'Game of Thrones' Looks to Go Out With an Emmys Bang

Fox has rethought the broadcast with host time freed up 

The Emmy Awards happen in Los Angeles September 22. HBO goes in with 137 nominations, ahead of Netflix's 117. (Netflix led the nominations race last year.) NBC holds 58, Amazon Prime has 47, CBS has 44, FX 32, ABC 26, Hulu 20 and Fox 18.

Fox is airing the Emmys, which will not have a host. The event, the 71st primetime Emmys, happens at the Microsoft Theater. It’s on at 5 pm PT, and 8 pm ET.

We’ll be reporting from the Emmys Sunday night.

Outstanding drama is between Game of Thrones and Succession on HBO, Better Call Saul on AMC, Bodyguard and Ozark on Netflix, This Is Us on NBC, Pose on FX and Killing Eve on AMC/BBC America.

Game of Thrones has this locked,” said the LA Times.

Outstanding comedy is between HBO’s Barry and Veep, Amazon Prime’s Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Netflix’s Russian Doll, Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek and NBC’s The Good Place.

LA Times said Mrs. Maisel will take top comedy.

Game of Thrones set the record for a single show with 32 nominations. Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was tops in comedies with 20.

There’s a bit of gloom in Hollywood, reported the NY Times, with agents and writers battling. But the evolving TV business is rolling, with big-ticket streaming services set to launch. Said the Times, “The lack of enthusiasm comes at a time when billions of dollars are washing through the industry, thanks to the new demand created by Netflix, Amazon, Hulu and the streaming services to be unveiled by Apple, The Walt Disney Company, NBC Universal and Warner Media.”

Aging comedies Seinfeld, The Big Bang Theory and Friends all made giant cash in landing on streaming platforms recently.

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy is between Bill Hader of Barry, Don Cheadle of Showtime’s Black Monday, Anthony Anderson of ABC’s Black-ish, Eugene Levy of Schitt’s Creek, Ted Danson of The Good Place and Michael Douglas from Netflix’s The Kominsky Method.

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy features Christina Applegate of Dead to Me on Netflix, Phoebe Waller-Bridge of Fleabag, Natasha Lyonne of Russian Doll, Catherine O’Hara of Schitt’s Creek, Rachel Brosnahan from The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Julia Louis-Dreyfus from HBO’s Veep.

Lead actor in a drama is between Bob Odenkirk on Better Call Saul, Kit Harington from Game of Thrones, Jason Bateman from Ozark, Billy Porter from Pose, and both Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia from This Is Us.

Best actress in a drama has Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones, Robin Wright from Netflix’s House of Cards, Viola Davis from ABC’s How to Get Away With Murder, Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh from Killing Eve, Laura Linney from Ozark and Mandy Moore from This Is Us.

Outstanding limited series has HBO’s Chernobyl and Sharp Objects, Showtime’s Escape at Dannemora, FX’s Fosse/Verdon and Netflix’s When They See Us.

The Emmys last went without a host in 2003, said the Times. Fox will use the first 20 minutes, usually eaten up by the host monologue, to educate viewers on all the new shows they don’t know.

“What I like about getting those extra 20 minutes back is it allows you to add stakes to the show and to provide the audience with a narrative that can take you through the entire three hours,” Rob Wade, Fox’s president of alternative entertainment, told the NY Times. “As a viewer, you’re constantly going to be informed to what’s happening.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.