Game Of Thrones breaks record with 32 Emmy nominations

LOS ANGELES - The divisive final season of Game Of Thrones smashed the record for most Primetime Emmy nominations by a drama series in a single year, earning a whopping 32 nods on Tuesday (July 16).

HBO's fantasy epic enraged fans with its bumpy conclusion but still trounced the competition to strengthen its iron grip on the small-screen equivalent of the Oscars.

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel - Amazon's story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand-up-comic - was a distant second on 20 nominations.

"Thrones" is the most decorated fictional show in the awards' seven-decade history, and now has 161 nominations overall - including 47 wins.

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"For those who will be adding 2019 to their long list of nominations and or wins from other years - it never gets old!" said Television Academy chairman and chief executive officer Frank Scherma.

The show about families vying for the Iron Throne broke a 25-year nominations record for a drama series in a single year previously held by NYPD Blue" which earned 27 nods in 1994.

Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington were recognised in the lead acting categories, while eight other "Thrones" cast members swept the board in the supporting and guest acting categories.

The shortened eighth and last season also won a slew of technical awards.

"Thrones" capitalised on a threadbare year for drama, with several big hitters such as The Handmaid's Tale missing from the main categories.

The next highest-placed drama - AMC's Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul - managed just eight nominations.

HBO's acclaimed limited series Chernobyl placed third overall this year with 19 nominations, ahead of perennial Emmys powerhouse Saturday Night Live on 18.

Dark hitman comedy Barry, also from HBO, was joint fifth overall on 17 nods, tied with FX mini-series Fosse/Verdon.

HBO RECLAIMS CROWN

This year's nominations saw HBO reclaim its title for most-nominated network from web streaming giant Netflix, which last year had ended its 17-year winning streak.

HBO claimed 137 nods to Netflix's 117 - a record for each, meaning the pair tighten their joint stranglehold on the prestigious awards.

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Netflix's When They See Us, the true story of five men wrongly accused of raping a Central Park jogger, earned 16 nominations including eight acting nods.

"Thank you to the real men for inviting me to tell their story... Love you, brothers," tweeted series creator Ava DuVernay.

Amazon Prime enjoyed a stellar year, more than doubling its haul to reach 47 nods, just behind NBC with 58.

As well as "Maisel," dark British comedy Fleabag performed well for Amazon, with five of its actresses receiving nominations including lead Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Waller-Bridge, who is currently rewriting the upcoming 25th James Bond film, also received a writing nomination for Fleabag.

'CRYING AND DYING'

"I cannot speak!!!!!! Our whole team is in bits," tweeted Sian Clifford, who earned supporting actress recognition.

But there was disappointment for the final season of CBS ratings smash Big Bang Theory, which failed to register in any main categories.

A-listers Julia Roberts and Jim Carrey were shunned by voters, who ignored their respective performances in Amazon's Homecoming and Showtime's Kidding.

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While Netflix/BBC thriller Bodyguard earned a drama series nod, its lead actor Richard Madden was a surprising omission.

RECORD ENTRIES

The Emmys recognises shows that were on in the 12 months to May 31.

That meant several voters' favourites were absent from main categories this year, including Hulu's new season of The Handmaid's Tale.

The former drama series winner still managed to pick up 11 nominations in technical categories, for episodes submitted from the tail-end of its previous season.

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Big Little Lies and Stranger Things also just missed the cut-off this time around.

The Television Academy's 24,000 members sifted through a record number of entries for this year's Emmys.

The nominations were announced in a livestreamed presentation from Los Angeles hosted by The Good Place actress D'Arcy Carden and The Masked Singer panelist Ken Jeong.

Final-round voting will now begin to pick winners who will be revealed at a glitzy Los Angeles show on Sept 22.

Following is a list of nominees in key categories:

BEST DRAMA SERIES

Better Call Saul, Bodyguard, Game Of Thrones, Killing Eve, Ozark, Pose, Succession, This is Us

BEST COMEDY SERIES

Barry, Fleabag, The Good Place, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Russian Doll, Schitt's Creek, Veep

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Chernobyl, Escape At Dannemora, Fosse/Verdon, Sharp Objects, When They See Us

BEST COMEDY ACTOR

Anthony Anderson, black-ish

Don Cheadle, Black Monday

Ted Danson, The Good Place

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Bill Hader, Barry

Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS

Christina Applegate, Dead To Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll

Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

BEST DRAMA ACTOR

Jason Bateman, Ozark

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Kit Harington, Game Of Thrones

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Billy Porter, Pose

Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS

Emilia Clarke, Game Of Thrones

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Viola Davis, How To Get Away With Murder

Laura Linney, Ozark

Mandy Moore, This Is Us

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Robin Wright, House Of Cards

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.