Jim Clay: Last News

As a prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon posed a creative challenge:how to develop a new and distinctive style while respecting the set-up of the previous series. This challenge fell mainly to the craftspeople, whose work resulted in eight Emmy nominations for HBO this year, including Outstanding Drama Series. 

Based on George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood, the HBO and Max series House of the Dragon had a daunting task in being compared to the network’s biggest-ever series Game of Thrones. Set 200 years earlier in House Targaryen, House of the Dragon’s first season was a huge success reflected in the ratings and the nine Primetime Emmys for which the show got nominated.

Celebrating television might feel like a wasted effort right now, especially since 11,500 writers and 160,000 actors are walking the picket lines for the ongoing WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. But it would be unfair to overlook the extraordinary work of so many Emmy-worthy creatives, even if the ongoing dispute between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers prevents writers and actors from talking about the very series that got them a ticket to the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in the first place. Sadly, everyone will have to wait until January 2024 to see who will accept their just rewards. But this year’s Contenders Television: The Nominees virtual livestream event that kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m. PT will certainly make it worth the wait.

Edward Berger’s All Quiet On The Western Front and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast top the European Film Academy’s Excellence Awards honoring achievement in the arts and crafts categories, the winners of which were announced on Wednesday.