The Emmy Awards are among the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry. They represent television’s answer to the Academy Awards, and as the landscape of what appears on the small screen evolves, the Primetime Emmys carry more cultural weight than ever.
The casting component of TV’s current golden age is, of course, no exception. The Primetime Emmy Awards has four categories dedicated to the art of casting: Casting for a Comedy Series; Casting for a Drama Series; Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or Special; and Casting for a Reality Program.
Here we break down the last five years of Casting for a Drama Series and assess what the winning odds for this year’s nominees. An Emmy for drama casting sometimes means an Emmy for one of TV’s most coveted awards: the Emmy for Best Drama Series. This has held true at least for HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” which took the award in both 2015 and 2016, when it took the Best Drama category as well, and for Showtime’s “Homeland” in 2012. All five of this year’s nominees for Best Casting are also up for Best Drama; will HBO be able to repeat its previous success with either their veteran champ “Game of Thrones” or with the second season of another big-budget fantasy program, “Westworld”?
Premium networks and streaming channels also dominate the category in both winners and nominations, with HBO and Netflix trading off wins over the last five years. This year is no exception; both networks each have two shows nominated each (HBO’s “Game of Thrones” and “Westworld”; Netflix’s “The Crown” and “Stranger Things”), where the fifth entry is streaming service Hulu’s “A Handmaid's Tale,” winner of last year’s Best Drama. This leaves traditional network TV out of the category entirely, part of an overall trend.
Fun fact: nominated twice are casting directors Nina Gold and Robert Sterne for their work on “The Crown” for streaming giant Netflix, and “Game of Thrones,” HBO’s fantasy juggernaut, for which they have already won two Emmy statues. Check out the full rundown below.
READ: ‘The Crown,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ + ‘Star Wars’ CD Nina Gold Shares What She Looks for in Auditions
“Stranger Things” (Netflix, Season 1); Carmen Cuba, Tara Feldstein, Chase Paris
Year: 2017
Also nominated: “The Crown” (Netflix), “The Handmaid's Tale” (Hulu), “This Is Us” (NBC), “Westworld” (HBO)
Creators: The Duffer Brothers
Cast: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Natalia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Cara Buono, Matthew Modine, Noah Schnapp, Sadie, Sink, Joe Keery, Dacre Montgomery, Sean Astin, Paul Reiser
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Main Title Design; Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music; Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series
“Game of Thrones” (HBO, Season 6); Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, Carla Stronge
Year: 2016
Also nominated: “Downton Abbey” (PBS), “House of Cards” (Netflix), “Mr. Robot” (USA), “Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)
Creators: David Benioff, D. B. Weiss
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Aidan Gillen
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic); Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or a Special; Outstanding Costumes for a Period/Fantasy Series, Limited Series or Movie; Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Special Visual Effects; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series; Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie; Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
“Game of Thrones” (HBO, Season 5); Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, Carla Stronge
Year: 2015
Also nominated: “Downton Abbey” (PBS), “House of Cards” (Netflix), “Mad Men” (AMC), “Orange Is the New Black” (Netflix)
Creators: David Benioff and D. B. Weiss
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Iain Glen, Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Aidan Gillen
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Peter Dinklage); Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour); Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More); Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series; Outstanding Special Visual Effects; Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie; Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic)
“True Detective” (HBO, Season 1); Alexa L. Fogel, Christine Kromer, Meagan Lewis
Year: 2014
Also nominated: “Breaking Bad” (AMC), “Game of Thrones” (HBO), “The Good Wife” (CBS), “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Creator: Nic Pizzolatto
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, Tory Kittles
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic); Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series; Outstanding Main Title Design
“House of Cards” (Netflix, Season 1); Laray Mayfield, Julie Schubert
Year: 2013
Also nominated: “Downton Abbey” (PBS), “Game of Thrones” (HBO), “The Good Wife” (CBS), “Homeland” (Showtime)
Creator: Beau Willimon
Cast: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Kate Mara, Corey Stoll, Michael Kelly, Kristen Connolly, Sakina Jaffrey, Sandrine Holt, Constance Zimmer, Michel Gill, Sebastian Arcelus, Mahershala Ali, Boris McGiver, Nathan Darrow, Rachel Brosnahan
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series; Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
“Homeland” (Showtime, Season 1); Junie Lowry-Johnson, Libby Goldstein, Judy Henderson, Craig Fincannon, Lisa Mae Fincannon
Year: 2012
Also nominated: “Boardwalk Empire” (HBO), “Downton Abbey” (PBS), “Game of Thrones” (HBO), “The Good Wife” (CBS), “Mad Men” (AMC)
Creators: Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa
Cast: Claire Danes, Damian Lewis, Morena Baccarin, David Harewood, Diego Klattenhoff, Jackson Pace, Morgan Saylor, Mandy Patinkin
Other Emmys won: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Claire Danes); Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Damian Lewis); Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series; Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series
Ready to join an Emmy-winning cast? Check out Backstage’s TV audition listings!