BORED.

At first glance, many of the nominees for Outstanding New Program fit familiar TV conventions. We have a cop show, a detective show, and a mob drama.

How conventional was our winner? Adapted masterfully from George R.R. Martin’s novel by David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and a team of ace writers and directors, it’s outstanding, but it’s also just your basic epic medieval fantasy power struggle featuring dragons and direwolves, white walkers and witches, beheadings and be-tonguings and a crown of gold, whispering eunuchs and plotting pimps, breast-feeding 8-year-olds and little girls with swords, ascending bastards and sincere bastards and secret bastards, Imps and Wards and Hounds and Hands, twincest and sexposition, regicide and infanticide, Lords and Ladies, Sers and Maesters, Khals and Khaleesis, a kingdom wracked by war, a strong-hold in the sky, a giant freaking wall and a throne forged from iron and blood.

Oh and did I mention that much of the story was told in Dothraki?

Hmmm… Maybe this won’t be such an easy formula to replicate.

It is known that the TCA Award for Outstanding New Program goes to HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”