Tower of the Hand

Final season earns Game of Thrones its final Emmys. Game of Thrones was named Outstanding Drama by the Emmys for the fourth time in its eight-season run. The show's final season was nominated for a record-breaking 32 Emmys this year. It won a total of twelve of them, tying its own record for the most wins in a single season for a scripted series. Ten of its Emmys were awarded at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys ceremony (for casting, costumes, main title design, makeup, music, editing, sound editing, sound mixing, visual effects, and stunt coordination) and two last night (for Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Supporting Actor Peter Dinklage). Congratulations to all the winners, especially George R. R. Martin, who was the first person named by producers David Benioff and Dan Weiss during their final acceptance speech.

Thus we've reached the official end of Game of Thrones's role as a dominant force in television, the pop culture juggernaut to which all future shows — including any Game of Thrones spinoffs — will be judged, fairly or otherwise. If nothing else, we may never see a show as successful as Game of Thrones was during awards seasons. All told, Game of Thrones has won 59 Emmys over its eight seasons, most of which rightfully recognized the show's impressive technical achievements. Peter Dinklage remains the lone actor to nab an Emmy for his or her role on the show, though several actors earned nominations for the first time this year (Alfie Allen, Gwendoline Christie, Sophie Turner, and Carice van Houten). Dinklage's fourth Emmy also serves as a fitting bookend to his win after the first season, back when it really was an honor just to be nominated.

Are you satisfied with the number of Emmys Game of Thrones ultimately got? Or do you think its controversial ending should have dampened any chances it had of winning anything but a few technical awards? Is there an actor or actress who you feel should have won an Emmy, or perhaps even someone who should have been nominated over the course of the show's run?

Congratulations to Game of Thrones, winner of the Primetime Emmys' Outstanding Drama for the third time! The show's seventh season took home nine awards this year, including another trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actor Peter Dinklage. (All three Lannisters were nominated this year, but Dinklage is the lone actor from the show to ever win an Emmy... and he's done it three times now!)

We don't know yet whether Game of Thrones will return in time to be eligible for next year's Emmys, but whenever the show is next up for the awards, it's a good bet that it will be the heavy favorite to win again. Congrats once more to the cast and crew!

Game of Thrones gets nods in 2016 awards season. It's awards season and, as expected, Game of Thrones' sixth season is being recognized by all the usual outlets. The Golden Globes has the show nominated for Best Television Drama (though George R. R. Martin thinks Westworld is the favorite here) and Lena Headey as Best Supporting Actress; the Screen Actors Guild has the show nominated for Outstanding Ensemble in a Television Drama and Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble, as well as Peter Dinklage as Outstanding Male Actor; the Writers Guild has nominated the show for Drama Series. The Directors Guild, which rewarded Game of Thrones' Season 5 last year, will announce its nominations next month.

Game of Thrones has already won this year's Critics' Choice Award for Best Drama Series. Oddly enough, however, the show doesn't appear on many critics' top ten lists for the year. The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman lists Game of Thrones at #9, the AV Club's staff at #17, UPROXX's Alan Sepinwall at #19. Variety's Maureen Ryan lists it among the Best Returning Shows (but not among her best overall). "The Battle of the Bastards" is the second best episode of all of TV in 2016, according to Entertainment Weekly's James Hibberd, while "The Winds of Winter" makes the Atlantic's staff's best episodes list.

What do you think: should Game of Thrones have been on more top ten lists this year, or perhaps ranked higher? Where does the show rank among your favorite shows and episodes of 2016?

The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards were held Sunday night and Game of Thrones not only walked away with a number of awards - including Outstanding Drama Series - but it also set a record for the most Emmys ever won by a narrative show. Game of Thrones has now won 38 Emmys over the course of its run (including nine that were awarded last weekend), surpassing the 37 total Emmys won by the sitcom Frasier; Saturday Night Live still holds the record for all-time Emmys with 45.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss Game of Thrones' continued success at the Emmys, the ceremony itself, or TV in general. But enjoy the awards while you can: Game of Thrones likely will not be eligible for the 2017 awards season.

Game of Thrones wins Emmy for Best Drama. Tonight, Game of Thrones has a chance to make awards history. No television show has ever won more than nine Emmys in a single season (The West Wing holds that distinction). Game of Thrones has already won eight Emmys this year, for Stunt Coordination, Special Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Casting, Sound Editing, Editing, Production Design, and Makeup. The show needs one more win to tie the all-time record, two to break it, and it has several more chances, pending the results of the major acting, writing, and directing categories. Those awards will be revealed tonight in the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on FOX. And some are even predicting that this is the year that Game of Thrones breaks through and takes home Best Drama.

