Los Angeles (AFP)

The "Game of Thrones" series will launch into a final battle Sunday to try to beat its own record of awards during the traditional Emmy Awards, equivalent to the Oscars for American television.

Despite a flawed final season, deemed even sloppy by some fans who have petitioned for a new version, HBO's medieval-fantasy saga of dragons, undead, and dynastic revenge has been selected 32 times.

"GoT", already the most awarded series in the history of American television, has set the bar high: Twice already, she won twelve awards in a single edition of the Emmy Awards.

The eighth and final season seems set to pulverize this record this year since it already received ten Emmy Awards last weekend, during a first salvo of prizes awarded in creative and technical categories: special effects, accessories, costumes, etc.

A simple warm-up for "Game of Thrones" which is the favorite in this 71st edition for the flagship category of the "best drama series". A phenomenon of society as much as critical and commercial success, the series attracted more than 40 million spectators in each episode for its last season.

"All indications are that + Game of Thrones + will win," said Michael Schneider of Variety magazine. "Even if the fans did not necessarily like this final season, it does not matter: if the voters like it, then it is she who will win the Emmy," he predicts.

The 22,000 or so professionals who make up the Emmy Academy had two weeks during the month of August to fill out their newsletter.

In total, the flagship series of HBO can still count on 14 nominations in seven distinct categories to surpass its record Sunday.

On the supporting side, Peter Dinklage, who plays Tyrion Lannister, has a good chance of winning for his interpretation of the dwarf party-goer and philosopher, as well as Maisie Williams who plays Arya Stark, the little princess who has become a ruthless assassin.

- More rhythm and audience? -

"GoT" will also fly to the rescue of the Emmy Awards audience, which dropped to a record low last year by attracting just over 10 million viewers.

In an attempt to turn the tide, the organizers decided to copy the Oscars to offer a shorter and more rhythmic evening, with no single master of ceremonies. Among other stars, each of the ten actors of "Game of Thrones" in the running will ensure a passage to the pulpit to play the role of presenter.

In other categories, the second season of "The Fabulous Ms. Maisel" (Amazon comedy) and "Chernobyl" (limited edition of HBO) hold the rope with respectively 20 and 19 nominations.

Ms. Maisel portrays a Jewish housewife who embarks on a new life of stand-up comic and scandal in the 1950s after being cheated and left by her husband. Last year, the series had created a surprise by winning six prizes in total, including the best comedy.

She will face "Fleabag" and "Veep", a satire of American political life that has just completed its last season and already has 17 Emmy Awards to its credit.

Leading actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus has already won the title eight times and the series itself has been crowned "best comedy" in 2015, 2016 and 2017. She could not compete last year, the series having been suspended to give Julia Louis-Dreyfus time to cure breast cancer.

"Chernobyl", a five-episode mini-drama series exploring the 1986 nuclear disaster from the inside, has already garnered seven technical Emmy Awards, even garnering the award for the best sets at "Game of Thrones".

However, she will find on her way Sunday the series "In their eyes", adaptation of the true story of five young men black or Hispanic wrongly accused of rape in New York, with eight appointments.

© 2019 AFP