Emmy Podcast #14: Final Emmy Predictions in Drama and Comedy Categories

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07/07/16 • 141 min

In part one of two final Emmy prediction podcasts before the nominations are announced on July 14th, I am joined by AwardsWatch Emmy Experts Chris and Jonathan to go over Drama and Comedy Series and their respective Lead and Supporting categories as well as Limited Series, TV Movie, Variety Talk, Variety Sketch, Variety Special and Special Class Program. With so many categories and Limited Series alone being one of the best and most competitive in decades, we're going to save that (and the Writing, Directing and Guest predictions) for the next one.

We delve deep into why I think The Americans will break big this year with multiple acting nominations as well as the big one, Drama Series. Also, is Homeland still back on track and can anything upset Game of Thrones from repeating?

In Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Jonathan offers his reasons for predicting Rachel Bloom from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to score the CW's first major nomination, while I think Ilana Glazer has a good shot for Broad City and Chris makes the case for the return of Lena Dunham (Girls).

We discuss the 3rd season of Orange is the New Black being lighter in tone and can it still make it into Drama Series or will it just be Uzo Aduba repeating? Horace and Pete, Billions, Better Call Saul and Mr. Robot all find their way into the discussion and Jonathan and I defend dropping Modern Family in Comedy Series in favor of Mom. We wonder if black-ish will be the breakout we think it's going to be (hint, it totally is) hope that Samantha Bee can break the boys club of Variety Talk Series with Full Frontal.

This podcast runs 2h 15m (without intro/outro music) so get a snack. Or maybe a drink.

This podcast runs 2h 15m (without intro/outro music) so get a snack. Or maybe a drink.

Previous Episode

Emmy Podcast #13: Emmy Submission Ballots, Guest/Writing/Directing Categories

The submission ballots for the 2016 Emmys are in and voting has begun. This podcast I have brought back Vox.com culture editor Todd VanDerWerff and AwardsWatch Emmy Experts Jonathan Boehle to break down some of the submission list, concentrating on the Guest, Writing and Directing categories since those give us actual episodes before the nominations are announced.

We also talk a bit about how/if the new rules enacted this (and last) year will affect the upcoming batch of nominees and dig a bit deeper into categories like Lead Actor in a Drama Series as well as venture into the issue of race and awards. After two years of #OscarsSoWhite, are the Emmys much farther ahead on this? Will the Emmy success of black-ish, Roots and The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story be the story of the day come nominations next month?

All this and much more on this issue of the AwardsWatch Emmy Podcast.

Next Episode

Emmy Podcast #15: Final Emmy Predictions in Limited Series, Guest Categories plus Emmy Wishes

As promised, part two of our final Emmy predictions find their way into Emmy Podcast #15 (check out Emmy Podcast #14 here) where we talk exclusively about the incredibly competitive Limited Series acting categories, most especially just how many acting nominations can The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story get and will Fargo and/or American Crime be left in its wake? Plus, will Hotel be the nail in American Horror Story's nomination coffin or will Lady Gaga nudge her way in? American Crime, which earned 10 nominations last year, could find itself on the outside of the behemoth of The People v. O.J. Simpson this year, or we could see it reap nominations in multiple acting categories. Same with Fargo; a strong second season could see a good fight and it appears Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie is going to be ground zero for that battle.

Next we tackle the Guest categories in Drama and Comedy and wonder if The Good Wife's final salvo will see a boatload of nominations here. It seems like these categories could see a lot of previous winner name-checking (Allison Janney, Margo Martindale) but there's also a lot of room for some surprises (like Octavia Spencer or Vanessa Williams).

Finally, Chris, Jonathan and myself all give up our Emmy wishes for nomination morning that include BoJack Horseman, Rectify, You're the Worst, Allison Wright (The Americans), Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby (UnREAL), T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley), Connor Jessup and Joey Pollari (American Crime) and more.