By Matt Neglia 
​
As promised, we are here with a 9th episode of the Next Best Series Podcast to talk about the Emmys. The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out this week and as always, there were brilliant moments of television, some heartbreaking losses and some unforgettable surprises. Here to talk about the show with me is Ryan C. Showers and for the first time ever as a guest on the podcast, Amanda Spears. Tune in below to hear our thoughts.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, PlayerFM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. ​​

By Tom O'Brien 

The least surprising part of Sunday night's presentation of the 71st Emmy Awards was that it was filled with surprises.​

Not so much on the drama series side. As expected, the final season of "Game of Thrones" marched off with the Emmy for Best Drama Series, and Peter Dinklage remains the only "Game of Thrones" actor to win an Emmy for the series after claiming his fourth statue for drama Best Supporting Actor (setting a record for the category). Four "Game of Thrones" actresses were nominated for Best Supporting Actress and, predictably the votes were split, allowing "Ozark's" Julia Garner to take home the big prize. Despite not winning awards for writing, directing or any other acting wins, "Game Of Thrones" still reigned supreme one last time.

By Matt Neglia 

​The winners for the 71st Emmy Awards have been announced.

Click below to see the winners and be on the lookout for our upcoming podcast discussing the winners and the show in more detail.

By Matt Neglia 
​
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will be held later this month on September 22nd with the Creative Arts Emmy Awards being handed out shortly before that on the 14th. Michael Schwartz, Tom O'Brien and myself felt it was appropriate to get our predictions in now before everything began. Will "Game Of Thrones" get a rich send-off after its record-setting 32 nominations for the final and divisive season? Or will there be a surprise? It's the Emmys, so surprises are part of the norm. Click below to hear our final predictions.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, PlayerFM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. ​​

By Tom O'Brien 

​The Emmy's are almost here. We're now in the home stretch of the Emmy voting period, as final ballots went out to voters like myself on Thursday, August 15. After nominations were announced on July 16, politicking has been furiously going on behind the scenes (from what I've been told). Meantime, I've been scrambling to see all the nominees before the ballot arrives so that I can cast a responsible vote.

There was, of course, a lot of commentary around the time the nominations were announced, and much of it was extremely incisive. But as the talk died down and the pundits have moved on, Emmy voters were left with "What do we do now?"

By Ryan C. Showers ​​​

The 71st Primetime Emmy Award nominations were announced today. It was HBO’s day in the spotlight, leading any other network or platform with 137 nominations overall. Netflix accrued the second most nominations with 117. A week ago, Next Best Picture recorded a podcast with our predictions which you can listen to here.

Here are the big highlights to take away from today’s Emmy nominations...

By Matt Neglia 

​The nominations for the 71st Emmy Awards have been announced and in its final season "Game Of Thrones" leads the way with a record breaking 32 nominations for a single season.

Click below to see the nominations and be on the lookout for our podcast discussing the nominations and predicting the winners.

By Michael Schwartz 

After diving into predictions for Comedy, Drama, and Limited Series races (and giving our final predictions for tomorrow's nominations on the podcast), Next Best Picture breaks down Emmy contenders for the Variety Talk Series category. The category was born when the former Variety Series category split to allow more space for talk series and sketch series to thrive in their own corners. When The Daily Show with Jon Stewart won for ten consecutive years in a row, it made sense to provide breathing room. Since then, we’ve seen repeat showings from one series. But this upcoming Emmy cycle may just be the one to break the chain. Let’s dive in.

By Matt Neglia 
​
Emmy Nominations are only a few days away (July 16th to be exact) so Michael Schwartz, Ryan C. Showers, Tom O'Brien and myself naturally have thoughts on what we feel will be nominated and why. Be sure to check out our predictions on the podcast below and be on the lookout for our next episode where we will be discussing the nominations and give our predictions for the winners.

Thank you so much for listening. You can subscribe to the Next Best Picture Podcast on SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Tunein, PlayerFM, Acast & Castbox or you can listen down below. Please take a moment to review us on Apple Podcasts here. ​​

By Michael Schwartz 

We've taken a look at Best Comedy Series and Best Limited Series. Now, it's time to take a look at the shows which will be competing this year at the Emmys for a nomination in Best Drama Series.

Before "Game of Thrones" even returned to HBO to air its final season, the blockbuster series already had another Emmy win for Drama Series locked down and ready to go....or it seemed. While the final season was met with a divisive reaction, we still think it holds the top place at the moment based on the hype alone. However, with its momentum fading and the uncertainty surrounding whether the complaints from the fandom reached the ears of the Academy, we are starting to wonder if there is another show out there that can beat the HBO goliath.

​Let’s dive into the eight non-"Game of Thrones" series that will be competing for a nomination slot.​

​By Ryan C. Showers ​​

​Despite my intense studying, following, and analyzing the Emmy awards for the past six years, I have never held the limited series/TV movie categories to the same standard which I do the Drama and Comedy races. When I really began to become invested in the Emmys to a similar degree as my investment in the Oscars and film awards, many called it the “golden age” of television, when “Mad Men,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “The Good Wife,” “House of Cards,” “Downton Abbey,” and “Breaking Bad” were all fighting for the golden trophies from the Television Academy at full throttle. Heck, during this time, when Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson’s first season of “True Detective” set the world on fire, HBO made the strategic decision of entering the seven-episode narrative in the Drama series categories, rather than Limited/Miniseries. “True Detective” would have had a guaranteed sweep of every category that year had it proceeded as limited series, instead of only winning the directing achievement in the drama series category. Due to this decision, McConaughey lost to Bryan Cranston in a stunning upset. In my view, HBO made this decision because they didn’t want their prized possession winning the second fiddle, small potatoes, less prestigious categories at the Emmys.

My, how times have changed.

By Jacey Aldredge ​​

​***WARNING***

The following contains spoilers about "Game of Thrones" Season 8 Episode 3.

​​It’s done. Whatever predictions fans may have had for the Battle at Winterfell have come and gone, and for many of us, the 82-minute battle left us shell-shocked, out of breath, and reeling in our seats (or jumping out of them). For better or worse, the Night King is dealt with, and by Maisie Williams’ character Arya no less. Now that we’re halfway through with the final season of “Game of Thrones,” this third episode begs the question: did “Game of Thrones” just secure a Supporting Actress win for the September 22nd Emmys? And, more specifically, did Maisie Williams secure that win? ​

By Michael Schwartz 

The other day, we took a look at comedy series that are in contention for Emmy success. While many of those titles are returning champions, the limited series race brings in a fresh crop. With The Twilight Zone and American Horror Story competing as drama series, the limited series race seems to be as open as ever.

Let’s break down the top contenders.

By Michael Schwartz 

With the 71st Emmy Awards just around the corner, now seems as good a time as ever to take a deep dive into the current crop of contenders. Over the next couple of months, Next Best Picture will break down top contenders across the comedy, drama, and movie/limited series races. Today we will begin with comedy series contenders. Many of these shows are returning entries, while a few new additions will be competing for first-time Emmy favor.

​Let’s take a look at my predicted seven nominees.

By Ryan C. Showers ​​

​It’s that time of year: Television is on fire right now.

​Much like the way the films released in October, November, and December curve upward in quality, giving them prime release dates for award-season consideration, the television universe gets bombarded with the best the industry has to offer about this time of year, in the months of April and May. Each Emmy consideration period begins and ends every June, therefore companies prioritize their best bets for consideration from the Television Academy during this time of the year. This adheres to the long-respected tradition that awards-seeking media are best served when fresh in the minds of voters.