The epic bets placed by HBO and Amazon with House of the Dragon and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, so frequently compared since the series’ debuts last year, is in the spotlight once again with the unveiling of this morning’s Emmy nominations, which saw HOTD in the lead at a tally of eight.
House of the Dragon scored a nom for Outstanding Drama Series, with additional recognition for its production design, cinematography, fantasy/sci-fi costumes, period and/or character makeup (non-prosthetic), prosthetic makeup, sound editing and special visual effects. The Rings of Power registered solely below-the-line, with noms in the areas of fantasy/sci-fi costumes, main title design, prosthetic makeup, original main title theme music, sound editing and special visual effects.
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House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power have been set side by side in the media dialogue given their common ground as mega-budget fantasy prequels based on globally popular novels, which debuted just weeks apart, at the height of the streaming wars — on August 21 and September 1, 2022, respectively. And both projects have naturally been scrutinized by those looking to crown a victor, in terms of viewership, critical appeal and cultural cachet, given the foundation they’re setting for the future of two flagship franchises.
Both series have thus far seen returns, in terms of ratings. House of the Dragon brought HBO its biggest-ever premiere, toppling Euphoria‘s as nearly 10M viewers tuned in during the show’s first week. And The Rings of Power likewise made history at Prime Video, reportedly bringing in a record 25M viewers on premiere day and 100M+ globally in total, as House averaged 29M per episode. Amazon’s candor as far as viewership had been a point of focus, given how rarely Prime Video offers a window into streaming stats, though the hype as far as Rings‘ success was thrown into question amidst reports that just 37% of domestic viewers and 45% internationally had finished the whole series.
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If both House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power have their share of critics in their corner, the former has been the clear leader when looking at the full scope of awards season, having thus far claimed the Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Drama, along with three BAFTAs, three Critics’ Choice Award nominations and other honors. Perhaps most notable in terms of The Rings of Power’s reception, prior to today, was a Critics Choice Award nomination for Ismael Cruz Cordova in the Drama Supporting Actor category.
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Created for HBO by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal, House of the Dragon is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by the former and picks up 172 years before the birth of Game of Thrones‘ Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) to examine a war for succession within House Targaryen. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik served as show runners for Season 1, though the latter wound up departing ahead of Season 2, which does not yet have a release date.
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Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, The Rings of Power follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. Prime Video was said to have snapped up TV rights to the works of Tolkien for $250M, setting aside $1B in total for a five-season run. J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay developed the show, which is expected to return for Season 2 next year.
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Pending developments in the year of labor unrest, the 2023 Primetime Emmys are scheduled to take place on September 18th.