77th Primetime Emmy Awards Predictions: Will it Be ‘The Pitt’ or ‘Severance’? ‘The Studio’ or ‘Hacks’?
After another year of exceptional television, the 77th Primetime Emmys are here. With so many shows over the past year vying for the attention of Television Academy members, Sunday night will prove which struck the hearts and minds of audiences the most.
With the Creative Arts Emmys happening over the past weekend over two nights, it’s time to award the best performances, programs, and more. The Studio broke the record previously held by The Bear for most Creative Arts Emmy wins for a single season of a comedy series, taking home a robust nine awards before the big night on Sunday, including a win for Bryan Cranston in the Guest Actor category (that had five nominees from the Apple comedy). The series looks to dominate the comedy categories, having a marginal chance of winning every category it’s nominated for, especially after taking home so many at the Creative Arts awards. The Bear, once a dominating entity in the comedy fields, will take a backseat this year to make room for the freshman season of The Studio. Even Jeremy Allen White, who’s won twice for the show, isn’t a shoo-in for the win anymore. He’ll be going up against Seth Rogen, whose favor in Hollywood will significantly help push his win into fruition on Sunday.
The only category The Studio doesn’t have representation in is Lead Actress, which will surely go to Jean Smart again for Hacks, placing her in an elite club beside Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Mary Tyler Moore for actresses who have won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Award at least four times for playing the same character. She hasn’t lost the award yet in the first three seasons, and it doesn’t appear this year will be the first time it happens. Julianne Nicholson took home the award for Guest Actress in a Comedy for her performance in Hacks, which is still the biggest competition that The Studio has, pitting two Hollywood-centric shows against each other. A series that tackles the inner-workings of the industry automatically draws attention to itself, especially when well done and hilarious. Hacks has done well over its previous three seasons, but its biggest challenge will be trying to beat The Studio in any of these categories. There’s an enormous amount of support for both, but The Studio is a newer, more manic Hollywood tale that’s drawn ferocious support since its premiere earlier this year at SXSW.
Over in the limited series categories, The Penguin is going into Sunday with eight wins already, including contemporary hairstyling, contemporary costumes, prosthetic makeup, contemporary makeup (non-prosthetic), and sound editing. Colin Farrell is the likely winner for Lead Actor, his biggest competition in the category being Stephen Graham from Adolescence. Both shows drew in massive audiences, The Penguin being a hit for HBO Max last fall, Adolescence coming out more recently in March of this year. The Penguin, while being the most nominated limited series going into the ceremony, is also the limited series with the most nominations this year with 24. Even being part of the DC extended universe, voters clearly responded to the emotional pull of the story and performances on the show. The HBO Max show will fight a hard battle to beat Adolescence in the directing category, a technical marvel of a series with one director across four episodes.
The drama categories are going to be The Pitt versus Severance, where almost every category is a power struggle between these two shows to win. Severance has more wins going into the Primetime ceremony, but The Pitt is not to be underestimated. The two split the guest performer categories, Merrit Wever winning Guest Actress for Severance and Shawn Hatosy winning Guest Actor for The Pitt. Severance is the most nominated show of the year, grabbing 27 across all categories, so it’s difficult to count the series completely out in any category. The Pitt has industry support as well as nostalgia for old school medical dramas – and also boasting previous Emmy nominee Noah Wyle in an incredible lead role. Both Severance and The Pitt released their episodes weekly, which helped keep the attention of audiences, a strategy that paid off for both series when it comes to nominations this year.
The series had a water cooler effect on audiences, who excitedly flocked to social media after the drop of every episode, a palpable excitement already in full force for the sophomore season coming in January. Its fandom online remains a top-notch machine of continued support for the show, pages dedicated to its actors and characters alike. Tramell Tillman, the most deserving person of any Emmy nomination this year, will likely draw the most support from the actors in Severance and could also potentially be winning his first Emmy. It’s going to be a fight in every category.
FXX will air a combined version of the Creative Arts Emmys Nights One and Two this Saturday, September 13 at 8:00 P.M ET./5:00 P.M. PT. The Primetime show will air live on Sunday, 8:00 P.M./5:00 P.M. PT on CBS, and will be hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze.
These are my final predictions in every category at the 77th Primetime Emmys on Sunday.
