Emmys 2018: Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington of Game of Thrones submitting as leads

Emmys 2017 - Kit Harington

While this news was somewhat expected to us, we nonetheless are happy to know it is official — Emilia Clarke and Kit Harington are officially submitting as lead actors for Game of Thrones for the 2018 Emmy Awards.

This news was first confirmed over at TVLine, and this strongly suggests that HBO is really going all-in on their efforts to figure out a way in which to get as many nominations as possible for the fantasy epic. Harington and Clarke certainly got enough screen time via season 7 to be considered in this way; that’s not something that they really had the ability to do in the past when there were more characters alive and with that, Game of Thrones was a little more of an ensemble show than it is now.

So with this move in mind, are we going to see either Kit or Emilia have a real shot in either the Lead Actor or Actress category? We do think that there is a reasonable chance that they could get a nomination, but trying to win in these fields will be incredibly difficult. They are aided somewhat by the fact that Game of Thrones is such a commercial sensation and has so many fans all over the world. However, they are also hurt by the fact that the latest season aired more than nine months ago; with that in mind, how familiar will their performance be in the minds of many Emmy voters? Not that much. Also, for whatever reason leads in fantasy / sci-fi shows often have a difficult time getting nominations from major awards shows. While they can figure out a way to succeed in some of the supporting categories, typically the lead roles often go for shows that are set in more realistic environments.

For a little more insight into Game of Thrones and the remainder of the possible nominees, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams have all submitted as Supporting Actresses. Meanwhile, both Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Peter Dinklage are submitting as Supporting Actors. Of this group, it would be fantastic to see Coster-Waldau and Turner get a little bit of love — they have long done a pretty tremendous job with their parts but, for one reason or another, really haven’t gotten anywhere near the recognition that they deserve.

The Emmys are going to air this summer and, as per usual, we are going to be back with a full preview a little bit later in the year.

What do you think: Could Emilia Clarke or Kit Harington become Emmy nominees this summer? Share in the comments below!

Also, be sure to like CarterMatt on Facebook in the event you want to get some other insight when it comes to the Emmys or Game of Thrones, which is going to air its final season in the new year. (Photo: HBO.)

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