Game of Thrones loses to Westworld at Excellence in Production Design Awards

Awards season rolls on. This past weekend, Game of Thrones went up against familiar competitors like like The Crown, Westworld, and Amazon’s The Man in High Castle to win another shiny statue, this time from the Art Directors Guild. It was the Excellence in Production Design Awards, thrown at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles. Although the show has picked up several wins for season 6 on this go-round, including at the Directors Guild Awards, the Visual Effects Society Awards, the ACE Eddie Awards and the Emmys, it went home empty-handed this Saturday.

Game of Thrones was nominated in the category of One-hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series. Here’s how it broke down:

• 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 (WINNER)
• 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

So Game of Thrones lost to Westworld, the new kid on the HBO block. It should be noted that this is the first time since its first season that Game of Thrones hasn’t won in this category. Production designer Deborah Riley, who’s been with the show since season 4, did some beautiful work in season 6, designing new locations like Horn Hill, the siege at Riverrun and the Riverlands community where the Hound’s been recuperating for the past couple of years.

It would have been nice to see her rewarded for her efforts, but then again, you could argue that Game of Thrones has inspired other shows to step up their production design game. In season 5, Thrones was up against shows like Downton Abbey, Gotham, and Mad Men, which are good-looking shows but not as opulent as GoT. Westworld, The Crown, and Stranger Things represent a new breed. It’ll be interesting to see how things shake down after season 7.

Next up: the Writers Guild Awards on February 19.