Outstanding Drama Series
Andor (Disney+)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
The Last of Us (HBO)
Paradise (Hulu)
The Pitt (HBO Max) – PREDICTED WINNER
Severance (AppleTV+) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Slow Horses (AppleTV+)
The White Lotus (HBO)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
The Bear (FX)
Hacks (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Shrinking (AppleTV+)
The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Adolescence (Netflix) – PREDICTED WINNER
Black Mirror (Netflix)
Dying for Sex (FX)
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
The Penguin (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Adam Brody, Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Seth Rogen, The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
Jason Segel, Shrinking (AppleTV+)
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear (FX) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Uzo Aduba, The Residence (Netflix)
Kristen Bell, Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (ABC) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear (FX)
Jean Smart, Hacks (HBO Max) – PREDICTED WINNER
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown, Paradise (Hulu)
Gary Oldman, Slow Horses (AppleTV+)
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us (HBO)
Adam Scott, Severance (AppleTV+) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Noah Wyle, The Pitt (HBO Max) – PREDICTED WINNER
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Matlock (CBS) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters (AppleTV+)
Britt Lower, Severance (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us (HBO)
Keri Russell, The Diplomat (Netflix)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Colin Farrell, The Penguin (HBO Max) – PREDICTED WINNER
Stephen Graham, Adolescence (Netflix) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Jake Gyllenhaal, Presumed Innocent (AppleTV+)
Brian Tyree Henry, Dopesick (AppleTV+)
Cooper Koch, Monsters: The Lyle and Menendez Story (Netflix)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Disclaimer (AppleTV+)
Meghan Fahy, Sirens (Netflix)
Rashida Jones, Black Mirror (Netflix)
Cristin Milioti, The Penguin (HBO Max) – PREDICTED WINNER
Michelle Williams, Dying for Sex (FX) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Zach Cherry, Severance (AppleTV+)
Walton Goggins, The White Lotus (HBO)
Jason Isaacs, The White Lotus (HBO)
James Marsden, Paradise (Hulu)
Sam Rockwell, The White Lotus (The White Lotus) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Tramell Tillman, Severance (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
John Turturro, Severance (AppleTV+)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette, Severance (AppleTV+)
Carrie Coon, The White Lotus (HBO) – PREDICTED WINNER
Katherine LaNasa, The Pitt (HBO Max)
Julianne Nicholson, Paradise (Hulu)
Parker Posey, The White Lotus (HBO) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus (HBO)
Aimee Lou Wood, The White Lotus (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ike Barinholtz, The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
Colman Domingo, The Four Seasons (Netflix)
Harrison Ford, Shrinking (AppleTV+)
Jeff Hiller, Somebody Somewhere (HBO) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear (FX)
Michael Urie, Shrinking (AppleTV+)
Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Liza Colón-Zayas, The Bear (FX)
Hannah Einbinder, Hacks (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Kathryn Hahn, The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Catherine O’Hara, The Studio (AppleTV+)
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Jessica Williams, Shrinking (AppleTV+)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Javier Bardem, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Bill Camp, Presumed Innocent (AppleTV+)
Owen Cooper, Adolescence (Netflix) – PREDICTED WINNER
Rob Delaney, Dying for Sex (FX)
Peter Sarsgaard, Presumed Innocent (AppleTV+)
Ashley Walter, Adolescence (Netflix)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology or Movie
Erin Doherty, Adolescence (Netflix) – PREDICTED WINNER
Ruth Negga, Presumed Innocent (AppleTV+)
Deirdre O’Connell, The Penguin (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Chloë Sevigny, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story (Netflix)
Jenny Slate, Dying for Sex (FX)
Christine Tremarco, Adolescence (Netflix)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
“Welcome to the Rebellion,” Andor (Disney+)
“2:00 P.M.,” The Pitt (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“7:00 A.M.,” The Pitt (HBO Max)
“Cold Harbor,” Severance (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
“Hello Goodbye,” Slow Horses (AppleTV+)
“Full-Moon Party,” The White Lotus (HBO)
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
“Back to School,” Abbott Elementary (ABC)
“A Slippery Slope,” Hacks (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“Pilot’s Code,” The Rehearsal (HBO)
“AGG,” Somebody Somewhere (HBO)
“The Promotion,” The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
“The Finale,” What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series
Adolescence (Netflix) – PREDICTED WINNER
“Common People,” Black Mirror (Netflix)
“Good Value Diet Soda,” Dying for Sex (FX)
“A Great or Little Thing,” The Penguin (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“The People in the Dirt,” Say Nothing (FX)
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
“Who Are You?,” Andor (Disney+)
“6:00 P.M.,” The Pitt (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“7:00 A.M.,” The Pitt (HBO Max)
“Chikhai Bardo,” Severance (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
“Cold Harbor,” Severance (AppleTV+)
“Hello Goodbye,” Slow Horses (AppleTV+)
“Amor Fati,” The White Lotus (HBO)
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
“Napkins,” The Bear (FX)
“A Slippery Slope,” Hacks (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“Here’s To You, Mrs. Schneiderman,” Mid-Century Modern (Hulu)
“Pilot’s Code,” The Rehearsal (HBO)
“The Oner,” The Studio (AppleTV+) – PREDICTED WINNER
Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Adolescence (Netflix) – PREDICTED WINNER
“It’s Not That Serious,” Dying for Sex (FX)
“Cent’anni,” The Penguin (HBO Max)
“A Great or Little Thing,” The Penguin (HBO Max) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
“Exile,” Sirens (Netflix)
Zero Day (Netflix)
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
The Amazing Race (CBS)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Traitors (Peacock) – PREDICTED WINNER
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) – PREDICTED WINNER
Saturday Night Live (NBC) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar (Fox) – PREDICTED WINNER
Beyoncé Bowl (Netflix)
The Oscars (ABC) – POTENTIAL SPOILER
SNL50: The Anniversary Special (NBC)
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert (Peacock)
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