69th Annual Primetime Emmy Predictions

So many different people who are actual critics in some way for newspapers or some other format probably release their own version of Emmy predictions. I decided that I might as well do that myself so this is the third time that I’m posting these reviews. I am getting information on this on the Wikipedia page in question which has messed with me twice now by mentioning some categories that aren’t on the final show and not mentioning others that are on the final show. I don’t get it. This will probably happen again when I look back on this. But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to write this post based on what they originally say as I try to guess what these people consider the best of shows that I’m sure I’ve never seen since fuck network TV. Also, I love how it is normally always the same shows nominated year in and year out. What’s up with that? Do something different!

Let’s start with the nominees for outstanding comedy series. They are Atlanta, Black-ish, Master of None, Modern Family, Silicon Valley, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Veep. The usual winner is Veep so I see no reason why it would lose this time around. I guess we’ll see if something steals its thunder the way it stole Modern Family’s thunder a while back.

The nominees for outstanding drama series are Better Call Saul, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, House of Cards, Stranger Things, This is Us, and Westworld. I should keep track of who the previous year’s winner was, but I won’t. I’d have to say that I think that House of Cards will win.

The nominees for outstanding variety talk series are Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Last Weed Tonight with John Oliver, The Late Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Real Time with Bill Maher. I think that The Late Show with Stephen Colbert will be the winner unless another one of these is more popular, but I don't know that much about it.

The nominees for outstanding variety sketch series are Billy on the Street, Documentary Now, Drunk History, Portlandia, Saturday Night Live, and Tracey Ullman’s Show. I think that the winner will be Saturday Night Live. I can’t think of anything more exciting. Hey, look! A water fountain!

The nominees for outstanding limited series are Big Little Lies, Fargo, Feud: Bette and Joan, Genius, and The Night Of. I love how Fargo gets nominated for this every year. I do wonder what happened to American Horry Story as it used to always win. I would think that Fargo will win.

The nominees for outstanding television movie are Black Mirror: San Junipero, Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Sherlock: The Lying Detective, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lack, and The Wizard of Lies. I think that the winner will be Sherlock, even though it is hardly a movie since it is a TV series. Why is it in this category? I don't know.

The nominees for outstanding reality competition program are The Amazing Race, American Ninja Warrior, Project Runway, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Top Chef, and The Voice. I forget what normally wins in this category, so I’ll go out on a limb and say RuPaul’s Drag Race will win, even though it is more likely to be The Voice that wins again.

The nominees for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series are Anthony Anderson for playing Andre “Dre” Johnson Sr. on Black-ish, Aziz Ansari for playing Dev Shah on Master of None, Zach Galifianakis for playing Chip and Dale Baskets on Baskets. Donald Glover for playing Earnest “Earn” Marks on Atlanta, Will H Macy for playing Frank Gallagher on Shameless, and Jeffrey Tambor for playing Maura Pfeffeman on Transparent. I’m going to go with Jeffrey Tambor as the winner since transgender things are so huge right now for some reason.

The nominees for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series are Pamela Adlon for playing Sam Fox on Better Things, Jane Fonda for playing Grace Hanson on Grace and Frankie, Allison Janney for playing Bonnie Plunkett on Mom, Ellie Kemper for playing Kimmy Schmidt on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus for playing Selina Meyer on Veep, Tracee Ellis Ross for playing Dr. Rainbow “Bow” Johnson on Black-ish, and Lily Tomlin for playing Frankie Bergstein on Grace and Frankie. Why do they pit people from the same show against each other? And I thought that Mom devoted their Emmy budget to supporting Planned Parenthood instead of submitting to the Emmys. I’m not entirely sure what might happen, but I’ll predict that Julia Louis-Dreyfus will win.

The nominees for outstanding lead actor in a drama series are Sterling K Brown for playing Randall Pearson on This is Us, Anthony Hopkins for playing Robert Ford on Westworld, Bob Odenkirk for playing Jimmy McGill on Better Call Saul, Matthew Rhys for playing Philip Jennings on The Americans, Liev Schreiber for playing Ray Donovan on Ray Donovan, Kevin Spacey for playing Frank Underwood on House of Cards, and Milo Ventimiglia for playing Jack Pearson on This is Us. I hate The Americans so that will probably win. Only I think that Kevin Spacey will come out on top.

The nominees for outstanding lead actress in a drama series are Viola Davis for playing Annalise Keating on How to Get Away with Murder, Claire Foy for playing Queen Elizabeth II on The Crown, Elisabeth Moss for playing Offred on The Handmaid’s Tale, Keri Russell for playing Elizabeth Jennings on The Americans, Evan Rachel Wood for playing Dolores Abernathy on Westworld, and Robin Wright for playing Claire Underwood on House of Cards. I haven’t seen House of Cards so I don’t know why both Frank and Claire are mentioned as president in my link about this. One might be a mistake. I don’t know what to predict, so I’ll say that Keri Russell will win.

