Emmys 2016: Game of Thrones wins drama series writing

Game of Thrones has another Emmy to go with that Iron Throne.

At the 68th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, the HBO hit won Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss taking home the trophy for writing “Battle of the Bastards.”

The epic fantasy series is no stranger to the Emmy landscape. It scored 23 nods at this year’s ceremony, most Emmy nominations of 2016. The show won 10 total trophies between Sunday night’s Emmys broadcast and last week’s Creative Arts Emmys. Benioff and Weiss won last year for “Mother’s Mercy,” marking the series’ first win in the writing category for the George R.R. Martin series after three previous nominations.

This year’s crowning winner, “Battle of the Bastards,” brought every element that the fantastical series is known for to a head. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) clashed with Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) over Winterfell, while Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) unleashed the wrath of Drogon on her enemies. The tides of each battle change, marking the signature twist of expectations that Game of Thrones thrives on.

“So much of what we’re doing diverges from the books at this point. And while there are certain key elements that will be the same, we’re not going to talk so much about that – and I don’t think George is either,” Benioff told EW in May. “People are going to be very surprised when they read the books after the show. They’re quite divergent in so many respects for the remainder of the show.”

Game of Thrones faced intense competition in the category, beating out Julian Fellowes of Downton Abbey, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg of The Americans, Robert and Michelle King of The Good Wife, Sam Esmail of Mr. Robot, and Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro of UnREAL.

See all the Emmy winners here.