Game of Thrones' final season has led to a wide open Emmys drama race

Vox

Of the seven series that were nominated last year for Outstanding Drama, only Game of Thrones and This Is Us are eligible for the 2019 Emmys. The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Stranger Things and Westworld decided to sit out this year's Emmys entirely, while The Americans ended its run last year. "Both The Handmaid’s Tale (the 2017 winner in the Outstanding Drama category) and Stranger Things even debuted new seasons within five weeks of the deadline, which strongly suggests they could have aired before the cutoff if they had really wanted to," says Emily Todd VanDerWerff. Those shows that sat out this year never knew that Game of Thrones' final season would be so poorly received. Still, Game of Thrones is expected to dominate the Emmy nominations on Tuesday. Game of Thrones scaring away some of the competition plus its disappointing final season will make this year's drama series race the most intriguing Emmy category this year. "Many, many shows are voluntarily getting out of Game of Thrones’ way," says VanDerWerff. "(Who could have predicted that the anger directed at Game of Thrones’ final season would open up a great path for an awards underdog to campaign on?) Combined with the Emmys’ May 31 eligibility deadline, that means that 2019’s Outstanding Drama Series category is very much up in the air."