--- description: The show won the big one, but missed out on many other awards, cementing its complicated legacy. title: Game of Thrones' 2019 Emmys Performance Was Almost as Divisive as Its Final Season image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7aa856b2acb8672f/69894a1916d88443fec351f0/game-of-thrones-s8-e6-tyrion.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [awards](/tag/awards/) ## awards Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # _Game of Thrones'_ 2019 Emmys Performance Was Almost as Divisive as Its Final Season  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 23, 2019 4:49 AM CUT  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Sep 23, 2019 4:49 AM CUT Emmy voters seemed to be as divided over _Game of Thrones_‘ final season as the rest of the fantasy series’ fans. On the heels of a controversial ending, _Thrones_ took home the prize it most needed to win to cement its place in television history: [Best Drama](https://time.com/5679124/emmys-2019-winners/ "undefined"). But, one week after the series picked up 10 Creative Arts Emmys, it only won one other major award at the [71st Primetime Emmy Awards](https://time.com/5683559/emmys-2019-recap/ "undefined") — Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Peter Dinklage — and the night never quite evolved into the victory lap that many fans were expecting. It’s a fitting end to a complicated season. _Game of Thrones_‘ eighth season, which left behind George R. R. Martin’s _A_ _Song of Ice and Fire_ books entirely, was [so controversial](https://time.com/5590729/game-of-thrones-finale-daenerys/ "undefined") that some fans started a [petition asking HBO](https://time.com/5634309/hbo-rejects-game-of-thrones-season-8-petition/ "undefined") to remake the ending. Emilia Clarke expressed at least minor misgivings [about her character Daenerys’ arc](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-new-yorker-interview/daenerys-tells-all-game-of-thrones-finale-emilia-clarke-beyonce "undefined"). Creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss essentially [went into hiding](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2471662/game-of-thrones-showrunners-are-hiding-from-angry-fans-until-finale-is-over "undefined") after the finale until the fan response blew over. And yet, clearly even the hate-watchers kept watching, [propelling the series to record ratings](https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/20/media/game-of-thrones-finale-ratings/index.html "undefined"). Leading into the Emmys, prognosticators seemed to think the show would either sweep the many categories in which it was nominated and mark the end of the television monoculture or tip-toe away with a couple of smaller wins. But Emmy voters defied expectations. They opted to dole out a single acting award to the most decorated actor in the show’s cast. On Sunday night, Dinklage set a record for most wins in his category with a fourth trophy. Meanwhile, eight of Dinklage’s cast members, including Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, walked away empty-handed, and the writers and directors failed to take home any awards for their work on the series. Instead, the TV Academy opted to shine a light on smaller shows and [lesser-known actors](https://time.com/5683596/emmys-2019-phoebe-waller-bridge-lead-actress-comedy-fleabag/ "undefined"), like _Killing Eve’_s Jodie Comer, who beat Clarke in the Best Actress in a Drama category. Comer was so shocked by the victory she joked in her speech that she hadn’t even invited her parents to the ceremony because she didn’t think this would be her year. (They were watching from home in Liverpool.) Up-and-coming _Ozark_ actor Julia Garner beat four different _Game of Thrones_ stars (Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner) in the Best Supporting Actress in a Drama category. And _Pose’_s Billie Porter made history as the first openly gay black actor to win in the Best Actor in a Drama category, beating out _Thrones’_ Kit Harington. The biggest upset came when _Ozark_ star Jason Bateman single-handedly beat four _Game of Thrones_ directors to win the Best Directing category. Directing seemed like an easy win for _Thrones_. Yes, you had to turn up the brightness on your screen to really see the Battle of Winterfell. And, yes, there was the coffee cup incident. But David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (who co-directed one episode), David Nutter and Miguel Sapochnik helmed the biggest and most complicated battle scenes and fights ever to grace the small screen. Sapochnik’s take on the Battle of Winterfell — which has often been compared to the Oscar-worthy Battle of Helms’ Deep in _Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers —_ felt like nothing if not awards bait. And yet Bateman beat them all. The actor-turned-director sat in his seat staring in disbelief when he realized he had just beaten out the people responsible for one-half of _Game of Thrones_‘ final season. > [](https://twitter.com/vulture/status/1175968242634035200) Don’t mourn too long for Daenerys Targeryen and Jon Snow, though. They’re not exactly slinking out of pop-culture prominence. _Game of Thrones_ still holds the record for most Emmys ever won by a television drama or comedy with 59 wins. And with its fourth and final Best Drama win, _Thrones_ ties the category’s record holders — _Mad Men_, _Hill Street Blues_, _L.A. Law_ and _The West Wing_, an impressive group. We can’t know yet how exactly _Thrones_ will be remembered, especially with several [prequel series](https://time.com/5553873/game-of-thrones-prequel-cast-release-date/ "undefined") on the way. But it was the first fantasy series to really attract and sustain the attention of Emmys voters. Before _Thrones_, the genre was long ignored, considered unserious. In the coming years, new fantasy and sci-fi series will vie for its spot at the awards show, including HBO’s own _His Dark Materials_ adaptation, Amazon’s _Lord of the Rings_ series and Disney’s _Star Wars_ spinoff, [_The Mandalorian_](https://time.com/5657961/the-mandalorian-trailer-second-by-second-breakdown/ "undefined"). _Game of Thrones_‘ legacy will be complicated. But it certainly changed what we consider “good TV” forever. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5680357/emmys-2019-game-of-thrones/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5680357/emmys-2019-game-of-thrones/"},"headline":"Game of Thrones' 2019 Emmys Performance Was Almost as Divisive as Its Final Season","datePublished":"2019-09-23T04:49:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-06-24T06:56:34.705Z","description":"The show won the big one, but missed out on many other awards, cementing its complicated legacy","url":"https://time.com/5680357/emmys-2019-game-of-thrones/","keywords":["awards","Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7aa856b2acb8672f/69894a1916d88443fec351f0/game-of-thrones-s8-e6-tyrion.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7aa856b2acb8672f/69894a1916d88443fec351f0/game-of-thrones-s8-e6-tyrion.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Game-of-Thrones-S8-E6-Tyrion","caption":"","creditText":"Macall B. 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