Who will win, who should win – The Hollywood Reporter

BEST DRAMA SERIES

WILL WIN: The crown (Netflix)

The Handmaid’s Tale has another acting appointment (10), The Mandalorian the same total (24), and this is the last chance to honor Lovecraft Country and Pose, but Netflix will clinch its first serial victory for season four of Peter Morgan’s show on the British Royal Family. – Scott Feinberg

SHOULD WIN: Lovecraft Country (HBO)

The fourth season of The crown was more consistent, while it’s easy to see how The Mandalorian and Bridgerton affected their respective populist agreements. I go, however, with the disorderly and incoherent ambition of Lovecraft Country, who swung for thematic fences every week. -Daniel Fienberg

BEST COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: Ted lasso (Apple TV +)

This wellness show received more nominations (20) than any other debut comedy in history, and its second season was going well during the voting. Last minute Hacks can’t be counted, but Apple is aggressively chasing its first series victory. – SF

SHOULD WIN: PEN15 (Hulu)

PEN15 went from a high-flying stunt – Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine playing teenage versions of themselves facing real teenagers – to the most realistic take on teenage since Freaks and Geeks. Season two was funnier and closer to the bone than any other half hour on TV. – DF

BEST LIMITED SERIES

WILL WIN: The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

Although it faces formidable competition from Easttown mare and WandaVision, Scott Frank’s Netflix miniseries about a chess prodigy – one of the must-have watches of the pandemic era – seems to have a slight edge. – SF

SHOULD WIN: I can destroy you (HBO)

Once Emmy voters avoided something stupid like the nomination The defeat, it became the flagship category of the evening. My vote would come down to Michaela Coel’s dark personal exploration of sexual assault and Barry Jenkins’ amazing technique. Underground Railroad adaptation. – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES

WILL WIN: Josh O’Connor, The crown (Netflix)

Exclude past winners Sterling K. Brown (It’s us) or Billy Porter (Pose), but the advantage this year goes to the 31-year-old candidate for the first time whose portrayal of Prince Charles has already earned him a Golden Globe and a Critics Choice Award. – SF

SHOULD WIN: Billy Porter, Pose (FX)

Since he already has an Emmy, a win wouldn’t have the same historic sparkle as a lead actress triumph for Pose co-star Mj Rodriguez, but what Billy Porter has for him is a spectacular showcase episode on “Take Me to Church”. Few associate theatricality with being painfully believed so well. – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES

WILL WIN: Mr. Rodriguez, Pose (FX)

Olivia Colman and Emma Corrin will separate supporters of The crown, and enough voters will be drawn to the opportunity to make history and propel the first trans person ever nominated for a lead actor award to a win for her work on the outgoing film. Pose. – SF

SHOULD WIN: Jurnee Smollett, Lovecraft Country (HBO)

I give Jurnee Smollett so much credit for founding the madness of Lovecraft Countrywhether it wields a bat or decades of ancestral trauma. It’s another star performance from a versatile actress who should have been topped the A list years ago. – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: Jason Sudeikis, Ted lasso (Apple TV +)

For his portrayal of a sun-kissed American football coach trying his hand at European football (aka soccer), this Saturday Night Live alum and co-creator of his show – which has never been nominated before in any category – is clearly the frontrunner. – SF

SHOULD WIN: Jason Sudeikis, Ted lasso (Apple TV +)

Does Jason Sudeikis deserve to win because of the complicated act of making Ted Lasso an optimistic Pollyanna and an inexplicably likeable character? Or does he deserve to win because this year’s lead actor in a comedy category is one of the clearest in Emmy history? Does it matter? – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES

WILL WIN: Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)

The beloved television veteran, on her 10th Emmy nomination, looks certain to snag her fifth victory – and her first as a frontman – for this HBO Max series in which she plays a pioneering actress sailing the winter of his career. She turns 70 the week of the ceremony – Happy Birthday! – SF

SHOULD WIN: Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max)

Jean Smart’s punch Easttown mare and Hacks felt like a cumulative achievement, especially his HBO comedy Max. Deborah Vance has shades of a dozen neglected female stand-ups and, in Hacks, we see the vulnerable and distorted industry personality behind the on-screen patter. – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES

WIN: Paul Bettany, WandaVision (Disney +)

that of Hugh Grant (The defeat) and Ewan McGregor (Halston) the emissions were divisive, and HamiltonLeslie Odom Jr. and Lin-Manuel Miranda will cancel each other out, paving the way for this character actor, who is first nominated for playing a domestic superhero. – SF

SHOULD WIN: Paul Bettany, WandaVision (Disney +)

The nominees here include two poorly ranked performances from Hamilton and two decent chewy set pieces from otherwise gruesome shows, so Paul Bettany gets my vote for going dumb and tragic and for flying like a superhero, never doing any of that silly. – DF

BEST PRINCIPAL ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES

WILL WIN: Kate Winslet, Easttown mare (HBO)

The Queen’s GambitAnya Taylor-Joy looked unbeatable after winning Critics Choice, Golden Globe and SAG Awards, but this former Emmy winner made a major late-game impression as a haunted Pennsylvania cop, with accent, body and attitude. – SF

SHOULD WIN: Anya Taylor-Joy, The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

In the ultimate ‘no bad choice here’ category, one delivered the grand star tour of the year, retracing a character over a decade and often conveying without a word the machinations of chess, the throes of addiction and a journey from lonely youth to the star. – DF

This story first appeared in the September 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.