Science fiction and horror have become forces at the Emmys, with “ The Penguin ,” “ The Last of Us ,” “Andor,” “Severance,” “Paradise” and “What We Do in the Shadows” scoring nominations in major categories — acting, writing and best series.

“The Last of Us” showrunner Craig Mazin credits “The Lord of the Rings” for the rise of the genre. “There was an application of quality and thoughtfulness to that story, and it didn’t discount its genre elements. It embraced them,” he says. “Genre elements have more in common with mythology and legend than anything else, and mythology and legend are the most basic kind of storytelling we have.”

And the numbers show that the storytelling transcends genre.

Mazin says that in TV, everything boils down to the quality of the script. “If you can deliv

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