The Emmys, even more so than the Oscars, are strangely predictable; once the TV Academy likes a show or actor they continue to nominate them over and over. It’s the reason Mad Men, Modern Family and 30 Rock will be in contention again, and why Mariska Hargitay will never be far from the Emmy spotlight. What then to make of upstarts like Homeland, Downton Abbey, Girls, Revenge, and New Girl? Or overlooked shows like Community? The acting races seem even tighter than usual, especially in the comedy categories with shows like Happy Endings and Parks and Recreation trying to break through in the crowded supporting categories.  It’ll be interesting to see what shows and which actors land nominations tomorrow, so without further ado here are my predictions!

Best Drama
Mad Men
Breaking Bad
Game of Thrones
Dwonton Abbey
The Good Wife
Homeland

Best Comedy
Parks and Recreation
Modern Family
30 Rock
Girls
The Big Bang Theory
New Girl

Best Lead Actor (Drama)
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Kelsey Grammar – Boss
Jon Hamm – Mad Men
Damian Lewis – Homeland
Timothy Olyphant – Justified

Best Lead Actor (Comedy)
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Don Cheadle – House of Lies
Louis CK – Louie
Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Johnny Galecki – The Big Bang Theory

Best Lead Actress (Drama)
Glenn Close – Damages
Claire Danes – Homeland
Julianna Marguilles – The Good Wife
Michelle Dockery – Downton Abbey
Elizabeth Moss – Mad Men
Katey Segal – Sons of Anarchy

Best Lead Actress (Comedy)
Laura Dern – Enlightened
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Laura Linney – The Big C
Zooey Deschanel – New Girl
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation
Julie Louis Dreyfuss – Veep

Best Supporting Actor (Drama)
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones
Giancarlo Esposito – Breaking Bad
Mandy Patinkin – Homeland
Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad
John Slattery – Mad Men
Alan Cumming – The Good Wife

Best Supporting Actor (Comedy)
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Freguson – Modern Family
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family
Nick Offerman – Parks and Recreation
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family
Max Greenfield – New Girl

Best Supporting Actress (Drama)
Rose Byrne – Damages
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men
Kelly MacDonald – Boardwalk Empire
Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
Christine Baranski – The Good Wife

Best Supporting Actress (Comedy)
Julie Bowen – Modern Family
Cheryl Hines – Suburgatory
Sofia Vergara – Modern Family
Betty White – Hot in Cleveland
Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live
Casey Wilson – Happy Endings

Best TV Movie or Mini-Series
American Horror Story
Hemingway and Gelhorn
Game Change
Hatefields & McCoys
Sherlock
The Hour

Best Lead Actor – TV or Mini-Series
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock
Woody Harrelson – Game Change
Clive Owen – Hemingway and Gelhorn
Dominic West – The Hour
Idris Elba – Luther

Best Lead Actress – TV or Mini-Series
Romola Garai – The Hour
Nicole Kidman – Hemingway and Gelhorn
Julianne Moore – Game Change
Emily Watson – Appropriate Adult
Rachel Weisz – Page Eight

Best Supporting Actor – TV or Mini Series
Ed Harris – Game Change
Robert Duvall – Hemingway and Gelhorn
Michael Gambon – Page Eight
Bill Paxton – Hatfields and McCoys
David Strathairn – Hemingway and Gelhorn

Best Supporting Actress – TV or Mini-Series
Gillian Anderson – Great Expectations
Judy Davis – Page Eight
Jessica Lange – American Horror Story
Sarah Paulson – Game Change
Mare Winningham – Hatfields and McCoys

Best Reality Program or Competition
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Survivor
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef

Reality Host
Jeff Probst – Survivor
Cat Deely – So You Think You Can Dance
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars
Ryan Seacrest – American Idol
Phil Keoghan – The Amazing Race

Best Variety Show
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Colbert Report
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Saturday Night Live
Jimmy Kimmel Live

Best Guest Actress – Comedy
Patricia Clarkson – Parks and Recreation
Ellen Barkin – Modern Family
Melissa McCarthy – Saturday Night Live
Elaine Stritch – 30 Rock
Blythe Danner – Up All Night

Best Guest Actor – Comedy
Michael J. Fox – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Will Arnett – 30 Rock
Dermont Mulroney – New Girl
Jimmy Fallon – Saturday Night Live
Max Adler – Glee

Best Guess Actor- Drama
Matthew Perry – The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox – The Good Wife
Iain Glen – Downton Abbey
Robert Morse – Mad Men
Chris Messina – Damages

Best Guest Actress – Drama
Loretta Devine – Grey’s Anatomy
Bernadette Peters – Smash
Uma Thurman – Smash
Carrie Preston – The Good Wife
Joan Cussack – Shameless

About Terence Johnson

When he's not enduring Shade Samurai training from Victoria Grayson, you can find Terence spends his time being an avid watcher of television, Criterion film collector, Twitter addict, and awards season obsessive. Opinionated but open minded, ratchet but with class, Terence holds down the fort as the producer of the Power Hour podcast and will soon be taking over Historical Circuit, bringing you the best films and hidden gems from the lovely history of cinema. As the only person with a degree in a STEM field (B.S. in Civil Engineering), he's holding it down for the nerds who love film. You can follow him on Twitter at @LeNoirAuteur.

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