House Of The Dragon Ending A 14-Year Game Of Thrones Streak Creates A Harsh Reality For HBO’s Fantasy Franchise

July 26, 2025

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House of the Dragon recently ended an impressive, long-running Game of Thrones streak, and it sets a negative precedent for the franchise going forward. From its inception, the odds were stacked against House of the Dragon as it was forced to follow up on the controversial Game of Thrones ending.

TV fans recently got a glimpse at the nominees for the upcoming 2025 Emmy Awards ceremony, and House of the Dragon didn’t make the cut for Outstanding Drama. This is the first time since Game of Thrones premiered in 2011 that the franchise’s newest season hasn’t been nominated in the category, setting a bad precedent for future spinoffs.

Game Of Thrones Spinoffs Might Not Be Serious Emmy Contenders Anymore

All These Shows Live In Game Of Thrones’ Shadow

House of the Dragon received largely mixed responses from critics and audiences, but let’s keep in mind that Game of Thrones won Outstanding Drama Series for season 8. As much as it would be easy to pass season 2’s absence off to the downtrend in quality, it’s likely not that simple. This is about spectacle and cultural presence.

Game of Thrones season 8 wasn’t that long ago, but even at the show’s worst, it offered prolific material for the small screen.

House of the Dragon season 2’s battle sequence was one of the most impressive set pieces that the television medium has ever seen, and “The Red Sowing” also had plenty of marvels. However, in a post-Game of Thrones age of blockbuster television, audiences are used to seeing things like this.

Daenerys Targaryen looking scared on Drogon in Game of Thrones season 7, episode 6,

Game of Thrones’ next spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will be a very different kind of show, which could cause one problem for HBO and Max.

Game of Thrones season 8 wasn’t that long ago, but even at the show’s worst, it offered prolific material for the small screen. There’s nothing before or after that’s rivaled its combination of production scale and cultural presence, and as good as future spinoffs may be, it’s doubtful they’ll be able to achieve that same dominance.

Upcoming Game of Thrones spinoffs include next year’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Aegon’s Conquest, and many more. While they’ll surely earn Emmy nods from time to time, it’s more likely they’ll be viewed as franchise spinoffs rather than as the prolific, culture-shifting television that the original was.

House Of The Dragon Was Never Going To Have Game Of Thrones’ Emmy Success

Franchise IP Rarely Sees Award Success

Generally speaking, when something is fresh and original, it’s more likely to earn award nods. For example, the original Star Wars was an Oscar juggernaut that won six of its ten nominations. Now, the idea of a Star Wars film receiving a major Oscar category nomination is considered ridiculous.

Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) in armor in House of the Dragon season 2

House of the Dragon season 3 will have a conceptual episode, as per showrunner Ryan Condal, and that could be divisive, but it could also be great.

House of the Dragon deserves credit where it’s due for earning an Outstanding Drama nomination in its first season, but the series was always going to have an asterisk next to its name on the ballots for being a prequel.