FINAL 2022 Emmy Nomination Predictions: DRAMA SERIES categories
If you thought Tyler and I aligned a lot in our comedy predictions, wait until you see some of the more surprising results here in drama.
It’s hard to say why things line up in so many categories: Drama Series, Lead Actor, Lead Actress and Directing, when we come at them from two different perspectives and with expanded nomination lineups that should all but ensure little crossover. We’ve talked before that the expanded number of slots often don’t make things easier than the traditional five, it makes them harder. That felt very true for comedy, which is far more competitive than drama in many ways. We definitely have a similar scenario in which contenders will go up against each other after either a one or two season-long hiatus (like Ozark or Stranger Things) or now have to battle against a show they haven’t fought yet. That’s on top of the freshman shows like Severance, Squid Game and Yellowjackets, and they all are looking to take down the reigning champion here, Succession.
Can Euphoria, whose first season made history with Zendaya’s Lead Actress win, go even bigger this year, its most popular? Sydney Sweeney, Colman Domingo and Martha Kelly are all in one of both of our predictions and the show seems to be right on the cusp of getting in itself. It’s toughest competition is most likely the last season of This Is Us (which has only missed here once) and the first season of Yellowjackets, one of the year’s buzziest shows. But we can’t discount the stellar guild run of previous nominee The Morning Show or SAG Ensemble nominee Yellowstone either.
Nominations will be announced on Tuesday, July 12 by JB Smoove, Melissa Fumero and Television Academy chairman and CEO Frank Sherma, live on emmys.com at 8:30 a.m. PST.
Here are Erik and Tyler’s final Emmy predictions in the Drama Series categories.
Outstanding Drama Series (8)
- Better Call Saul (AMC) – Erik, Tyler
- Ozark (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Severance (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Squid Game (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Stranger Things (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- This Is Us (NBC) – Erik, Tyler
- Yellowjackets (Showtime) – Erik, Tyler
Watch out for: Euphoria (HBO), The Morning Show (AppleTV+), Yellowstone (Paramount+)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (6)
- Jason Bateman – Ozark (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us (NBC) – Erik, Tyler
- Brian Cox – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Lee Jung-jae – Squid Game (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul (AMC) – Erik, Tyler
- Jeremy Strong – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
Watch out for: Kevin Costner – Yellowstone (Paramount+)- Tyler; Adam Scott – Severance (AppleTV+) – Erik
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (6)
- Jennifer Aniston – The Morning Show (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Laura Linney – Ozark (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Melanie Lynskey – Yellowjackets (Showtime) – Erik, Tyler
- Mandy Moore – This is Us (NBC) – Erik, Tyler
- Jodie Comer – Killing Eve (AMC/BBC America) – Erik, Tyler
- Zendaya – Euphoria (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
Watch out for: Britt Lower – Severance (AppleTV+) – Tyler; Sandra Oh – Killing Eve (AMC/BBC America) – Erik
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (8)
- Nicholas Braun – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Billy Crudup – The Morning Show (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Kieran Culkin – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Giancarlo Esposito – Better Call Saul (AMC) – Erik, Tyler
- Matthew Macfadyen – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Oh Yeong-su – Squid Game (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- John Turturro – Severance (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Jonathan Banks – Better Call Saul (AMC) – Erik
- Alan Ruck – Succession (HBO) – Tyler
Watch out for: Eric Dane – Euphoria (HBO), Park Hae-soo – Squid Game (Netflix), Chris Sullivan – This Is Us (NBC)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (8)
- Patricia Arquette – Severance (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- J. Smith Cameron – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Julia Garner – Ozark (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Jung Ho-yeon – Squid Game (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Christina Ricci – Yellowjackets (Showtime) – Erik, Tyler
- Sarah Snook – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Youn Yuh-jung – Pachinko (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Julianna Margulies – The Morning Show (AppleTV+) – Erik
- Sydney Sweeney – Euphoria (HBO) – Tyler
Watch out for: Millie Bobby Brown – Stranger Things (Netflix), Glenn Close – Tehran (AppleTV+), Sadie Sink – Stranger Things (Netflix)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series (6)
- Adrien Brody – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- James Cromwell – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Colman Domingo – Euphoria (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Arian Moayed – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Alexander Skarsgård – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Delroy Lindo – The Good Fight (Paramount+) – Tyler
- Martin Short – The Morning Show (AppleTV+) – Erik
Watch out for: Richard E. Grant – Loki (Disney+), Tom Pelphrey – Ozark (Netflix), Yul Vazquez – Severance (AppleTV+)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (6)
- Hope Davis – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Marcia Gay Harden – The Morning Show (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Sanaa Lathan – Succession (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Lee You-mi – Squid Game (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Jacki Weaver – Yellowstone (Paramount+) – Erik, Tyler
- Martha Kelly – Euphoria (HBO) – Tyler
- Harriet Walter – Succession (HBO) – Erik
Watch out for: Whoopi Goldberg – Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+), Elaine May – The Good Fight (Paramount+), Jordana Spiro – Ozark (Netflix)
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (7)
- Ozark – “A Hard Way to Go” (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Severance – “The We We Are” (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Stranger Things – “Dear Billy” (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Succession – “All the Bells Say”(HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Succession – “The Disruption” (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Succession – “Too Much Birthday” (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Yellowjackets – “Pilot” (Showtime) – Erik, Tyler
Watch out for: The Morning Show – “Laura” (AppleTV+) – Erik; Euphoria – “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” (HBO) – Tyler
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (7)
- Better Call Saul – “Wine and Roses” (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Ozark – “A Hard Way to Go” (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Severance – “The We We Are” (AppleTV+) – Erik, Tyler
- Squid Game – “One Lucky Day” (Netflix) – Erik, Tyler
- Succession – “All the Bells Say” (HBO) – Erik, Tyler
- Yellowjackets – “Pilot” (Showtime) – Erik, Tyler
- Better Call Saul – “A Rock and a Hard Place” (AMC) – Erik
- The Gilded Age – “Face the Music” (HBO Max) – Tyler
Watch out for: Loki – “Glorious Purpose” (Disney+), Ozark – “Ellie” (Netflix), Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty – “The Swan” (HBO)
Photo: Tina Rowden/Netflix
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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