Now we're onto the big ones- the awards for series in the Comedy, Drama, Variety, Reality and Miniseries categories. As always, I'm unsure, especially this year, so bear with me everyone.
COMEDY SERIES
- Louie
- Modern Family
- Parks and Recreation
- Silicon Valley
- Transparent
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Veep
So, if Modern Family wins this award again it will be an unprecedented sixth win overall and sixth in a row. Can it really happen? Are all other comedy shows too niche now to break through to what's most broadly appealing to Emmy voters? Its nomination count was down hugely this year, and for the first time ever it didn't get key noms in writing or directing, so there's evidence of fatigue. But the question, as always, is what's the alternative? What else can most appeal to this group? The shows with the most nominations this year were Transparent and Veep. Both are little watched, and Transparent especially, despite its buzz and zeitgeist factor, is really more of a half hour drama and is nothing like anything the Academy has ever chosen for this award. So that leaves me with Veep, which is possibly overdue. As for opening up the voting, my instinct tells me that would only help the most watched of these nominees, which is unfortunately Modern Family. So I'm kinda stumped here.
- Winner: Veep (I do not feel good about this choice, but I'm going with the fact that it's funnier than Transparent for the win)
- Alternate: Transparent
- Dark Horse: Modern Family
DRAMA SERIES
- Better Call Saul
- Downton Abbey
- Game of Thrones
- Homeland
- House of Cards
- Mad Men
- Orange is the New Black
This is a little easier to call, because I do feel it's likely to be Game of Thrones' turn this year. It was by far the most nominated show at the Emmys overall, earning more nods than I think it's ever gotten (and it always gets a lot, due to all the technical categories), so I think it's finally going to happen. I don't know how this happened for the show's worst season (it seriously was), but there is a precedent for the Emmys catching up with a cultural phenomenon show and awarding it, oddly enough, for its fifth season exactly. It happened with The Sopranos and with 24 in the past, so I think GoT will join the club. If not, then I don't know, maybe House of Cards? There's a contingent of fans of that show within the Academy, although I don't think it's anywhere near good enough to keep getting nominated every year, let alone winning. And then there's a possibility for a farewell prize for Mad Men again, but if anything happens for that show in the final season, I think it'd have to be Jon Hamm.
- Winner: Game of Thrones
- Alternate: House of Cards
- Dark Horse: Mad Men
VARIETY TALK 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
Letterman could win this as a sentimental farewell (which is also the reason he was nominated). But that could also work in The Daily Show's favor, which won 10 years in a row. Jon Stewart will probably take it one last time.
- Winner: The Daily Show
- Alternate: Late Show with David Letterman
- Dark Horse: The Colbert Report (it won the last two years in a row and it's also over now, but since he's back on the air, I think the sentiment is stronger for the retirees)
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
- Drunk History
- Inside Amy Schumer
- Key & Peele
- Portlandia
- Saturday Night Live
This is a new category this year- for the first time they've split the sketch shows away from the talk shows, so that one of them has a chance to actually win, which is a nice thing to do. It'd be cool if Key & Peele won this, since the show just ended for good, but I'm guessing Amy Schumer based on the buzz? She's a big celebrity this year, so the popular vote goes to her, right?
- Winner: Inside Amy Schumer
- Alternate: Key & Peele
- Dark Horse: SNL (in the inaugural year of this award, it might make sense to award the show that started it all, and this is its 40th anniversary year, so it's very possible)
REALITY PROGRAM
- Antiques Roadshow
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
- Mythbusters
- Property Brothers
- Shark Tank
- Undercover Boss
Shark Tank has won this in the past past and will probably continue to do so, even with a popular vote. In fact, I don't know what else is likely to do it.
Winner: Shark Tank
REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
- The Amazing Race
- Dancing With the Stars
- Project Runway
- So You Think You Can Dance
- Top Chef
- The Voice
This one's a shot in the dark. I'm gonna go with The Voice, but Amazing Race is always a safe bet too.
- Winner: The Voice
- Alternate: The Amazing Race
- Dark Horse: Dancing With the Stars
LIMITED SERIES
- American Crime
- American Horror Story: Freakshow
- The Honorable Woman
- Olive Kitteridge
- Wolf Hall
They've split the TV Movie/Miniseries awards now, so this is a new category for limited series only. I'm tempted to go with American Horror Story, since it was the second most nominated series this year after Game of Thrones. But Olive Kitteridge has done well in other awards shows for this, so it's probably between them.
- Winner: AHS
- Alternate: Olive Kitteridge
And that's it for my shot in the dark predictions, people. Tune back in for my Emmy winners list and recap of Sunday night's show hosted by Andy Samberg, where I will embarrassingly reveal my bound to be awful scorecard and try to regroup with hopefully, some actual evidence as to how the voting will now work for the Emmys in this new era of non-panel, non-submission tape results. See you then.
