Metacritic, Emmy Drama Series, and ‘House of Cards’

Are positive Metacritic scores a necessary precursor to the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy race? Awards Daily TV looks at their impact on House of Cards.

Netflix’s House of Cards premiered May 30 at the tail end of the 2017 Emmy® eligibility window. That late season placement raised some eyebrows. Previous seasons all premiered in either February or early March. So, what gives with the late Season 5 birth? Was this a case of difficult labor? Or was this savvy Emmy placement?

After all, House of Cards routinely emerges as one of the more bingeable streaming shows. Most episodes end with those “How can Frank get out of this one?” cliffhangers that propel viewers forward into the next chapter. Given that, there could be a scenario where members of the Television Academy see House of Cards with ballots in hand. Would the late season debut finally catapult the series to its first Emmy win?

House of Cards’ performances remain consistently good with co-star Robin Wright really excelling in her role as Claire Underwood. Reactions to Kevin Spacey’s performance typically range from adoration (SAG) to polite acknowledgement (Emmys). You have to feel, at some point, he has to win for the role. The below the line work also feels uniformly great. But there’s some vital spark missing that previous show runner Beau Willimon took with him when he left at the end of Season 4.

In the Top Seven?

So, given all of that, how likely is it that House of Cards Season 5 returns to the top seven Outstanding Drama Series at the Emmys?

In its corner, all four previous seasons received nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. The Television Academy loves the show, clearly. Only with Season 3 did cracks appear in the Emmy armor. That was the first year it failed to receive a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, an award it won when producer David Fincher directed in the first season. Counteracting that missing Directing nomination, the series upped its number of acting nominations when Michael Kelly picked up Supporting Actor bids in Seasons 3 and 4. Plus, last year’s haul of 13 nominations tied a series high.

Then, there’s the whole current political narrative of a beleaguered administration, ties to Russia, and election trauma. By indirectly referencing current politics, House of Cards either earns points for being ahead of the curve, or detractors claim it couldn’t possibly compare to the drama surrounding the Trump administration.

What Do the Critics Say?

The biggest strike against it right now, though, is the overall reaction to the season. How do we know this is a strike? Rotten Tomatoes’ aggregate ratings give it a 74 percent, the lowest of the series. Over at Metacritic, the news is far worse. Currently, Metacritic holds House of Cards Season 5 at a 60 Metacritic score based on 11 critics’ reviews, tipping up slightly from last week’s low of 59. That’s down from Season 4’s 76 which declined from Season 2’s 80. Clearly, Season 5 holds some sense of fading admiration among critics.

And why is that?

Leading up to the premiere, the internet scuttled about this season potentially holding, if not a definitive end for Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood, then at least a significant split between Frank and Claire. Season 5 kind of delivers on that promise, but it’s not as strong a statement as rumors alluded. Then, there’s the whole Trump thing. Does art imitate reality? And does it do it well enough? Watching House of Cards Season 5, there’s a sense that it consistently competes again our modern reality. That’s definitely not the series fault.

How could a show runner anticipate the Trump administration? It’s literally unparalleled in the modern era. In this case, reality trumps art in nearly every way.

A Metacritic History

So, if House of Cards Season 5 is to make it into the top seven, then what does Emmy history say about that Metacritic score? Will it turn in this seemingly never-ending Golden Age of Television? Here’s a look at nominated series and their Metacritic scores in the 2010s.

2016

The Americans – 95
Better Call Saul – 85
Downton Abbey – 76
Game of Thrones – 73
Homeland – 76
House of Cards – 76
Mr. Robot – 79

2015

Better Call Saul – 78
Downton Abbey – 75
Game of Thrones – 91
Homeland – 74
House of Cards – 76
Mad Men – 83
Orange Is the New Black – 89

2014

Breaking Bad – 99
Downton Abbey – 72
Game of Thrones – 94
House of Cards – 80
Mad Men – 85
True Detective – 87

2013

Breaking Bad – 96
Downton Abbey – 83
Game of Thrones – 91
Homeland – 96
House of Cards – 76
Mad Men – 88

2012

Boardwalk Empire – 82
Breaking Bad – 89
Downton Abbey – 85
Game of Thrones – 90
Homeland – 92
Mad Men – 89

2011

Boardwalk Empire – 88
Dexter – 76
Friday Night Lights – 82
Game of Thrones – 80
The Good Wife – 89
Mad Men – 92

2010

Breaking Bad – 89
Dexter – 77
The Good Wife – 75
Lost – No Score
Mad Men – 87
True Blood – 74

What Does This Say?

First off, it’s hilarious to think that HBO’s True Blood ever received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. Moving on, the data proves that House of Cards Season 5 Metacritic aggregation may be a taller hurdle than it can reasonably overcome. Now, critics have never been overly kind to the series. Its most critically acclaimed season (Season 2) reached a high of 80.

But in the 2010s, no series reached the Outstanding Drama Series circle with a score less than 72 (Downton Abbey in 2014).

Now, Metacritic isn’t infallible. Critics often form opinions on a handful of early season episodes. How many times have you watched a series that started well but tanked halfway through? Or really failed to stick a proper landing?

Plus, Some scores only contain a handful of critics. Game of Thrones’s low score of 73 was based off of only 9 critics when previous seasons included 20-plus critics. Yet, if you go back and look at the user ratings of each season, you’ll see nominees generally rank above an 8.0. The user rating for House of Cards remains at 5.8 out of 98 ratings.

Final Verdict

Making this list, I found one thing abundantly clear: Emmy loves to repeat nominees. That wasn’t a surprise, of course, but putting together data like this makes the oft-said statement a stark reality. That fact goes in favor of House of Cards‘ return to the nominee’s circle. Plus, even if critics are cool to the series, does a score of 60 really mean it’s out of Emmy’s favor? Is there a sliding scale of reactions perhaps? Will voters simply check off House of Cards without even seeing the new season given how late it is? Possibly.

But before we leave the topic, let’s take a look at the Metacritic scores for the top 10 contenders according to Awards Daily TV.

The Americans – 94
Better Call Saul – 87
The Crown – 81
The Handmaid’s Tale – 92
House of Cards – 60
The Leftovers – 98
Mr. Robot – 81
Stranger Things – 76
This Is Us – 76
Westworld – 74

Based strictly on Metacritic alone, The Leftovers, The Americans, The Handmaid’s Tale, Better Call Saul, The Crown, Mr. Robot, and either Stranger Things or This Is Us are your nominees. Not a bad list at all, and actually, it’s one with which I would be very, very happy.

But my mind tells me that House of Cards still makes it in because members of the Television Academy have so much television to watch. They’re not likely to take in all of the hot new series, so something will be left out. Is that Westworld? Stranger Things? This Is Us? That’s for another conversation on another day.

Today, though, my heart tells me House of Cards is left out. That viewers have grown tired of the series. That Season 5 just isn’t good enough to get in. That the fact it’s only won one major Emmy in four years of nominations speaks volumes. Did they ever really love it to begin with?

Which wins out? My heart or my head?

Today, I’m going with the heart. House of Cards gets impeached.