EMMYS 2017: Your guide to the best US TV drama
We are, as we are regularly told, in a golden age of TV - and the cream of the current crop will be rewarded when this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards are handed out in Los Angeles during the night.
Five of the seven nominees in the most keenly contested category - outstanding drama series - are new shows.
Game of Thrones, which has won for the past two years, is not eligible this time.
With so many new shows having made a splash over the past year, you’d be forgiven for not having caught up with them all.
Here’s a rundown of the best American TV drama series, as per the Emmy best drama category.
Westworld
Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Evan Rachel Wood, Thandie Newton
In a nutshell: A Wild West theme park is populated with life-like robots programmed to indulge the every whim of wealthy tourists.
As the visitors live out their fantasies and the “hosts” behave in unexpected ways, the show explores the nature of consciousness and humanity itself. Total 2017 Emmy nominations: 22 Made by: HBO
Stranger Things
Stars: Winona Ryder, Millie Bobby Brown, David Harbour In a nutshell: A feast of ‘80s nostalgia and supernatural thrills, the show follows a group of bike-riding boys who stumble upon some terrifying paranormal goings-on in their small town. Contains shadowy government agents, monsters and portals to another dimension. Emmy nominations: 18 Made by: Netflix
The Crown
Stars: Claire Foy, Matt Smith, John Lithgow In a nutshell: The royal family has always been one big soap opera. But in The Crown it actually is one big soap opera - albeit a classy, big-budget one. It follows the ups and downs of Queen Elizabeth II (Foy), Prince Philip (Smith) and their clan from the 1950s on. Emmy nominations: 13 Made by: Netflix
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stars: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Ann Dowd In a nutshell: In a dystopian alternate reality, there’s been a fertility crisis and a chilling fundamentalist religious revolution in the US. All fertile women are handmaids - slaves whose sole purpose is to bear children for their powerful host families. Adapted from Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel. Emmy nominations: 13 Made by: Hulu
This Is Us
Stars: Sterling K Brown, Milo Ventimiglia, Chrissy Metz In a nutshell: More domestic than the other nominees but no less dramatic, the show switches between 1980 and 2016 and centres on several people who are 36 on the same day. We follow a dad who’s 36 when his wife goes into labour in 1980, and their twins and adopted son 36 years later. Emmy nominations: 10 Made by: NBC
Better Call Saul
Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn In a nutshell: While all of the above are new shows, this Breaking Bad spin-off/prequel is three seasons in. It follows the scrapes and schemes of dodgy lawyer Jimmy McGill as he teeters along the straight and narrow and edges closer to becoming Breaking Bad’s Saul Goodman. Emmy nominations: 9
Made by: AMC
House of Cards
Stars: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright, Michael Kelly In a nutshell: The veteran of the pack, House of Cards has been nominated for best drama series five years in a row. Season five saw Spacey’s Shakespearean president and his wife and political ally/rival Claire (Wright) grapple with the fallout of a disputed election. Emmy nominations: 7 Made by: Netflix