Written by Tom Deehan on Sep 19, 2016. Posted in Awards and Festivals / General Interest

Game of Thrones storms the Emmys and Veep retains comedy crown

Airing on ABC and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the 68^th Primetime Emmy Awards took place last night to honour the very best examples of television entertainment throughout the last year. Most expectations were met as HBO’s powerhouse series Game of Thrones took away the award for Outstanding Drama Series along with 11 others.

The evening broke records with Game of Thrones dethroning Frasier for the total number of awards (38 over 37) accumulated by a scripted primetime series. Season six’s critically acclaimed episode, The Battle of the Bastards received particular attention and was filmed in the town of Saintfield, Northern Ireland.

Game of Thrones’ closest competitor was The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story which took home a total of five awards including Outstanding Limited Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for Courney B. Vance.

As a dramatisation of the O. J. Simpson trial that gripped American audiences in the mid-1990s, the show held a sizeable viewership averaging around 7 million people. The series was shot entirely within the Los Angeles area, enjoying 20% in non-transferable tax credits in return for local expenditures.

HBO’s Veep retained the award for Outstanding Comedy Series after winning it the previous year, as Julia Louis-Dreyfus was honoured as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Veep used to be shot on location in Maryland but a dispute regarding tax incentives forced the show to film its latest season on the West Coast. Veep was among the first productions to be attracted by California’s 25% tax credit incentive for relocating TV shows.

The evening wasn’t without a few snubs however, as FX’s anthology series Fargo was an industry favourite with an incredible 18 nominations but was only able to secure two awards in the sectors of cinematography and sound editing.

Inspired by the 1996 Coen brothers’ film of the same name, Fargo has become a staple of production in the Canadian province of Alberta. Shot largely in Calgary, the show doubles the location for North Dakota which is currently without a monetary incentive for filming.

Full list of winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: Game of Thrones

Outstanding Comedy Series: Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama: Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie: Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Limited Series: The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Reality Competition Series: The Voice

Outstanding Television Movie: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride

Outstanding variety talk series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: Key & Peele

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, Baskets

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie: Sarah Paulson, The People v O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Sterling K Brown, The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, The People v O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Outstanding Guest in a Comedy Series: Peter Scolari, Girls

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live