The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards are this Sunday. If you love watching television—especially television about television—your eyes will be glued to the screen, watching Andy Samberg make jokes about how he wasn’t nominated this year…and maybe rapping?
Either way, the focus of the evening is on the hopeful nominees, and the name of this year’s Emmys game is finales. We’re losing so many of our weekly staples including Mad Men, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Parks and Recreation that it feels like there’s an empty seat with no ass groove on our couch. Will the voters (from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences , the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) honor these bright stars that went out with a bang instead of a whimper? Or will old Emmys habits prevail with HBO conquering all?
Here, we make our own picks for who will win at the end of this weekend.
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange is the New Black
What Should Win: Mad Men
What Will Win: Mad Men
Usually, when an important show is ending, Emmy voters tend to get nostalgic and vote with their heart as opposed to their head. For its final bow after seven seasons, Matthew Weiner’s period drama Mad Men went out on top with one of its best, so there’s no conflict there. Not only did the last half-season wrap up almost loose ends, it left viewers at an crossroads: Is Don Draper inherently an ad man after all? Or did he ascend to a higher plain of consciousness and understanding? We’re never given the answer, and it in the end doesn’t matter. Each character was treated with respect and given the ending that they each deserved, nothing felt forced. Mad Men‘s ending was never going to be completely satisfying, only because we always wanted more, but it was the finale that we deserved. And that made it perfect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNKEKlXY3Z4
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Louie
Modern Family
Parks and Recreation
Silicon Valley
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep
What Should Win: Louie or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
What Will Win: Parks and Recreation
While its final season largely coasted by on the fumes of four previous years of plaudits, this is the world’s last chance to lavish immense praise on Park and Recreation, and it seems unlikely that Emmy voters will choose to do otherwise. Louie is a known quantity—the whole joke of the show is that Louis is, to himself, a known quantity—but Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a different beast entirely; its combination of doomsday-prepping faux-religious fervor and wide-eyed-gal-in-the-big-city naivete are easy targets, but Tina Fey and Robert Carlock pour so much love into their characters that the show never feels like it’s pandering. Plus, you know, these females are strong as hell.
LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Who Should Win: Jon Hamm
Who Will Win: Jon Hamm
LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA
Taraji P. Henson, Empire
Claire Danes, Homeland
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Who Should Win: Taraji P. Henson
Who Will Win: Elisabeth Moss
This is, by far, the most diverse category of the night, which makes the race exciting…but a bit of a nightmare to predict. While each actress excellently portrayed fierce characters (including Elisabeth Moss’s stellar last offering as Mad Men‘s Peggy Olsen), only one busted open the door to our hearts in just one explosive debut season. Empire would be nothing without Cookie Lyon, and Cookie Lyon wouldn’t be as lovable if she wasn’t played by Taraji P. Henson. Fox debuted Empire in January—a midseason death wish for almost any show—and now there’s already outrage that the rookie show wasn’t nominated for Best Drama. Emmys voters might want to calm that Internet storm by awarding the actress statue to Henson (as they should), but it still seems unlikely because Moss is so strong.
LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, black-ish
Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Will Forte, The Last Man On Earth
Louis C.K., Louie
William H. Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Who Should Win: Jeffrey Tambor
Who Will Win: Jeffrey Tambor
LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY
Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
Lily Tomlin, Grace And Frankie
Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler, Parks And Recreation
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Who Should Win: Lisa Kudrow
Who Will Win: Amy Schumer
REALITY-COMPETITION SERIES
The Amazing Race
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice
What Should Win: Project Runway
What Will Win: The Amazing Race
Just sit there and watch those glorious bastards from The Amazing Race pick up another pointy statue. That has been the standard script for the other nominees almost every year since this category was introduced in 2003. Yes, there have been a couple (literally just two) of years where other programs have taken the top spot, but after a decade-long winning streak, it seems that the international fight-with-your-loved-one show will never fully be dethroned. But it should be! Project Runway has been putting out Emmy-quality seasons (whatever that means) since 2004 and has a Peabody! Through innovative challenges, larger-than-life personalities, thoughtful judges, and real-life effects, Project Runway is a show about creativity and appreciation for true talent. Just remember, without PR, Tim Gunn would still be an associate dean at Parsons and no one would really know how to “make it work.”
VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Late Show with David Letterman
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
What Should Win: Too tough to call
What Will Win: Late Show with David Letterman
Eesh, good luck figuring this out, Emmys. Just deciding between the three departing shows of unmistakable influence and legacy (The Colbert Report, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and Late Show with David Letterman) is tough enough, but add in the fact that Last Week Tonight may very well have been the best of them all this year, and you’ve got quite the pickle. Letterman will probably (and deservedly) take it, but there’s no wrong answer here (unless it’s Fallon).
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
Drunk History
Inside Amy Schumer
Key & Peele
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live
What Should Win: Key & Peele
What Will Win: Inside Amy Schumer
This year seems to be the year of sad goodbyes with Parks and Recreation, Mad Men, Letterman and Colbert’s final Report all in the Emmys race. Hollywood is closing a big chapter, and a damn funny one at that. Perhaps most notably absent in the Variety Sketch category in years to come will be Comedy Central’s hilarious Key & Peele, whose phenomenal character acting and pitch-perfect satire has earned the comedy duo nine Emmy nominations. It’s possible that their swan song season might finally clench the award, but let’s face it, there’s just no stopping the incredibly talented Amy Schumer. But don’t worry—with at least two feature films already in the works, we’re sure to see more of Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele in the future, Emmy-winners or not.
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game Of Thrones
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Michael Kelly, House Of Cards
Who Should Win: Ben Mendelsohn
Who Will Win: Peter Dinklage
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game Of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game Of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is The New Black
Who Should Win: Christina Hendricks
Who Will Win: Emilia Clarke
SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Adam Driver, Girls
Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Who Should Win: Adam Driver or Tituss Burgess
Who Will Win: Ty Burrell
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Niecy Nash, Getting On
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Allison Janney, Mom
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Anna Chlumsky, Veep
Who Should Win: Kate McKinnon
Who Will Win: Mayim Bialik
