Are you ready for some honest to goodness awards drama? It may be hard to believe, but the Emmys are set to reveal their 2020 nominations on Tuesday, July 28 at the shockingly reasonable hour of 8:30 AM PT/11:30 AM ET (someone shake me, I still can’t believe it’s real). And this year’s crop of nominees will find HBO and Netflix doing their best to hold on to their recent Emmy dominance with Hulu, FX, Apple TV+, Amazon and even Disney Plus taking increasingly larger bites out of their usually massive nomination tallies. Bragging rights are at stake! And for one glorious morning, we’ll be able to forget the world is on fire and concentrate on what really matters: Did Reese Witherspoon get snubbed for “Big Little Lies,” “Little Fires Everywhere” and “The Morning Show” or did one of them actually come through?
As we’ve discussed before, this is one of the more head-scratching Emmy seasons in recent memory. The stay-at-home orders and collapse of any sort of film and TV production meant many Television Academy members had more time to watch potential Emmy nominees than ever before (as opposed to submitted clips). And when you’re dealing with something that’s affecting 20,000 members that’s a sea change that cannot be truly calculated. Will this hurt programs that aired last year or months before the pandemic hit? Will it help shows or performances that might be under the radar to the media or even their own networks? Or will the voters pretty much do what we guess they’ll do every other year? The good news is we won’t have to wait much longer to find out.
READ MORE: Emmys 2020: Drama and Comedy Series jump to eight nominees this year
Keeping all that in mind, here are some final Emmy nomination predictions in the major categories. Please note: We’ve omitted the “major categories” Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Variety Talk Series because it’s not like anyone other than “Saturday Night Live” and “Last Week With John Oliver” are gonna win those honors, respectively, anyway.
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Schitt’s Creek”
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
“The Good Place”
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
“Dead To Me”
“The Great”
“Ramy”
“Insecure”
Category Crashers: “The Kominisky Method,” “Better Things,” “Dave,” “What We Do In Shadows”
Quick Thought: “Dave” is the big wildcard here. It could absolutely surprise.
Outstanding Drama Series
“The Crown”
“Succession”
“Ozark”
“Better Call Saul”
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Pose”
“Stranger Things”
“The Morning Show”
Category Crashers: “Westworld,” “Big Little Lies,” “This Is Us,” “Killing Eve,” “The Mandalorian”
Quick Thought: If “The Mandalorian” doesn’t make it what a missed opportunity for Disney Plus with eight nomination slots available this year. There was barely a campaign.
Outstanding Limited Series
“Unbelievable”
“Watchmen”
“Mrs. America”
“Normal People”
“Little Fires Everywhere”
Category Crashers: “Unorthodox,” “Hollywood,” “The Plot Against America,” “Defending Jacob”
Quick Thought: Hulu went hard with FYC media buys for “Little Fires” in the final weeks of the campaign in hopes of getting it in. “Unorthodox” or “Hollywood” are set up to play spoiler.
Outstanding Competition Program
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
“Survivor”
“The Voice”
“Top Chef”
“America Ninja Warrior”
Category Crashers: “Nailed It,” “Making the Cut,” “Project Runway”
Quick Thought: If not “Survivor,” than “Nailed It.”
