Final 2018 Emmy Nomination Predictions: Are Any Real Upsets Possible?

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Emilia Clarke, “Game of Thrones”
Viola Davis, “How To Get Away With Murder”
Claire Foy, “The Crown”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Keri Russell, “The Americans”
Evan Rachel Wood, “Westworld”

Lowdown: Talk about tight. “Killing Eve’sSandra Oh and “This Is Us'” Mandy Moore are assumed to make the cut here, but something tells me Viola Davis and Emilia Clarke have more pull here than pundits think. “The Deuce’s” Maggie Gyllenhaal and “Ozark’s” Laura Linney are also wildcards for a nod.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Freddie Highmore, “The Good Doctor”
Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”
J.K. Simmons, “Counterpart”
Milo Ventimiglia, “This Is Us”

Lowdown: Yes, I’m going on gut (reach?) predicting J.K. Simmons will make it, but “Game of Thrones'” Kit Harrington, “Ray Donovan’sLive Schreiber and either Ed Harris or Jeffrey Wright of “Westworld” could also crash the party.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Hayley Atwell, “Howards End”
Jessica Biel, “The Sinner”
Laura Dern, “The Tale”
Michelle Dockery, “Godless”
Edie Falco, “The Menendez Murders”
Elisabeth Moss, “Top of the Lake: China Girl”

Lowdown: This category is much less competitive than last year with Regina King of the already canceled “Seven Seconds” and Sarah Paulson of “American Horror Story: Cult” potentially on the outside looking in. The question you have to ask is whether members like Edie Falco or Paulson more?  It’s almost a pick ’em.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Darren Criss, “Assassination of Gianni Versace”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Patrick Melrose”
Jeff Daniels, “The Looming Tower”
Michael B. Jordan, “Fahrenheit 451”
Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”
Al Pacino, “Paterno”

Lowdown: Genius’ Antonio Banderas has an outside chance, but this is a weak, weak category this year. Anyone besides the seven mentioned would be a major surprise.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
Leslie Jones, “Saturday Night Live”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Laurie Metcalf, “Roseanne”
Rita Moreno, “One Day At A Time”
Megan Mullaly, “Will and Grace”

Lowdown: Rita Moreno should have been nominated last year, but didn’t make it. We think the Television Academy corrects that mistake this time around. It’s possible Leslie Jones doesn’t repeat and that could open the door for “Glow’sBetty Gilpin, “Transparent’sJudith Light, “Kimmy Schmidt’s” Jane Krakowski, “Atlanta’sZazie Beetz or e” ven”SMILF’sRosie O’Donnell.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Louie Anderson, “Baskets”
Alec Baldwin, “Saturday Night Live”
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
Sean Hayes, “Will and Grace”
Marc Maron, “GLOW”
Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”

Lowdown: This is a very intriguing category this year with “Silicon Valley’s Kumail Nanjiani, “Atlanta’s” Brian Tyree Henry and “Barry’s” Henry Winkler all potential party crashers.  Do we feel confident about Sean Hayes?  Not really.  Is Tony Shalhoub a lock? Well, he should be, but no.  How this category plays out may tell us a lot about how the membership views the Comedy Series contenders overall.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”
Vanessa Kirby, “The Crown”
Thandie Newton, “Westworld”
Chrissy Metz, “This Is Us”

Lowdown: Those should be your six, but would anyone be surprised if “Game of Thrones'” Maisie Williams or “The Handmaid’s Tales‘” Alexis Bledel or Yvonne Strahovski made the cut?  Not all, but don’t tell me it’s because they knocked Vanessa Kirby from the mix.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Game of Thrones”
Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
Justin Hartley, “This Is Us”
Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”
Noah Schnapp, “Stranger Things”

Lowdown: We’re fairly confident these are the six with “Trust’s Brendan Fraser, “The Crown’s Matt Smith and “Ray Donovan’s” Jon Voight potential spoilers.

Who do you think are getting nominated for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards? Share your thoughts below.

Check out The Playlist’s full coverage of this year’s nominations following the nomination announcement this Thursday beginning at 8:30 AM PT, 11:30 AM ET.