The nominees for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie are Riz Ahmed for playing Nasir “Naz” Khan on The Night Of, Benedict Cumberbatch for playing Sherlock Holmes on Sherlock: The Lying Detective, Robert De Niro for playing Bernie Madoff on The Wizard of Lies, Ewan McGregor for playing Ray Stussy and Emmit Stussy on Fargo, Geoffrey Rush for playing Albert Einstein on Genius, and John Turturro for playing John Stone on The Night Of. I hate Sherlock and don’t know how it is a limited series. While it might be Robert De Niro winning, I’m going to guess that Ewan McGregor will.

The nominees for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie are Carrie Coon for playing Gloria Burgle on Fargo, Felicity Huffman for playing Jeanette Hesby on American Crime, Nicole Kidman for playing Celeste Wright on Big Little Lies, Jessica Lange for playing Joan Crawford on Feud: Bette and Joan, Susan Sarandon for playing Bette Davis on Feud: Bette and Joan, and Reese Witherspoon for playing Madeline Martha Mackenzie on Big Little Lies. I don’t like American Crime and am thinking that I should add a “worst Emmy nominated show” category for my Golden Huckleberry Awards. But would I want to include the creative arts Emmys in that category too? Anyways, I think that Carrie Coon will win, but it is more likely to be a toss-up between any of them.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series are Louie Anderson for playing Christine Baskets on Baskets, Alec Baldwin for playing Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live, Tituss Burgess for playing Titus Andromedon on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Ty Burrell for playing Phil Dunphy on Modern Family, Tony Hale for playing Gary Walsh on Veep, and Matt Walsh for playing Mike McLintock on Veep. I see no reason why someone other than Alec Baldwin will win.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series are Vanessa Bayer for playing various characters on Saturday Night Live, Anna Chlumsky for playing Amy Brookheimer on Veep, Kathryn Hahn for playing Raquel Fein on Transparent, Leslie Jones for playing various characters on Saturday Night Live, Judith Light for playing Shelly Pfefferman on Transparent, and Kate McKinnon for playing various characters on Saturday Night Live. I think that one of the women from Saturday Night Live will win. Which woman? I’d say that Kate McKinnon will win.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series are Jonathan Banks for playing Mike Ehrmantraut on Better Call Saul, Ron Cephas Jones for playing William H Hill on This is Us, David Harbour for playing Jim Hopper on Stranger Things, Michael Kelly for playing Doug Stamper on House of Cards, John Lithgow for playing Winston Churchill on The Crown, Mandy Patinkin for playing Saul Berenson on Homeland, Jeffrey Wright for playing Bernard Lowe on Westworld. I have not seen any of these shows. So I’m just going to guess that Michael Kelly will win.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series are Uzo Aduba for playing Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on Orange is the New Black, Millie Bobby Brown for playing Eleven on Stranger Things, Ann Dowd for playing Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid’s Tale, Chrissy Metz for playing Kate Pearson on This is Us, Thandie Newton for playing Maeve Millay on Westworld, and Samira Wiley for playing Moira on The Handmaid’s Tale. How can someone be playing a number? I’m going to guess that Uzo Aduba will be the winner.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie are Bill Camp for playing Dennis Box on The Night Of, Alfred Molina for playing Robert Aldrich on Feud: Bette and Joan, Alexander Skarsgard for playing Perry Wright on Big Little Lies, David Thewlis for playing V M Varga on Fargo, Stanley Tucci for playing Jack Warner on Feud: Bette and Joan, and Michael K Williams for playing Freddy Knight on The Night Of. Another guess here is that David Thewlis will win.

The nominees for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie are Judy Davis for playing Hedda Hopper on Feud: Bette and Joan, Laura Dern for playing Renata Klein on Big Little Lies, Jackie Hoffman for playing Mamacita on Feud: Bette and Joan, Regina King for playing Kimara Walters on American Crime, Michelle Pfeiffer for playing Ruth Madoff on The Wizard of Lies, and Shailene Woodley for playing Jane Chapman on Big Little Lies. I think that Regina King will win.

The nominees for outstanding directing for a comedy series are Atlanta’s episode B.A.N. directed by Donald Glover, Silicon Valley’s episode Intellectual Property directed by Jamie Babbit, Silicon Valley’s episode Server Error directed by Mike Judge, Veep’s episode Blurb directed by Morgan Sackett, Veep’s episode Groundbreaking directed by David Mandel, and Veep’s episode Justice directed by Dale Stern. This is when I really hate the same show getting multiple nominees in the same category. You won’t see that on my awards. I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that David Mandel will win.

