‘Game of Thrones,’ Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Atlanta, ‘Mrs. Maisel’: Final Emmy winner predictions for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards

Erik Anderson September 16, 2018

It seems like this could be one of the most interesting Emmys in quite a while as we don’t have nearly as many ‘locks’ as we normally do right up to the weekend before the big show. Game of Thrones, which sat out last year, was the big winner at the two nights of the Creative Arts Emmys, winning eight. Par for the course for the show, a two-time Drama Series winner now. The big question is if The Handmaid’s Tale can repeat its win from last year.

Drama Actress is going to be a nail-biter with last year’s winner Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) as the perceived frontrunner but with Sandra Oh and the massive breakout that is Killing Eve (and her first lead nomination, and the first actress of Asian descent in that category ever) and Keri Russell for the final season of The Americans. I’m calling it for Oh as her buzz has been huge all summer and it would be a historic win (not unlike Viola Davis just a few years ago).

Comedy Series is also a neck and neck match right at the top. It’s Atlanta vs The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The two will also battle it out in the writing and directing categories, which I’m predicting will see a split between the two. Their respective leads, Donald Glover and Rachel Brosnahan, are probably the easiest wins of the night.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story should be able to run the board tomorrow night but it lost out to Genius: Picasso (of all things) in quite a few categories at the Creative Arts Emmys so maybe it’s not a sure thing after all.

RuPaul Charles won his third Host of a Reality/Reality-Competition Program Emmy last weekend but that has never correlated with a Reality-Competition Program before. Ever. It could finally happen for RuPaul’s Drag Race, which we thought was going to happen last year. Or it will just be The Voice again.

Here are my ranked final winner predictions in all categories for the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

DRAMA SERIES
1. “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)
2. “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
3. “Westworld” (HBO)
4. “The Crown” (Netflix)
5. “The Americans” (FX)
6. “Stranger Things” (Netflix)
7. “This Is Us” (NBC)

COMEDY SERIES
1. “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
2. “Atlanta” (FX)
3. “Barry” (HBO)
4. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
5. “Silicon Valley” (HBO)
6. “GLOW” (Netflix)
7. “Black-ish” (ABC)
8. “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)

LIMITED SERIES
1. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (FX)
2. “Godless” (Netflix)
3. “Patrick Melrose” (Showtime)
4. “Genius: Picasso” (National Geographic)
5. “The Alienist” (TNT)

TELEVISION MOVIE
1. “USS Callister: Black Mirror” (HBO)
2. “The Tale” (HBO)
3. “Fahrenheit 451” (HBO)
4. “Flint” (Lifetime)
5. “Paterno” (HBO)

REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
1. “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
2. “The Voice” (NBC)
3. “Top Chef” (Bravo)
4. “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
5. “American Ninja Warrior” (NBC)

VARIETY TALK SERIES
1. “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
2. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
3. “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
4. “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” (TBS)
5. “The Late Late Show with James Corden” (CBS)
6. “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)

VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
1. “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
2. “I Love You America with Sarah Silverman” (Hulu)
3. “Portlandia” (IFC)
4. “Tracey Ullman’s Show” (HBO)
5. “At Home With Amy Sedaris” (truTV)
6. “Drunk History” (Comedy Central)

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
1. Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve”
2. Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
3. Keri Russell, “The Americans”
4. Claire Foy, “The Crown”
5. Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”
6. Evan Rachel Wood, “Westworld”

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
1. Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
2. Jeffrey Wright, “Westworld”
3. Matthew Rhys, “The Americans”
4. Milo Ventimiglia, “This Is Us”
5. Jason Bateman, “Ozark”
6. Ed Harris, “Westworld”

LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOVIE
1. Laura Dern, “The Tale”
2. Regina King, “Seven Seconds”
3. Michelle Dockery, “Godless”
4. Jessica Biel, “The Sinner”
5. Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Cult”
6. Edie Falco, “Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Brothers”

LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR A MOVIE
1. Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
2. Benedict Cumberbatch, “Patrick Melrose”
3. John Legend, “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert”
4. Jeff Daniels, “The Looming Tower”
5. Jesse Plemons, “USS Callister: Black Mirror”
6. Antonio Banderas, “Genius: Picasso”

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
1. Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
2. Allison Janney, “Mom”
3. Pamela Adlon, “Better Things”
4. Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”
5. Issa Rae, “Insecure”
6. Lily Tomlin, “Grace and Frankie”

