Streaming rules Emmys as Netflix snaps 17-year HBO streak
LOS ANGELES — When Netflix snapped HBO’s 17-year streak as Emmy nominations leader, more than bragging rights switched hands. It represented the breathtaking change in how audiences get and watch TV and the threat to traditional TV networks from streaming services.
Especially one like Netflix, whose multibillion-dollar investment in programming allowed it to rocket Thursday to 112 nominations just five years after launching its first original series, “House of Cards.” That’s double the total of nods it earned in 2016 and just ahead of HBO’s 108 nods (down two from 2017).
Another streamed series, Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” earned 20 nominations and a chance to defend its title as best drama series at the 70th Primetime Emmy ceremony airing Sept. 17 on NBC.
HBO still boasts the year’s most-nominated series, “Game of Thrones” (22 nods) and “Westworld” (20), while Netflix fielded “The Crown” (13 nods) and “Stranger Things (12).