Will reactions to the last season of Game of Thrones negatively impact its Emmy worthiness?

Hoang NguyenData Journalist
September 18, 2019, 6:00 PM GMT+0

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards are coming and this year’s event could be the encore to one of TV’s megahit shows—HBO’s Game of Thrones.

The close of any beloved show can be bittersweet to its fans but the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones was clearly a disappointment to some. At the time of writing, 1.7 million people (and counting) petitioned for a remake of the eighth season, citing the show’s writers as “woefully incompetent” showrunners. But just how well–or poorly–was the final season of Game of Thrones received?

People who watched the final season of Game of Thrones are more likely to be satisfied than dissatisfied with it

A YouGov study first published by Digital Trends finds these disappointed fans in the minority. According to those who watched season 8 of Game of Thrones, 52 percent are satisfied with the final season; 41 percent are dissatisfied.

This news bodes well for David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, two of Game of Thrones’ prominent writers. The duo will be involved in a new Star Wars film and recently signed a deal with Netflix, amidst other projects.

Three in 10 Americans express interest in watching any upcoming projects the two writers will be involved in, increasing to 69 percent among people who watched all eight seasons of Game of Thrones. There’s even a fair share of interest among those who were dissatisfied with the final season of Game of Thrones: 45 percent express interest in watching something Benioff and Weiss will be involved in (45% of this group say they will be uninterested).



Who deserves to take home Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Comedy at the 71st Emmy Awards?

YouGov polled 2,475 US adults between August 21 and 23, 2019 about which Emmy nominees should win in each of the respective categories.

HBO’s Game of Thrones (18%) currently leads the race for Outstanding Drama Series and a win this year will mark the fourth time the show triumphed in this category. NBC’s This Is Us (12%) trails six points behind Game of Thrones, followed by AMC’s Better Call Saul (7%), Netflix’s Ozark (4%), BBC America’s Killing Eve (4%), Netflix’s Bodyguard (3%), FX Networks’ Pose (3%), and HBO’s Succession (2%). Close to half (48%) indicate they do not know who should win.

The race for Outstanding Comedy Series is a nailbiter at the moment; Prime Video’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and NBC’s The Good Place are each tied with nine percent of the votes. HBO’s Veep is the closest runner-up (7%), followed by Pop TV’s Schitt’s Creek (6%), Netflix’s Russian Doll (4%), HBO’s Barry (3%), and Prime Video’s Fleabag (2%). More than six in 10 (61%) indicate they do not know who should win.



Tune in for the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 22 at 8 p.m. ET or 5 p.m. PT.

See the full results from this survey here

What else do Americans expect from the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards? 59 percent say it will be political. Read more about this survey here.

Image: Getty