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
1. Donald Glover, “Atlanta”
2. Bill Hader, “Barry”
3. William H. Macy, “Shameless”
4. Ted Danson, “The Good Place”
5. Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
6. Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
1. David Harbour, “Stranger Things”
2. Nikolaj Coster- Waldau, “Game of Thrones”
3. Peter Dinklage, “Game of Thrones”
4. Joseph Fiennes, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
5. Matt Smith, “The Crown”
6. Mandy Patinkin, “Homeland”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
1. Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
2. Thandie Newton, “Westworld”
3. Alexis Bledel, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
4. Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
5. Millie Bobby Brown, “Stranger Things”
6. Vanessa Kirby, “The Crown”
7. Lena Headey, “Game of Thrones”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
1. Tony Shalhoub, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
2. Henry Winkler, “Barry”
3. Alec Baldwin, “Saturday Night Live”
4. Louie Anderson, “Baskets”
5. Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”
6. Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”
7. Brian Tyree Henry, “Atlanta”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
1. Alex Borstein, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
2. Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
3. Betty Gilpin, “GLOW”
4. Zazie Beetz, “Atlanta”
5. Megan Mullally, “Will & Grace”
6. Laurie Metcalf, “Roseanne”
7. Leslie Jones, “Saturday Night Live”
8. Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
1. Brandon Victor Dixon, “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live in Concert”
2. Jeff Daniels, “Godless”
3. John Leguizamo, “Waco”
4. Edgar Ramírez, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
5. Michael Stuhlbarg, “The Looming Tower”
6. Ricky Martin, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
7. Finn Wittrock, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
1. Judith Light, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”
2. Merritt Wever, “Godless”
3. Letitia Wright, “Black Museum: Black Mirror”
4. Sara Bareilles, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert”
5. Adina Porter, “American Horror Story: Cult”
6. Penélope Cruz, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
1. Hiro Murai, “Atlanta” (“Teddy Perkins”)
2. Amy Sherman-Palladino, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (“Pilot”)
3. Donald Glover, “Atlanta” (“FUBU”)
4. Bill Hader, “Barry” (“Chapter One: Make Your Mark”)
5. Jesse Peretz, “GLOW” (“Pilot”)
6. Mike Judge, “Silicon Valley” (“Initial Coin Offering”)
7. Mark Cendrowski, “The Big Bang Theory” (“The Bow Tie Symmetry”)

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
1. Alan Taylor, “Game Of Thrones” (“Beyond The Wall”)
2. Kari Skogland, “The Handmaid’s Tale” (“After”)
3. Jeremy Podeswa, “Game Of Thrones” (“The Dragon And The Wolf”)
4. Jason Bateman, “Ozark” (“The Toll”)
5. Stephen Daldry, “The Crown” (“Paterfamilias”)
6. Daniel Sackheim, “Ozark” (“Tonight We Improvise”)
7. The Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” (“Chapter Nine: The Gate”)

DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
1. Ryan Murphy, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (“The Man Who Would Be Vogue”)
2. David Leveaux (director) and Alex Rudzinski (Live Television Director), “Jesus Christ Superstar: Live In Concert”
3. Scott Frank, “Godless”
4. Edward Berger, “Patrick Melrose”
5. David Lynch, “Twin Peaks”
6. Craig Zisk, “The Looming Tower” (“9/11”)
7. Barry Levinson, “Paterno”

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
1. Saturday Night Live (“Host: Donald Glover”)
2. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (“Episode 421”)
3. Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (“Episode 2061”)
4. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (“Episode 438”)
5. Portlandia (“Riot Spray”)
6. The Late Late Show with James Corden (“Episode 0416”)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
1. Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life (Netflix)
2. The Oscars (ABC)
3. Super Bowl LII: Halftime Show Starring Justin Timberlake (NBC)
4. Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Before Seinfeld (Netflix)
5. Dave Chappelle: Equanimity (Netflix)

WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
1. Amy Sherman-Palladino, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (“Pilot”)
2. Donald Glover, “Atlanta” (“Alligator Man”)
3. Stefani Robinson, “Atlanta” (“Barbershop”)
4. Alec Berg and Bill Hader, “Barry” (“Chapter One: Make Your Mark”)
5. Liz Sarnoff, “Barry” (“Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast And Keep Going”)
6. Alec Berg, “Silicon Valley” (“Fifty-One Percent”)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
1. Bruce Miller, “The Handmaid’s Tale” (“June”)
2. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Game of Thrones” (“The Dragon And The Wolf”)
3. Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, “The Americans” (“Start”)
4. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, “Killing Eve” (“Nice Face”)
5. Peter Morgan, “The Crown” (“Mystery Man”)
6. The Duffer Brothers, “Stranger Things” (“Chapter Nine: The Gate”)

WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
1. Tom Rob Smith, “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” (“House By The Lake”)
2. William Bridges and Charlie Brooker, “USS Callister: Black Mirror”
3. Scott Frank, “Godless”
4. David Nicholls, “Patrick Melrose”
5. David Lynch and Mark Frost, “Twin Peaks”
6. Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus, “American Vandal” (“Clean Up”)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
1. Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)
2. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
3. Saturday Night Live (NBC)
4. Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS)
5. Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL
1. Patton Oswalt: Annihilation (Netflix)
2. Steve Martin & Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life (Netflix)
3. Full Frontal with Samanta Bee Presents: The Great American* Puerto Rico (*It’s Complicated) (TBS)
4. John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City Music Hall (Netflix)
5. Michelle Wolf: Nice Lady (HBO)

Author
Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

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.