Our fearless (and early) Emmys nomination predictions

The small screen awards season now runs year-round, so trying to guess the Emmy nominees at this early stage is a fool’s errand. But we’re fools for great television! Prestige projects like The Crown and The Handmaid’s Tale are taking this year off, while HBO’s category-dominating gems Game of Thrones and Veep are taking one last (victory?) lap. So expect an exciting mix of first-time nominees alongside some very familiar faces — and a few surprises. You’ll get to all these shows by September, we swear!

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Can anything stop HBO’s fantasy juggernaut from a fourpeat victory? Five of last year’s nominees aren’t competing, so an alliance of new challengers will attempt one final de-Thrones-ing.

• Better Call Saul (AMC)

• Game of Thrones (HBO)

• Homecoming (Amazon Prime Video)

• Killing Eve (BBC America)

• Pose (FX)

• Succession (HBO)

• This Is Us (NBC)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Three-time winner Veep returns to duel with 2018 champ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. And Better Things will finally get its overdue first nomination in this category, right? Right.

• Barry (HBO)

• Better Things (FX)

• black-ish (ABC)

• GLOW (Netflix)

• The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

• The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)

• Veep (HBO)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Emilia Clarke previously competed in the supporting category. But general Thrones goodwill should power her into a category stuffed with legendary talents.

• Christine Baranski, The Good Fight (CBS All Access)

• Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones (HBO)

• Jodie Comer, Killing Eve (BBC America)

• Laura Linney, Ozark (Netflix)

• Sandra Oh, Killing Eve (BBC America)

• Julia Roberts, Homecoming (Amazon Prime Video)

• Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Two Kings in the North (R.I.P. Robb!) could compete for the same crown, but keep your eye on Bob Odenkirk, already nominated thrice for his ever-more-devastating work on Better Call Saul.

• Jason Bateman, Ozark (Netflix)

• Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us (NBC)

• Kit Harington, Game of Thrones (HBO)

• Stephan James, Homecoming (Amazon Prime Video)

• Richard Madden, Bodyguard (Netflix)

• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC)

• Billy Porter, Pose (FX)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will almost certainly earn her seventh Veep acting Emmy for her last ride as former president Selina Meyer. And in a crowded field, don’t count out Christina Applegate, doing career-best work on Netflix’s twisty-sorrowful Dead to Me.

• Pamela Adlon, Better Things (FX)

• Christina Applegate, Dead to Me (Netflix)

• Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)

• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)

• Issa Rae, Insecure (HBO)

• Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)

• Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag (Amazon Prime Video)

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Past winners Donald Glover (Atlanta) and Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent) aren’t eligible this year, which leaves room for Ricky Gervais (After Life) and Jim Carrey (Kidding). As for perennial nominee William H. Macy? Something tells us the Shameless star is gonna sit this one out.

• Anthony Anderson, black-ish (ABC)

• Jim Carrey, Kidding (Showtime)

• Don Cheadle, Black Monday (Showtime)

• Ted Danson, The Good Place (NBC)

• Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

• Ricky Gervais, After Life (Netflix)

• Bill Hader, Barry (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

Before you riot, American Horror Story fans, a quick disclaimer: In April, the Academy ruled that AHS: Apocalypse be “recategorized” as a drama series because it featured “continuing story threads, characters, and actors” from previous seasons.

• Catch-22 (Hulu)

• Escape at Dannemora (Showtime)

• Fosse/Verdon (FX)

• The Haunting of Hill House (Netflix)

• Sharp Objects (HBO)

• True Detective (HBO)

• A Very English Scandal (Amazon Prime Video)

OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE

Lots of prestige contenders in this category, but it all comes down to old (the long, long-awaited Deadwood revival) versus new (Black Mirror‘s choose-your-own-adventure experiment).

• Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (Netflix)

• Brexit (HBO)

• Deadwood: The Movie (HBO)

• King Lear (Amazon Prime Video)

• My Dinner With Hervé (HBO)

• Native Son (HBO)

• The Romanoffs: End of the Line (Amazon Prime Video)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

At 19, Joey King would be the youngest nominee in this category since 14-year-old Hannah Taylor Gordon was nominated in 2001 for ABC’s Anne Frank: The Whole Story.

• Amy Adams, Sharp Objects (HBO)

• Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora (Showtime)

• Connie Britton, Dirty John (Bravo)

• Joey King, The Act (Hulu)

• Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon (FX)

• Ruth Wilson, Mrs. Wilson (PBS)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE

Since 2015, wins in this category have alternated between HBO and FX. Could Benicio Del Toro’s crazy-good performance in Dannemora break the streak?

• Christopher Abbott, Catch-22 (Hulu)

• Mahershala Ali, True Detective (HBO)

• Benicio Del Toro, Escape at Dannemora (Showtime)

• Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal (Amazon Prime Video)

• Anthony Hopkins, King Lear (Amazon Prime Video)

• Ian McShane, Deadwood: The Movie (HBO)

• Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon (FX)

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