It’s no secret that Game of Thrones is the biggest and most popular series on television right now. You can’t go to any water cooler in any given office in the United States without hearing something about what happened the previous night on the show. However, will that buzz translate to Emmys?
Season Four of Game of Thrones has been arguably their best season to date. Although much of the buzz can be attributed to the various shocking events that have taken place, it’s also been at the top of its craft in terms of writing, directing, and production. It’s also helpful that actors like Emmy-winner Peter Dinklage, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Charles Dance, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, and Alfie Allen have been at the top of their game (pun intended). Despite losing out to Mad Men in season 1, Homeland in season 2, and Breaking Bad in season 3, the show has been consistently nominated in all categories thus far. They have even accumulated 10 Emmys in total. This season, being their biggest and buzziest is bound to be their most successful at the awards as well.
So, to best understand their standings at the Emmys I am going to go through each category and talk about their chances at nominations and wins.
Creative Awards
This one is going to be a quick one. The show has done well in the creative awards every year. Last year they won two awards (Prosthetic Make-up and Visual Effects) and won six for season two. This year, which was their most extravagant by far, is looking to pick up the key nominations in Picture Editing, Cinematography, Visual Effects, Prosthetic and Non-Prosthetic Make-up, Sound Editing and Mixing, and Art Direction. The question for these categories becomes whether or not it can sneak into Music Composition, especially with the soaring season finale “The Children.”
Guest Actor/Actress
Pedro Pascal charmed fans with his performance as Oberyn Martell, the passionate, great warrior, that makes his way to King’s Landing this season. He arguably became one of the most popular characters this season and offered Pedro Pascal the opportunity to give one of the most memorable performances this season. I think he’s solidly in Guest Actor in a Drama Series, although I think a win is out of the question (he submitted the episode “Mockingbird”) he should still add to the show’s nominations total. As will Diana Rigg for her role as Lady Olenna Tyrell. Although she doesn’t have the fireworks other characters have, she is a veteran actress who was previously nominated for this role.
Directing
The series submitted three episodes for consideration: “The Watchers on the Wall”, “The Laws of Gods and Men”, and “The Children.” Although they haven’t been nominated in this category since their first season, I think that this is probably the best time for them to sneak back into the race. Of the three episodes, “The Watchers on the Wall” is the biggest director showcase and their most likely candidate. However, I have it just slipping in.
Writing
The show had the great strategy last year of just submitting one episode for writing and they did the same this year with the season finale “The Children.” That strategy coupled with the fact they the finale is the best they’ve had so far, I think they have a good chance at another nomination this year.
Actors
With no clear lead, all the actors on the show submit in the supporting races. Their one clear lock is Peter Dinklage, who won an Emmy for the first season of the show. He is also a strong threat to win if he submits “The Laws of Gods and Men.” All he has to do is take down Aaron Paul. The next best contender is Emilia Clarke (Daenerys). She received a nomination last year and despite her lack of a strong episode to submit, she seems relatively safe. However, the wild card is Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister). She has had her best season on the show so far and if voters are paying attention, they will give her a well deserved Emmy nomination. Right now, I have her just missing out. Another wild card, wilder than Cersei, is Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Many Emmy pundits predicted him to be nominated last year, but he was snubbed. Voters could try to make up for that snub with a nomination this year a la Emilia Clarke. I don’t even have him in my predictions, but if he’s nominated I will just bow down.
Drama Series
The show is a virtual lock for the top prize. However, it’s going to be an uphill climb for a win. It’s just the nature of the series. A fantasy, medieval series from the beginning was never going to fare well with the awards. Is there a small sliver of a chance that they do pull off an upset? Yes, but there are too many alternatives this year for them to be too big of a threat.
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Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.