The nominees for outstanding directing for a drama series are Better Call Saul’s episode Witness directed by Vince Gilligan, The Crown’s episode Hyde Park Corner directed by Stephen Daldry. The Handmaid’s Tale’s episode Offred directed by Reed Morano, The Handmaid’s Tale’s episode The Bridge directed by Kate Dennis, Homeland’s episode America First directed by Lesli Linka Glatter, Stranger Things’ episode Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers directed by The Duffer Brothers, and Westworld’s episode The Bicameral Mind directed by Jonathan Nolan. I’m going to guess again when I think that Lesli Linka Glatter will win.

The nominees for outstanding directing for a variety special are the 89^th Academy Awards directed by Glenn Weiss, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner directed by Paul Pennolino, Stephen Colbert’s Live Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s going to Clean up this Shit? That was directed by Jim Hoskinson. The last nominee that I have mentioned is Tony Bennett Celebrates 90: The Best is yet to come directed by Jerry Foley. I think that Jim Hoskinson will win.

The nominees for outstanding directing for a variety series are Drunk History’s episode Hamilton directed by Jeremy Konner and Derek Waters, Jimmy Kimmel Live’s episode The (RED) Show directed by Andy Fisher, Late Week Tonight with John Oliver’s episode Multi-Level Marketing directed by Paul Pennolino, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s episode called Episode 0179 directed by Jim Hoskinson, and Saturday Night Live’s episode called Host: Jimmy Fallon directed by Don Roy King. I think that Jim Hoskinson will win this category as well.

The nominees for outstanding directing for a limited series, movie, or dramatic special (yay, oxford comma!) are Big Little Lies’s episode directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, Fargo’s episode The Law of Vacant Places directed by Noah Hawley, Feud: Bette and Joan’s episode And the Winner is… (The Oscars of 1963) directed by Ryan Murphy, Genius’s episode Einstein: Chapter One directed by Ron Howard, The Night Of’s episode The Art of War directed by James March, and The Night Of’s episode The Beach directed by Steve Zailian. I’m going to guess that Ron Howard will win.

The nominees for outstanding writing for a comedy series are Atlanta’s episode B.A.N. written by Donald Glover, Atlanta’s episode Streets on Lock written by Stephen Glover, Master of None’s episode Thanksgiving written by Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe, Silicon Valley’s episode Success Failure written by Alec Berg, Veep’s episode Georgia written by Billy Kimball, and Veep’s episode Groundbreaking written by David Mandel. Why must so many shows compete against themselves in a category? Just pick one single episode! Anyways, I’m going to predict that David Mandel would win, but like nearly everything in this post, I’m just making a random guess here.

The nominees for outstanding writing for a drama series are The Americans’s episode The Soviet Division written by Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, Better Call Saul’s episode Chicanery written by Gordon Smith, The Crown’s episode Assassins written by Peter Morgan, The Handmaid’s Tale’s episode Offred written by Bruce Miller, Stranger Things’s episode Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers written by The Duffer Brothers, and Westworld’s episode The Bicameral Mind written by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan. Another guess: Gordon Smith will win.

The nominees for outstanding writing for a variety special do not mention who all of the writers are for some of them. That is probably because of their being far too many of them for some of them to consider mentioning them all at once. Anyways, the nominees are the 70^th Annual Tony Awards, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Louis CK: 2017, Sarah Silverman: A Speck of Dust, and Stephen Colbert’s Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going to Clean up this Shit? I think that the winner will be the writers of Stephen Colbert’s Election Night Democracy’s Series Finale: Who’s Going to Clean up this Shit?

The nominees for outstanding writing for a variety series are Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, Late Night with Seth Meyers, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and Saturday Night Live. I don’t like Late Night anymore, so it makes me think that show will win. Only it will more than likely be Saturday Night Live that wins.

We finally get to the last thing that I’m writing about in this blog post. The nominees for outstanding writing for a limited series, movie, or dramatic special (yay, oxford comma!) are Bill Little Lies written by David E Kelley, Black Mirror’s episode San Junipero written by Charlie Brooker, Fargo’s episode The Law of Vacant Places written by Noah Hawley, Feud: Bette and Joan’s episode And the Winner is… (The Oscars of 1963) written by Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan’s episode Pilot written by Jaffe Cohen, Michael Zam, and Ryan Murphy, and The Night Of’s episode The Call of the Wind written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillain. I’m going to guess that Noah Hawley will win.

You know, this might be the last time that I do these predictions as I realized as I wrote this just how many of these were just random guesses of mine. I guess if I get over half of these right (provided that they are even mentioned on the main show), that I will do this again. I may just forgo this all to do summer cancellation prediction posts or just do a category in my Golden Huckleberry Awards called Worst Emmy Nominated Show. But I can’t just guess at everything, although maybe I have done this every previous time as well. We’ll also see if any of the shows that I hated are winners like I think that they could be. I don’t know what else to say.