#OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES SERIES#

On вЂњTheWrap-UpвЂќ podcast in late July, Wrap Assistant Managing Editor Daniel Goldblatt offered a modest suggestion that hadnвЂ™t even occurred to me: Why not end this yearвЂ™s Emmy show on Best Limited or Anthology Series?ДЄfter all, what was the most bingeworthy show of the past year? вЂњThe QueenвЂ™s Gambit,вЂќ right? What was the yearвЂ™s most impressive offering from Marvel Studios, in any medium? вЂњWandaVision,вЂќ of course.

#OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES SERIES#

ThatвЂ™s the EmmysвЂ™ prestige category, the one that always concludes the broadcast, the one where the credits begin to roll as the creators and cast of вЂњSuccessionвЂќ or вЂњGame of ThronesвЂќ or вЂњBreaking BadвЂќ or вЂњMad MenвЂќ celebrate on stage.Д«ut should it be the final category? Are drama series really the center of the television universe? And in particular, are they really the marquee category this year, when вЂњSuccessionвЂќ and вЂњBetter Call SaulвЂќ and вЂњKilling EveвЂќ and вЂњOzarkвЂќ and вЂњStranger ThingsвЂќ werenвЂ™t even eligible because the pandemic delayed production on their new seasons? But if history is any indication, we know the final category will be Outstanding Drama Series. Granted, we donвЂ™t know everything thatвЂ™s going to happen at the end of the show - we donвЂ™t know which show will be the final winner. After every category but one has been handed out, Cedric the Entertainer will introduce a big star, who will read the nominees and hand the final award of the night to вЂњThe CrownвЂќ or вЂњThe MandalorianвЂќ or вЂњThe HandmaidвЂ™s TaleвЂќ or вЂњLovecraft CountryвЂќ or вЂњBridgertonвЂќ or вЂњPoseвЂќ or вЂњThis Is UsвЂќ or вЂњThe Boys.вЂќ

The Outstanding Drama Series Emmy might not feel right either.We all know whatвЂ™s going to happen at the end of this yearвЂ™s Primetime Emmy Awards. In that finale scene with Jon and Tyrion, Jon wonders if what he did was right. It's not even the first time it's given it to Game of Thrones (see Dinklage being snubbed in seasons two, three and four but winning for season five). It's not the first time the Television Academy has given out that kind of Emmy. Not for the final season, but for everything that came before. That's why it won, and deserved, Outstanding Drama Series. It rewrote the rules of what was supposed to be possible in television and it redefined what it meant to consume it as a viewer.'

Nothing could stop it, no enemy could defeat it (there's still time to convert those holdouts). 'Game of Thrones is a show that united millions of us in a worldwide community of fans for almost a decade. ( HBO)Дeborah Riley's production design isn't any less epic, Michelle Clapton's costume design isn't any less exquisite and Ramin Djawadi's score isn't any less iconic because of the finale. Pedro Pascal's Oberyn Martell made us all *feel* things. Jamie and Brienne's story isn't any less touching, Cersei isn't any less captivatingly sinister and Oberyn Martell isn't any less mesmerising because of the finale. Ned Stark's death isn't any less shocking, the Red Wedding isn't any less horrific and Joffrey's and Ramsay's demises aren't any less cathartic because of the finale. When Game of Thrones was good, it was incredible

Episode 2: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

Yes, I was flabbergasted by decisions in the final seasons, but I also found myself (still) tearing up in the moments that wrapped up some the series' best and longest-running storylines. It remained appointment television in an industry that was being rocked by streaming services dumping entire seasons at a time. The show spawned an entire industry of recappers, theory-crafters and debunkers.

holds viewership records on streaming services and pay television around the world.

is the most pirated television series of all time.

holds the record for the most Emmy nominations in the same year.

holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for a drama series.

is the most expensive season of television ever shot.

Put aside those feelings about the final season for one moment and take a look back at Game of Thrones as a whole. And yet - creators David Benioff and DB Weiss and the Game of Thrones cast and crew still went home with arguably the biggest award of the night, Outstanding Drama Series.

Outstanding drama series