Outstanding Television Movie
“Bad Education”
“El Camino”
“Patsy and Loretta”
“Togo”
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Category Crashers: “American Son,” “The Clark Sisters,” “Troop Zero,” “Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings”
Quick Thought: If “American Son” or “Heartstrings” gets in the influence of Netflix with the Television Academy is simply unparalleled.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Ramy Youssef, “Ramy”
Eugene Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”
Ted Danson, “The Good Place”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
Category Crashers: Don Cheadle, “Black Monday,” Dave Burd, “Dave,” Paul Rudd, “Living With Yourself”
Quick Thought: Cheadle has the best shot to knock somebody out.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
Brian Cox, “Succession”
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
Jeremy Strong, “Succession”
Billy Porter, “Pose”
Category Crashers: Tobias Menzies, “The Crown,” Steve Carell, “The Morning Show,” Milo Ventimiglia, “This Is Us,” Aaron Paul, “Westworld”
Quick Thought: The six predicted are the most deserving, to be fair.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Hugh Jackman, “Bad Education”
Mark Ruffalo, “I Know This Much Is True”
Aaron Paul, “El Camino”
Paul Mescal, “Normal People”
Russell Crowe, “The Loudest Voice”
Category Crashers: Jeremy Irons, “Watchmen,” Chris Evans, “Defending Jacob”
Quick Thought: Jackman and Ruffalo are the only locks here.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Catherine O’Hara, “Schitt’s Creek”
Elle Fanning, “The Great”
Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me”
Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”
Issa Rae, “Insecure”
Category Crashers: Jane Levy, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” Kristen Bell, “The Good Place,” Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”
Quick Thought: In a perfect world Levy makes the cut.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Olivia Colman, “The Crown”
Jennifer Aniston, “The Morning Show”
Laura Linney, “Ozark”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve”
Viola Davis, “How To Get Away With Murder”
Category Crashers: Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies,” Reese Witherspoon, “The Morning Show,” Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve,” Mandy Moore, “This Is Us”
Quick Thought: The list of contenders on the outside looking in, whoever they end up being, could easily fill this category any other year.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Regina King, “Watchmen”
Cate Blanchett, “Mrs. America”
Merrit Wever, “Unbelievable”
Kaitlyn Dever, “Unbelievable”
Kerry Washington, “Little Fires Everywhere”
Category Crashers: Shira Haas, “Unorthodox,” Daisy Edgar-Jones, “Normal People,” Reese Witherspoon, “Little Fires Everywhere,” Michelle Dockery, “Defending Jacob”
Quick Thought: Watch out for Haas and Edgar-Jones.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Dan Levy, “Schitt’s Creek”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Alan Arkin, “The Kominsky Method”
Louie Anderson, “Baskets”
Mahershala Ali, “Ramy”
Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”
Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”
James Marsden, “Dead to Me”
Category Crashers: John Malkovich, “Space Force,” James Marsden, “Dead to Me,” Sterling K. Brown, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Ncuti Gatwa, “Sex Education”
Quick Thought: This is probably the one supporting category that didn’t need eight slots this year.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul”
Billy Crudup, “The Morning Show”
Tom Pelphrey, “Ozark”
David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”
Giancarlo Esposito, “Better Call Saul”
Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”
Category Crashers: Nicholas Braun, “Succession,” Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Quick Thought: Never dismiss the power of Patinkin.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Tim Blake Nelson, “Watchmen”
John Turturro, “The Plot Against America”
Jim Parsons, “Hollywood”
Darren Criss, “Hollywood”
John Slattery, “Mrs. America”
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Category Crashers: Robert Forster, “El Campo,” J.K. Simmons, “Defending Jacob,” Amit Rahav, “Unorthodox,” Louis Gossett Jr., “Watchmen”
Quick Thought: Nelson and Turturro are probably the only safe bets here. This category is rough though.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Annie Murphy, “Schitt’s Creek”
Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Marin Hinkle, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Jane Lynch, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”
Betty Gilpin, “GLOW”
D’Arcy Carden, “The Good Place”
Category Crashers: Gillian Anderson, “Sex Education,” Yvonne Orji, “Insecure,” Rita Moreno, “One Day At A Time”
Quick Thought: If Moreno can’t get nominated this year for her work on “One Day,” she likely never will.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Julia Garner, “Ozark”
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”
Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”
Meryl Streep, “Big Little Lies”
Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Rhea Seehorn, “Better Call Saul”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Thandie Newton, “Westworld”
Category Crashers: Janet McTeer, “Ozark,” Gubu Mbatha-Raw, “The Morning Show,” J. Smith-Cameron, “Succession,” Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Quick Thought: Is it “Big Little Lies” with the multiple nominees here or is it “Ozark” or “The Handmaid’s Tale”? Or maybe two of the three?
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Jean Smart, “Watchmen”
Rose Byrne, “Mrs. America”
Toni Collette, “Unbelievable”
Allison Janney, “Bad Education”
Margo Martindale, “Mrs. America”
Uzo Aduba, “Mrs. America”
Category Crashers: Patti LuPone, “Hollywood,” Tracey Ullman, “Mrs. America,” Melissa Leo, “I Know This Much is True,” Hong Chau, “Watchmen”
Quick Thought: This is gonna be one fun category to pick a winner for.
The 2020 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards nominations will be announced Tuesday, July 28 at 8:30 AM PT/11:30 AM ET. Look for full coverage on The Playlist.