Consider this an open thread to discuss the Emmy awards and television in general. We'll update it with Game of Thrones' big wins (or losses) as the night goes on.

Update #1: David Benioff and Dan Weiss win the first big one of the night, writing for a Drama Series. Game of Thrones has now tied The West Wing for Emmy wins in a single season.

Update #2: Orange Is the New Black's Uzo Aduba wins Outstanding Supporting Actress, besting Emilia Clarke and Lena Headey. Shame!

Update #3: David Nutter wins for directing "Mother's Mercy." That's the record-breaking tenth Emmy for Game of Thrones this year.

Update #4: Peter Dinklage wins his second Outstanding Supporting Actor Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.

Update #5: Game of Thrones wins the big one, Best Drama. Some will say it's a sweep, but it's Game of Thrones, so let's call it a massacre. A record-breaking 12 Emmys this year (out of 24 nominations), and an astonishing 83 Emmy nominations to date. While I agree that this wasn't Game of Thrones' finest year, this award is long overdue. Congrats to all the winners and Happy Birthday to George R. R. Martin!

Game of Thrones nominated for 24 Emmys. Game of Thrones was nominated for 24 Emmys, more than any other show this year and four more nominations than the show received last year. For the fifth consecutive season, Game of Thrones was nominated for outstanding drama series. Is this the year it finally wins the big one? Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Diana Rigg also scored acting nominations, and much of the show's crew was recognized for its production accomplishments.

Here is the complete list of nominations:

• Outstanding Drama
• Outstanding Supporting Actor (Peter Dinklage)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress (Lena Headey)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress (Emilia Clarke)
• Outstanding Guest Actress (Diana Rigg)
• Outstanding Writing (David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, "Mother's Mercy")
• Outstanding Directing (David Nutter, "Mother's Mercy")
• Outstanding Directing (Jeremy Podeswa, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken")
• Outstanding Production Design (Deborah Riley, Paul Ghirardani, Rob Cameron)
• Outstanding Casting (Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, Carla Stronge)
• Outstanding Cinematography (Fabian Wagner, "Hardhome")
• Outstanding Cinematography (Anette Haellmigk, "Sons of the Harpy")
• Outstanding Cinematography (Rob McLachlan, "The Dance of Dragons")
• Outstanding Cinematography (Greg Middleton, "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken")
• Outstanding Costumes (Michele Clapton, Sheena Wichary, Nina Ayres, Alexander Fordham)
• Outstanding Editing (Tim Porter, "Hardhome")
• Outstanding Editing (Katie Weiland, "The Dance of Dragons")
• Outstanding Hairstyling (Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Rosalia Culora, Gary Machin, Laura Pollock, Nicola Mount)
• Outstanding Makeup (Jane Walker, Nicola Matthews)
• Outstanding Makeup, Prosthetic (Jane Walker, Barrie Gower, Sarah Gower)
• Outstanding Sound Editing (Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Bradley C. Katona, Peter Bercovitch, David Klotz, Jeffrey Wilhoit, Dylan T. Wilhoit)
• Outstanding Sound Mixing (Ronan Hill, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters)
• Outstanding Special Visual Effects (Steve Kullback, Joe Bauer, Adam Chazen, Jabbar Raisan, Eric Carney, Stuart Brisdon, Derek Spears, James Kinnings, Matthew Rouleau)
• Outstanding Stunt Coordination (Rowley Irlam)

Compared with last season, Game of Thrones picked up additional nominations for acting, direction, cinematography, and editing. Game of Thrones was not nominated this season for music composition. Game of Thrones has previously won Emmys for acting (Peter Dinklage), art direction, costumes, makeup, prosthetic makeup, sound editing, sound mixing, special visual effects, and main title design.

The winners of the technical categories will be announced at the Creative Arts Emmy ceremony on September 12, while the major awards will be announced at the Primetime Emmy ceremony on September 20.

Game of Thrones nominated for 20 Emmys. For the fourth consecutive year, Game of Thrones was nominated for outstanding drama series. It has yet to win in this category. Peter Dinklage received his third nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama; he took home an Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in 2011. Lena Headey received her first nomination this year for outstanding supporting actress in a drama. Diana Rigg was once again nominated for outstanding guest actress. The show earned a total of twenty nominations, three more than last year, and Game of Thrones has the most nominations of any series in 2014.

Game of Thrones nominated for 17 Emmys. For the third consecutive year, Game of Thrones was nominated for outstanding drama series. It has yet to win in this category. Third time's a charm, perhaps? Peter Dinklage was once again recognized for outstanding supporting actor in a drama; he took home an Emmy for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in 2011. Emilia Clarke earned her first Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actress. Diana Rigg was also nominated for outstanding guest actress. The show earned seventeen total nominations, five more than last year.