The 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out last night, and among the many surprising things that happened during the ceremony, perhaps the least surprising is that HBO’s Game of Thrones walked away a big winner. Game of Thrones continues to be a pop-culture phenomenon and TV juggernaut, inspiring a whole sub-culture of fans and followers, who are deeply immersed in the world of Westeros.
As of this year’s Emmys Game of Thrones can now officially call itself the most Emmy-awarded fictional TV series ever, with 38 awards under its belt. The previous record-holder was Fraiser, which ended its run with 37 Emmys in total.
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We previously reported on GoT passing by The West Wing‘s record to become the most awarded drama in Emmys history, during the awarding of some early Emmys for technical achievement. Now it’s official across all genres that Game of Thrones sits atop the iron throne of television. Not surprisingly, it’s also HBO’s longest-running and most-watched show of all time, and the branding and merchandising has been to $habby, either.
The show has finished season 6 on record-high ratings, though fans now have the disappointment of knowing that there are only two shortened seasons left to watch; season 7 will have seven episodes, with season 8 estimated to have only six. But with the biggest battles and best twists yet to come, there’s still plenty of time for Game of Thrones to grab even more Emmys, making the hope of dethroning it even slimmer.
Game of Thrones season 7 will be premiering next summer (instead of spring), so that the showrunners can get some nice winter weather shots for the colder, darker, version of Westeros that’s coming.