Game of Thrones took the Emmy stage one last time tonight, as Hollywood bid goodbye to a show that’s changed the industry. What hardware did it bring home? Let’s see!
Basically, Game of Thrones won exactly the awards you expected it to win and nothing more, which was a bit surprising, considering how heavily some categories were saturated with actors and creatives from the show.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Peter Dinklage accepts the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series award for ‘Game of Thrones’ onstage during the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
But things started predictably, with Peter Dinklage taking home a fourth win for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series beating out two of his Game of Thrones costars:
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
- Better Call Saul — Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut
- Better Call Saul — Giancarlo Esposito as Gus Fring
- Game of Thrones — Alfie Allen as Theon Greyjoy
- Game of Thrones — Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jamie Lannister
- Game of Thrones — Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
- House of Cards — Michael Kelly as Doug Stamper
- This Is Us — Chris Sullivan as Toby Damon
Dinklage swore during his speech but they bleeped out. Standby for red carpet reveals!
Things got surprising when they announced the winner of the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series award. This one was thick with Thrones cast members, so I figured that one of them would take it:
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
- Game of Thrones — Gwendoline Christie as Brienne of Tarth
- Game of Thrones — Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister
- Game of Thrones — Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
- Game of Thrones — Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
- Killing Eve — Fiona Shaw as Carolyn Martens
- Ozark — Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore
Julia Garner definitely tore it up on Ozark, although I’m disappointed that none of these women got an award for their decade of work on Thrones. Something tells me they’ll be fine, though.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 22: Billy Porter accepts the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series award for ‘Pose’ onstage during the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 22, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
- Better Call Saul — Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill
- Game of Thrones — Kit Harington as Jon Snow
- Ozark — Jason Bateman as Martin ‘Marty’ Byrde
- Pose — Billy Porter as Pray Tell
- This Is Us — Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson
- This Is Us — Milo Ventimiglia as Jack Pearson
Of course I was hoping for a Kit Harington win here, but to be honest, I didn’t really expect him to pull it off, good as he was in the final season and throughout the series in general. And it’s very hard to begrudge Billy Porter some glory — Pose is getting a lot of buzz and Porter is fantastic in it.
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
- Game of Thrones — Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
- House of Cards — Robin Wright as Claire Underwood
- How To Get Away With Murder — Viola Davis as Annalise Keating
- Killing Eve — Jodie Comer as Villanelle
- Killing Eve — Sandra Oh as Eve Polastri
- Ozark — Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde
- This Is Us — Mandy Moore as Rebecca Pearson
This was Clarke’s first time being nominated in this category, so I knew she had an uphill battle. Still, she was very good in the final season, and I thought maybe the voters would honor her for her work over the past eight seasons. But yay, the award went to the extremely talented Jodie Comer of Killing Eve.
Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series
- Game Of Thrones — “The Iron Throne”
- Game Of Thrones — “The Last Of The Starks”
- Game Of Thrones — “The Long Night”
- The Handmaid’s Tale — “Holly”
- Killing Eve — “Desperate Times”
- Ozark — “Reparations”
Wow, the Emmy voters really seem to like Ozark, don’t they?
This is where I start to wonder if vote-splitting played a role in the results, both in this category and in the Outstanding Supporting Actress one. Did having so many Game of Thrones candidates lesson the chance for any one of them to win?
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
- Better Call Saul — “Winner”
- Bodyguard — “Episode 1”
- Game Of Thrones — “The Iron Throne”
- The Handmaid’s Tale — “Holly”
- Killing Eve — “Nice And Neat”
- Succession — “Nobody Is Ever Missing”
I can’t say I was too surprised by this one. The series finale of Game of Thrones received a fair amount of blowback, while Succession is really coming into its own as a drama.
Outstanding Drama Series
- Better Call Saul
- Bodyguard
- Game Of Thrones
- Killing Eve
- Ozark
- Pose
- Succession
- This Is Us
Finally, Game of Thrones took home the top award of the night, the fourth time its done so in as many seasons. With that, it ties the record for most Outstanding Drama Series wins.
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Game of Thrones has already secured its place in Emmy history — it’s won the most Emmys of any show other than Saturday Night Live, which has been on the air for over 40 years so that’s kind of an unfair fight. Still, I think I was hoping for a few more fireworks tonight, with perhaps a new person or two taking home the gold. In the end, it doesn’t matter much, because anyone on that show can write their own ticket because of its success, and it only succeeded because of their hard work.
So congrats, congrats to the crew, and congrats to the fans who loved Game of Thrones for eight seasons. We shall never see their like again.
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