You win or you die: No gold for ‘Game of Thrones’ in 2017

Production delays make HBO’s popular drama series ineligible for next year’s Emmys

There has to be great deal of pressure involved in being dubbed the best drama series on television and bagging a staggering number of nominations for the most prestigious of all awards. Producers must, at any cost, uphold the reputation and quality in order to keep meeting the expectations of fans. While Game of Thrones has had a history of production delays, the most recent one has cost the show its chance to compete in the 2017 Emmys

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers of the show confirmed earlier this week that due to unexpected delays, the show that recently took home majority of the Emmy nominations will be unable to compete in next year’s gold rush. Game of Thrones has been a regular participant and winner at the awards every year since it premiered. The seventh season however, will be absent from the 2017 nominations. The reigning drama champion will be seen taking a year off, possibly bestowing upon other series a chance to shine.

Official dates for the seventh season premier are yet to be announced, but the show wasn’t expected to air in the Emmy eligibility window to start off with. In order for a series to be deemed eligible this year, it was mandatory that at least six episodes of it be aired between June 1, 2015 and May 31, 2016. The sixth episode of the HBO epic fantasy drama aired on May 29 — a close shave indeed.

Game of Thrones, considered to be a yearly Emmy favourite and a formidable competitor for other nominated series, bagged a total of 23 nominations this year. The closest competition for the show was FX series The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, that won 22 nominations, and Fargo, that took home 18. Delays have been rather common for Game of Thrones, but never before have they led to an Emmy absence. During the fifth season, contract negotiations were stalled and the show was taken off air for a whole year and a half – and yet it never missed a year of winning streaks at the Emmys.

With Game of Thrones leaving a slot open for competing series, and popular prison drama Orange Is The New Black falling short of the voters’ interest, two new shows can potentially take the lead at the 2017 Emmy Awards: The Americans and Mr Robot.

Despite the fact that Game of Thrones probably still remains the viewers’ favourite, and HBO’s finest offering to date , the delays have really affected the channel’s overall nomination tally. It has previously claimed top spot among the most nominated television networks, with this year’s tally being 94 nominations — a whopping 38 more than its lead competitor, FX. However, the tally is significantly less than last year’s (126 nominations) and is expected to take another major dip next year with Game of Thrones bowing out of the Emmys.

Season six ended with a two of the most-streamed episodes in the history of the show, Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter. With the story rapidly moving towards its culmination, sending viewers into bouts of shock every now and then, season seven is expected to be bigger than ever — whether or not it manages to bag any awards.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2016.

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