Pondering the People’s Choice Awards for Game of Thrones Season 8: An Analysis

Game of Thrones season 8 might have come and gone, but awards season is here to stay. As we know, the Emmys are coming up on September 22nd, for which GOT is nominated for, well, a few awards. But while the Emmys are the big name in show business for all things TV, there are still tons of other awards circuits that are making the rounds. For example, while the Emmys are voted for by members of the Television Academy, just this week, nominations came out for the People’s Choice Awards. Not being a TV industry insider, I have some thoughts and some feelings myself. Now, the critics and insiders of the TV industry who nominated GOT season 8 for the most Emmys of a single season in TV history are just that – insiders, right? Surely, the ‘people’ would “put season 8 in its place.” Well…

The People’s Choice Awards covers both TV as well as movies, and let’s just say that while Avengers: Endgame predictably leads all movie nominees, Game of Thrones (I would argue just as predictably) leads the TV nominees rather handily. Let’s take a look at all of its nominations and assess the competition:

THE SHOW OF 2019
Game of Thrones season 8
WWE Raw
Stranger Things season 3
The Walking Dead season 9
The Big Bang Theory season 12
Riverdale season 3
This Is Us season 3
Grey’s Anatomy season 15

David’s thoughts: WWE Raw, huh? What about WWE Cooked? Anyway, given this is the People’s Choice Awards and not the Emmys, I think GOT will steamroll the competition. That said, my hunch suggests that the ones to watch are either Stranger Things or The Big Bang Theory – ST because it has a large hype machine behind it (although I didn’t really like season 3 myself), and TBBT because it was also its final season, same as GOT. Will that be enough to squash GOT? Let’s be real, probably not, but it’s what I’ve got.

THE DRAMA SHOW OF 2019
Grey’s Anatomy season 15
This Is Us season 3
Chicago P.D. season 6
Game of Thrones season 8
Stranger Things season 3
Big Little Lies season 2
Riverdale season 3
The Walking Dead season 9

David’s thoughts: This list is oddly similar to the above. I don’t exactly see Chicago P.D.‘s name being read from the envelope on the night of, but what do I know, given I’d never have in my wildest dreams predict its nomination in the first place. That said…it’s pretty much GOT or bust in this category. Maybe Big Little Lies pulls out the surprise win? But I doubt it (though I did quite like season 2).

THE MALE TV STAR OF 2019
Kit Harington, Game of Thrones
Cole Sprouse, Riverdale
Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead
Finn Wolfhard, Stranger Things
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
KJ Apa, Riverdale

David’s thoughts: I see this going to either Kit out of GOT being the hot name of the hour, or Jim Parsons for nostalgia, finality purposes. This logic applies to either of these final season shows, I think.

THE FEMALE TV STAR OF 2019
Mandy Moore, This Is Us
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones
Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead
Camila Mendes, Riverdale
Lili Reinhart, Riverdale
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies

David’s thoughts: Curiously, Emilia Clarke is nowhere to be seen, nor Lena Headey, for that matter. Not to worry, as Sophie and Maisie are nominees instead. I would have said that it’s most likely to go to Maisie, whose name seems to be the hot one on the ticket…but all these nominations for Riverdale, a show of which I’ve only ever seen 2 episodes (which was more than enough), are making me second guess that. Is it truly that popular? If so, perhaps our bets may best be hedged on one of the two women nominated from that show?

THE DRAMA TV STAR OF 2019
Zendaya, Euphoria
Norman Reedus, The Walking Dead
Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies
Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones
Lili Reinhart, Riverdale
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

David’s thoughts: If Zendaya doesn’t win, we riot, correct? Anyway, it seems that women are dominating this category in which anyone was able to be nominated, which is pretty neat. It seems to be a tossup, but Zendaya gave such a powerhouse performance, and because Euphoria seems to have been nominated here and only here, it leads me to believe that she may be the likeliest winner. Voters of non-industry awards love newcomers, and she’s the only one who is not starring on a veteran show.

THE BINGEWORTHY SHOW OF 2019
Game of Thrones
Orange Is the New Black
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
The Umbrella Academy
Queer Eye
Outlander
13 Reasons Why
Stranger Things

David’s thoughts: Woof. What a weird category. Almost everyone watched GOT week to week as the last, true watercooler show in existence, at least for now. So, this category is effectively asking the voters to quantify which show best broke the trend of TV past and embraced the future. I’m not sure I, myself, would vote GOT for this specific category (any season of it, for that matter), as it has always been something that I not only watched week to week, but also something I’ve enjoyed discussing week to week. It took me 7 weeks to watch the 8 episodes of Stranger Things this season, so I would not personally vote for that. I love Outlander, but again, also wouldn’t want to binge it. I haven’t seen The Umbrella Academy or Queer Eye, nor have I seen more than a few stray episodes of Law & Order: SVU. I’m currently halfway through 13 Reasons Why season 3, and while I enjoy it (and understand if you don’t), I wouldn’t call it wildly bingeworthy, so much as just something to watch. However, Orange is the New Black season 7 is something I watched in just 4 days – something I’d not done since its revelatory season 4. So, if I were voting, that’d be my choice. As for which of these I think will win? If people vote based on the actual category, and not just on their ‘favorite show,’ I think that, based on most peoples’ consumption habits, the winner is likely to be Stranger Things.

And lastly, but most curiously, is the surprising omission for Game of Thrones in this category:

THE SCI-FI/FANTASY SHOW OF 2019
Stranger Things
Shadowhunters
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Supernatural
The Flash
The Umbrella Academy
Arrow
The 100

Uh oh – does this spell danger for our very own ratings juggernaut? Have the people sworn vengeance on season 8? What does it all mean? Let me know why all of my above opinions and speculation are terrible, and what thoughts you have about all the nominations in the comments below!

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