god, the dry-cleaning bill on the tux…or even worse, the money spent on new dresses for each show…

Anyway, best of luck to Game of Thrones!