AP predicts winners
The winners will be named Sunday night when the 69th Emmy Awards are presented at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. In the meantime, guesses will have to suffice. With that in mind, a pair of intrepid Associated Press television critics are going public with their picks for who will win—and who should.
Comedy Series ELBER
Should win: “Atlanta.” A tour de force by creator and star Donald Glover epitomizing the small screen's embrace of unexpected and challenging material.
Will win: “Veep.” Comedies keep winning streaks going, and with just two Emmys so far, it's far behind the five top comedy trophies each that “Modern Family” and “Frasier” collected.
Should win: “Master of None.” Moving even beyond the masterful first season, Year Two was a festival of inspired short films, with emotions and ideas supplementing its wit.
Will win: “Veep.” Despite a field of bright, new and varied candidates, voters will default to this plenty-rewarded, all-too-seasoned Emmy mainstay.
Actor, Drama Series ELBER
Should win: Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”). First among equals in an excellent cast, with a nuanced vulnerability that always keeps the heartbreak on the right side of soap opera.
Will win: Brown. His winning turn last year as determined O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden shows his versatility.
Should win: Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”). He's so long overdue after five seasons of high intrigue and multiple personas in his role as a Russian spy masquerading as a 1980s American suburban dad!!
Will win: “This Is Us” stars Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia will cancel out each other in the voting. That leaves lovably shifty Bob Odenkirk the winner after three consecutive nominations as the lead on “Better Call Saul.”
Actress, Drama Series ELBER
Should win: Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid's Tale”). The “Mad Men” curse never lifted for Moss as it did for Jon Hamm, but her subtly fierce portrayal of a woman caught in hell shouldn't be slighted.
Will win: Claire Foy (“The Crown”). A lovely and delicate turn, and playing British queens on the big screen worked for Oscar-winners Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, the latter also nabbing an Emmy.
Should win: Keri Russell (“The Americans”). She's so long overdue after five seasons of high intrigue and multiple personas in her role as a Russian spy masquerading as a 1980s American suburban mom!!
Will win: Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid's Tale”), passed over as a nominee seven times in the past for “Mad Men” and other great work. Voters realize it's her turn.