EMMY AWARDS
Who will take home the rest of the major Emmys on Sunday (ABC, 8 ET/5 PT)? USA TODAY TV Critic Robert Bianco looks at who probably will — and who certainly should.
LIMITED SERIES
American Crime (ABC) Fargo (FX) The Night Manager (AMC) The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story ( FX) Roots (History)
Should win: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Will win: The People v. O.J. Simpson If American Crime, Fargo, Night Manager or Roots could have been shoehorned into the movie category, where the competition is fairly weak, any one of them would have been favored to win. But here, up against the year’s most powerful production, they all seem destined to share second place.
ACTRESS, DRAMA
Claire Danes, Homeland (Showtime) Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder (ABC) Taraji P. Henson, Empire (Fox) Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America) Keri Russell, The Americans (FX) Robin Wright, House of Cards (Netflix)
Should win: Keri Russell
Will win: Viola Davis Make no mistake: Last year’s winner, Davis, is a fabulous actor, and a second win by her should generate few complaints. But while her performance was as good as ever, the writing just did not make as good or varied a use of her talents — which could open the door for Russell, who had her best season yet as a woman torn between her duty to her country and her child.
ACTOR, DRAMA
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline (Netflix) Rami Malek, Mr. Robot (USA) Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul (AMC) Matthew Rhys, The Americans (FX)
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan (Showtime) Kevin Spacey, House of Cards (Netflix)
Should win: Rami Malek
Will win: Rami Malek This is Kevin Spacey’s fourth straight nomination in this category, which might make him the sentimental favorite if it were a role that inspired sentiment. Still, even if voters’ hearts were leaning Spacey’s way, Malek’s performance was so special, and so jarringly different than anything else on TV, that he should be very hard to beat. And if, by chance, someone does pull an upset and beat him, I’d rather it were Rhys, whose work has been overlooked for too long.
ACTOR, COMEDY
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish (ABC) Aziz Ansari, Master of None (Netflix) Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth (Fox) William H. Macy, Shameless (Showtime) Thomas Middleditch, Silicon Valley (HBO) Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Showtime)
Should win: Jeffrey Tambor
Will win: Jeffrey Tambor In some ways, this category simply isn’t fair. What Tambor is given to do in Transparent is richer and far more dramatic than anything his competitors are allowed to offer. That, however, is not his fault, just as it’s not his fault that his repeat victory will come at the expense of Anderson and Ansari, either of whom might have won were Tambor not in the race. But he is, and he deserves the Emmy.
ACTRESS, COMEDY
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO) Laurie Metcalf, Getting On (HBO) Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish (ABC) Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer (Comedy Central) Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie (Netflix)
Should win: Tracee Ellis Ross
Will win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Nothing against Louis-Dreyfus, who is one of TV’s brightest stars and who continues to turn in a comic tour de force in Veep. But that tour has netted her four Emmy wins in a row, and it just feels like that’s enough. Surely this is one of those times the Emmys can move on to someone new without hurting anyone’s feelings — and that someone should be Ross, who is her show’s emotional center.
SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul (AMC) Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones (HBO) Kit Harington, Game of Thrones (HBO) Michael Kelly, House of Cards (Netflix) Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline (Netflix) Jon Voight, Ray Donovan (Showtime)
Should win: Jonathan Banks
Will win: Kit Harington This is another category for which a repeat win — in this case, for Dinklage — should not be ruled out. Still, it does seem that most of the Thrones attention this season went to Harington, and most likely that will be enough to push the Emmy his way. My vote would go to Banks, but then, that could be true almost any year.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA
Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones (HBO) Lena Headey, Game of Thrones (HBO) Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey (PBS) Maura Tierney, The Affair (Showtime) Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones (HBO) Constance Zimmer, UnREAL (Lifetime)
Should win: Constance Zimmer
Will win: Lena Headey There’s always a chance, of course, that the Thrones trio will cancel each other out, handing the Emmy to, say, Smith — who should never be underestimated. But the Emmy oddsmakers seem to favor Headey, and in this case, I’m loathe to fight the odds.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY
Anna Chlumsky, Veep (HBO) Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent (Amazon) Allison Janney, Mom (CBS) Judith Light, Transparent (Amazon) Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC) Niecy Nash, Getting On (HBO)
Should win: Judith Light
Will win: Allison Janney Or maybe it’s the other way around. That’s how close these two terrific actors are — and how good their material was.
SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY
Louie Anderson, Baskets (FX) Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox) Ty Burrell, Modern Family (ABC) Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) Tony Hale, Veep (HBO) Keegan-Michael Key, Key and Peele (Comedy Central) Matt Walsh, Veep (HBO)
Should win: Louie Anderson
Will win: Tony Hale This was not Hale’s best season on Veep, and his was not the best supporting performance on the show. But that may not stop voters from rewarding him yet again. Which is a shame, because Anderson’s gender-bending performance was the best in the category, and the best of his career.