Emmy nominations: ‘Game of Thrones’ gets lots of love despite controversial farewell

'Schitt's Creek' recognized as voters welcome plenty of fresh blood to the party

Hold the door. “Game of Thrones” is going out with a bang.

Despite delivering a controversial, polarizing final season, HBO’s lavish fantasy epic still seized the attention of Emmy voters Tuesday morning, leading all of television with 32 nominations. That’s not only the most nods the series has collected over its eight-season run, but it’s also the highest number of nominations for a drama series in a single year ever.

“Thrones,” which snagged the prize for top drama in 2016 and 2018, was nominated in the category again and continues to look like the series to beat.

“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon Prime) amassed the second-most nominations with 20, followed by HBO’s searing limited series “Chernobyl” (19), and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” (18). The HBO comedy “Barry” and the FX miniseries “Fosse/Verdon” each came away with 17.

The love for “Thrones” comes even as fans and critics continue to deride the show for what they regard as sloppy plotting, dimly-lit battle scenes and poor character development. In addition to the nod for best drama, it captured nominations for lead actor (Kit Harington) and actress (Emilia Clarke).

But the real surprise  — and disappointment — was how “Thrones” dominated the supporting categories. Of the six supporting actress nominations, four went to “Thrones” performers — Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams. And in the seven-man supporting actor field, three went to “Thrones” — Alfie Allen, Peter Dinklage and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

That closed the door to several deserving performers. Most annoyingly, the outstanding cast of FX’s “Pose” failed to receive a single supporting nod.

Still, Emmy voters, who traditionally favor the status quo, opened their hearts to plenty of fresh blood. Here are a few notable observations from nomination day:

— Holy Schitt: After five seasons, Emmy voters finally showed some love for Pop TV’s cult hit “Schitt’s Creek.” The hilariously quirky series captured its first-ever nominations with breakthroughs for Outstanding Comedy, Lead Actor (Eugene Levy) and Lead Actress (Catherine O’Hara). The recognition arrives ahead of the show’s upcoming sixth and final season.

— The snubs: Emmy voters usually snuggle up to big movie stars, but Julia Roberts failed to earn a nomination for her standout lead performance in “Homeconing.” The Amazon Prime series, in fact, only received recognition for cinematography.

Other major disses included comedic actress Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”), Richard Madden, the lead actor in “Bodyguard,” the legal series “The Good Fight” and “Black-ish” along with its lead actress Tracee Ellis Ross.

— Dramatic changeover: Five of last year’s seven nominees for best drama series were ineligible this time either because their runs ended (“The Americans”), or their new seasons hadn’t — or haven’t — debuted in time (“Stranger Things,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Westworld”).

So that opened the door for a slew of newcomers, including “Bodyguard” (Netflix), “Killing Eve” (BBC America), “Ozark” (Netflix), “Pose” (FX) and “Succession” (HBO). Commendably, the category was expanded to eight nominees to accommodate the quality dramas, yet “Homecoming” still couldn’t crack the field.

— Comedic showdown: One of the most intriguing races looks to be in the comedy lead-actress category. After sitting out last year, Julia Luis-Dreyfus of “Veep” returns to face off against last year’s champ, Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”). If Luis-Dreyfus wins, she will set a record for most acting Emmys won — nine — breaking a tie with Cloris Leachman.

— They meet again: Bay Area natives Mahershala Ali (“True Detective”) and Sam Rockwell” (“Fosse/Verdon) will engage in a rematch as they both were nominated for top lead actor in a limited series or movie.

Earlier this year, both actors were nominated for Oscars in the best supporting actor category with Ali (“Green Book”) topping Rockwell (“Vice”). This time, it appears that Rockwell has a great shot to win, thanks to his superb portrayal of Broadway legend Bob Fosse.

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony is scheduled to air Sunday, Sept. 22 on Fox. A host has yet to be named.