The Emmys Snubbed <em>House of the Dragon</em>. Did Anyone Notice?

Much like Lucerys Velaryon flying from Dragonstone never to be heard from again, House of the Dragon left the 2025 Emmy nominations announcement with just six honors in makeup, hairstyling, and visuals. While we spent the day mourning the snubs of Andor’s Diego Luna, the former Emmy juggernaut's lack of an awards presence flew completely under the radar… and without much pushback from fans, either.

It's no secret that House of the Dragon season 2 did not live up to audience expectations. Disappointing its audience isn’t exactly new for the HBO fantasy franchise. Game of Thrones season 7 featured ineffective and deflated resolution to years of exceptional build-up. Still, the Emmys still celebrated Thrones's farewell season with a record 32 nominations in a single year. Heck, it even won Outstanding Drama Series.

House of the Dragon? Not so much. It was clear from season 2’s mix of budget restraints and a stretched-out story that viewers were simply not feeling enthusiastic about Game of Thrones’s continued world-building. Even with acting on par (or even better) than some of the nominees in the Drama categories, the Emmys didn’t nominate leads Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke for the first season, either. Despite being nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, House of the Dragon left the 2023 Emmys (hosted in 2024) with just one win in Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes.

Just a few years ago, the talk of Hollywood was whether House of the Dragon or The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power would win the fantasy TV wars. Now, it seems that both series have lost. Rings Of Power received one just nomination this year for Outstanding Special Visual Effects—notably alongside the Dune prequel, Dune: Prophecy. Maybe, these fantasy prequels just aren’t panning out as well as Hollywood hoped. Good luck, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.