Heading into Tuesday’s Emmy nominations, all eyes were on the battle of bragging rights between Netflix and HBO to see which of the two outlets would wind up with the biggest haul. And the winner this year is … HBO, which returned to dominance and topped the streamer by 20 (137 vs. 117). HBO’s showing was so impressive that it broke its own record for the most nominations in a single year as its 137 topped the 126 the Casey Bloys-led cabler earned back in 2015.
The premium cable network was helped by the (divisive) final season of Game of Thrones — which led all programs (32); limited series Chernobyl (finishing third with 19), comedy Barry (tied for fifth with 17); variety series Last Week Tonight With John Oliver and other shows including True Detective, the Deadwood movie, Sharp Objects, Succession and Leaving Neverland. This was fifth time in which Game of Thrones led the nominees in the eight years in which it was eligible. The series has led the pack every year since 2014 (save for 2017 when it was not eligible).
Netflix, meanwhile, was nominated in all of the major categories save for variety show. The streaming giant and HBO were the only two outlets to score more than 100 total nominations. Netflix’s most-nominated series was Ava DuVernay limited entry When They See Us (16), followed by comedy Russian Doll, docuseries Our Planet, drama Ozark,Beyonce’s Homecoming andGLOW.
Last year, Netflix made history when the streamer snapped HBO’s 18-year streak as the most-nominated network(112 vs. 108). It became the first streamer to lead the Emmy noms pack. The fierce competitors would settle the battle with a tie — taking home 23 statuettes apiece— when the awards were presented in September. It’s also worth noting that HBO’s Game of Thrones ended the 70th annual Primetime Emmys with the most wins of any program (nine), topping Amazon’s Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and NBC’s Saturday Night Live.
(Excerpt) More and The List of Nominees in: The Hollywood Reporter
