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Our Dream Emmy Nominations and Predictions

The Emmys Could The Sinner Get Nominated?
Bill Pullman and Jessica Biel in “The Sinner” from Universal Cable Productions.

With Emmy nominations right around the corner, we have been thinking about our favorite picks for this year’s show. Television that aired between June 1st of 2017 and May 31st of 2018 are eligible this go-round. Nominations will be announced on July 12th. After that, we will have just over two agonizing months of speculation until the live awards ceremony on September 17th.

So without further ado, here are some of our favorites as well as a few predictions for the 2018 Emmy nominations. Enjoy!

Outstanding Drama Series

The nomination pool for drama seems to be getting tougher and tougher every time. In a category that frequently sees the same shows nominated year after year, voters surprised us in 2017 by nominating a record number of first-year shows. And on top of that, choosing The Handmaid’s Tale as the first ever web series to win the big prize.

Shows we NEED to see nominated

The Americans suffered some criticism in the last couple of seasons, but the finale was universally loved. In its final year competing, it had better pick up an outstanding drama series award!

If Stranger Things doesn’t get an Emmy nod for its stellar second season, then there’s no justice in this world.

Shows that probably WILL be nominated

  • Both Stranger Things and The Americans are pretty much guaranteed nominations. Phew!
  • Last year’s winner, The Handmaid’s Tale, will likely bring home another nomination this year, and could probably win again.
  • Game of Thrones, which wasn’t eligible last year, is definitely a shoe-in for a nomination this time around.
  • The Crown’s second season has gotten some amazing reviews and is certainly a favorite in this category.
  • I think it’s safe to say Westworld is basically guaranteed a nomination this year.

Maybe, Maybe Not

  • This is Us, while this show is still a fan favorite, it did pick up some criticism for its drawn-out second season. Will it be nominated this year? Probably. Is it a shoe-in? Not necessarily.

Long-shot

  • There are a few shows that could surprise us by slipping into the cracks. Among them are: Mr. Robot (which saw great reviews this year), The Good Doctor, The Deuce (HBO’s James Franco-helmed series about the porn industry in the ‘70s and ‘80s), The Chi (from Showtime), Mindhunter, and Killing Eve (the fantastic AMC show that brought Sandra Oh back into our lives).   

Outstanding Comedy Series

Speaking of predictable categories, HBO-favorite Veep has rightfully won this category the past three years in a row. Now, due to air date rescheduling, Veep is ineligible this year and that leaves the playing field wide open for the rest of the comedy hopefuls.

Shows we NEED to see nominated

Words cannot describe how brilliant the NBC comedy The Good Place is. If this gets nominated, I might actually believe in love again.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is one of the new kids on the block this go-round and shocked everyone when it picked up last year’s Golden Globe win for best comedy. Will this Amazon Prime series do the same at the Emmys this year?

Shows that probably WILL be nominated

  • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel has a pretty darn good shot at being nominated this year.
  • Netflix’s series about a league of lady wrestlers, GLOW, is almost certainly going to be among the list of nominees.
  • The NBC staple black-ish has already been nominated once before in 2016, and the show, which will be heading into its 5th season this coming fall, has only gotten better.
  • Atlanta, Netflix’s 2016 Donald Glover-helmed series was back this year and has consistently been well-reviewed. If nominated, this will be the show’s second nomination.
  • HBO’s new comedy Barry, starring Bill Hader, has been making waves. A nomination is not such an impossibility here.
  • Silicon Valley has been nominated two years in a row, so it’s a good bet that it could pick up a third!

Maybe, Maybe Not

  • Despite the controversy surrounding show creator and executive producer Louis C. K., the FXcomedy Better Things starring Pamela Adlon still seems to have a small chance of making the nomination list.
  • We’re just going to go ahead and predict that the Will & Grace revival will bring with it some Emmy luck. The show was nominated 6 times in this category during its original run and has had nearly nothing but good reviews as of late.

Long-shot

  • Now I’m going to be hopeful and stick The Good Place on this list. 
  • While extremely unlikely, before Roseanne Barr got the show canceled with her unseemly tweets, the reboot of Roseanne was definitely among the contenders. I’m still holding out for nominations for Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman.

Outstanding Limited Series

This year, the category of outstanding limited series is a little murkier than usual. With no clear front-runner, this one is a bit harder to predict.

Shows we NEED to see nominated

American Crime Story’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace was the second installment of this anthology series and chronicles the movements of spree-killer Andrew Cunanan, culminating in the killing of famed fashion designer Gianni Versace. Perhaps even more compelling than The People vs. OJ Simpson, this installment is heart pounding, addicting, and has an amazing cast. Notably, Darren Criss shines here in his role as Andrew Cunanan and (fingers crossed!) will probably be nominated for best lead actor. (We’re also hoping to see TV-vet Judith Light get a nomination for best supporting actress.)

USA has been stepping up its game for several years now, and I for one was utterly impressed by The Sinner, the network’s limited series starring Jessica Biel. Will the show actually pick up a nom? Honestly? It’s a long-shot. Biel, on the other hand, is almost a shoe-in for an outstanding lead actress nomination. Her startling performance here is certainly a career best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMUiRYoc76A

This Netflix western, Godless, is probably the most bad-ass of all the limited series’ this year. I for one would love for this one to get nominated, if for no other reason than to get it some more exposure as an Emmy nominee.

Shows that probably WILL be nominated

  • The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is at the top of this list and Godless is not far behind.
  • One of our favorites from Hulu, The Looming Tower, definitely may find itself nominated. And we would personally love to see Peter Sarsgaard pick up a nomination here. (Not nominating him for his role in The Killing was a straight-up robbery.) 
  • Twin Peaks, the limited event series return of the original cult show, is certainly a top contender here.
  • If starring Benedict Cumberbatch and the incomparable Hugo Weaving isn’t enough to get this series a nomination, Patrick Melrose is just downright quality entertainment.
  • The Terror is a horror story from good old AMC and definitely deserves a spot on the list.  

Maybe, Maybe Not

  • Even if Top of the Lake: China Girl doesn’t pick up a nomination itself, Nicole Kidman (fresh off of last year’s Big Little Lies) and The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss are definitely contenders for outstanding supporting and leading actress (respectively).

Long-shot

  • The Sinner isn’t totally out of the running, but it would be a really unlikely nomination if ever.

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