Will 'Stranger Things' break into the Emmys' Best Drama category?

The 2017 Emmy nominations will be announced Thursday morning, and there's one key reason to watch. Whether you're a sucker for awards shows or find them boring, you may have noticed that Outstanding Drama Series and its acting categories have been especially snooze-worthy for some time now.

The 2010s have been dominated by a handful of shows: Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, Homeland -- you know the ones. Granted, they're excellent shows, but Peak TV should mean that picking the cream of the crop presents the Television Academy with some sort of challenge, and Emmy viewers and voters with an interesting reason to tune in.

In 2017, that may actually happen.

To refresh, here's what the Emmys' drama category has looked like for the past five years (winners in bold):

2015–2016

Game of Thrones (Season 6) The Americans (Season 4) Better Call Saul (Season 2) Downton Abbey (Season 6) Homeland (Season 5) House of Cards (Season 4) Mr. Robot (Season 1)

2014–2015

Game of Thrones (Season 5) Better Call Saul (Season 1) Downton Abbey (Season 5) Homeland (Season 4) House of Cards (Season 3) Mad Men (Season 7) Orange Is the New Black (Season 2)

2013–2014

Breaking Bad (Season 5) Downton Abbey (Season 4) Game of Thrones (Season 4) House of Cards (Season 2) Mad Men (Season 7) True Detective (Season 1)

2012–2013

Breaking Bad (Season 5) Downton Abbey (Season 3) Game of Thrones (Season 3) Homeland (Season 2) House of Cards (Season 1) Mad Men (Season 6)

2011–2012

Homeland (Season 1) Boardwalk Empire (Season 2) Breaking Bad (Season 4) Downton Abbey (Season 2) Game of Thrones (Season 2) Mad Men (Season 5)

Here's what makes 2017 interesting: Game of Thrones won't be eligible this year; the majority of a show's season needs to have aired by the May 31 deadline to qualify for eligibility -- Game of Thrones won't even have started when nominations are announced. House of Cards got in just under the wire, dropping all of its episodes on May 30, but will Emmy voters have had a chance to watch it all? Downton Abbey is over, and Mr. Robot's second season didn't deliver on its promise. Homeland and The Americans are still going strong, so at least one will definitely appear in the category, but the path is largely cleared for a new wave of dramas.

Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is poised to sweep the drama categories, along with possibilities like Netflix's Stranger Things and The Crown, as well as NBC's This Is Us, the salvation of network TV. HBO could still rep strong with Westworld, but look for some other surprises as well.

Emmy noms will be announced Thursday morning at 8:30 am PT.