It's understandable if the only thing you remember from last year's Emmy Awards is Jimmy Kimmel and Jennifer Aniston trying to extinguish a burning envelope. It was a crazy ceremony for crazy times.
The proceedings for the 73rd Emmy Awards on Sunday should be a little more normal, with Cedric the Entertainer hosting in front of a limited in-person audience. Network TV will continue to suffer as Apple TV Plus' "Ted Lasso" and Netflix's "The Crown" are poised to be the belles of the ball. But don't be surprised if those expectations get blown up.
With that warning in mind, here are some predictions. To see how I did, visit startribune.com immediately after the CBS broadcast and check out Monday's Variety section.
Comedy series
Nominees: "Black-ish," "Cobra Kai," "Emily in Paris," "The Flight Attendant," "Hacks," "The Kominsky Method," "Pen 15," "Ted Lasso."
Will and should win: Expect Coach Lasso to score throughout the evening.
Drama series
Nominees: "The Boys," "Bridgerton," "The Crown," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Lovecraft Country," "The Mandalorian," "Pose," "This Is Us."
Will win: Queen Elizabeth regains the Emmys throne.
Should win: "Lovecraft" portrayed racists as the ultimate horror villains even better than "Get Out" did.
Comedy, actress
Nominees: Aidy Bryant, "Shrill"; Kaley Cuoco, "Flight Attendant"; Allison Janney, "Mom"; Tracee Ellis Ross, "Black-ish"; Jean Smart, "Hacks."
Will win: The Smart money is on the "Hacks" star.
Should win: Cuoco transforms a so-so murder-mystery into a comedy showcase.
Comedy, actor
Nominees: Anthony Anderson, "Black-ish"; Michael Douglas, "Kominsky"; William H. Macy, "Shameless"; Jason Sudeikis, "Lasso"; Kenan Thompson, "Kenan."
Will and should win: Sudeikis' upbeat performance was just what we needed during the pandemic.
Drama, actress
Nominees: Uzo Aduba, "In Treatment"; Olivia Colman, "Crown"; Emma Corrin, "Crown"; Elisabeth Moss, "Handmaid"; Mj Rodriguez, "Pose"; Jurnee Smollett, "Lovecraft."
Will and should win: Corrin immortalized Princess Di without pretending she was a saint.
Drama, actor
Nominees: Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us"; Jonathan Majors, "Lovecraft"; Josh O'Connor, "Crown"; Billy Porter, "Pose"; Rege-Jean Page, "Bridgerton"; Matthew Rhys, "Perry Mason."
Will win: O'Connor could be part of a "Crown" sweep.
Should win: You could easily make the case that Rhys had the trickiest role.
Comedy, supporting actress
Nominees: Aidy Bryant, "Saturday Night Live"; Hannah Einbinder, "Hacks": Kate McKinnon, "SNL"; Rosie Perez, "Flight Attendant"; Cecily Strong, "SNL"; Juno Temple, "Lasso"; Hannah Waddingham, "Hacks."
Will win: The "Lasso" love extends to Waddingham.
Should win: Newcomer Einbinder was every bit as good as Smart. But no one would cheer louder than me if Strong finally got some Emmy love.
Comedy, supporting actor
Nominees: Carl Clemons-Hopkins, "Hacks"; Brett Goldstein, "Lasso"; Brendan Hunt, "Lasso"; Nick Mohammed, "Lasso"; Paul Reiser, "Kominsky"; Jeremy Swift, "Lasso"; Kenan Thompson, "SNL"; Bowen Yang, "SNL."
Will and should win: This is one of the tightest races of the night. There's a general feeling that Thompson will be honored for his long tenure at "SNL," but I'm leaning toward Goldstein.
Drama, supporting actress
Nominees: Gillian Anderson, "Crown"; Madeline Brewer, "Handmaid"; Helena Bonham Carter, "Crown"; Ann Dowd, "Handmaid"; Aunjanue Ellis, "Lovecraft"; Emerald Fennell, "Crown"; Yvonne Strahovski, "Handmaid"; Samira Wiley, "Handmaid."
Will and should win: Anderson may lose some votes to her "Crown" co-stars, but she should still have enough to squeak this one out.
Drama, supporting actor
Nominees: Giancarlo Esposito, "Mandalorian"; O-T Fagbenle, "Handmaid"; John Lithgow, "Perry Mason"; Tobias Menzies, "Crown"; Chris Sullivan, "This Is Us"; Bradley Whitford, "Handmaid"; Michael K. Williams, "Lovecraft"; Max Minghella, "Handmaid."
Will win: Williams was the front-runner even before his recent tragic death.
Should win: Lithgow deserves his seventh Emmy on Sunday.
Limited series
Nominees: "I May Destroy You," "Mare of Easttown," "The Queen's Gambit," "The Underground Railroad," "WandaVision."
Will and should win: "Gambit" made chess sets one of the year's hottest items. I'm not sure you could say the same thing about Easttown T-shirts.
Limited series/ movie, actress
Nominees: Michaela Coel, "Destroy"; Cynthia Erivo, "Genius: Aretha"; Elizabeth Olsen, "WandaVision"; Anya Taylor-Joy, "Gambit"; Kate Winslet, "Easttown."
Will and should win: The battle between Taylor-Joy and Winslet might be the most intriguing of the evening. I'm going with the chess prodigy.
Limited series/ movie, actor
Nominees: Paul Bettany, "WandaVision"; Hugh Grant, "The Undoing"; Ewan McGregor, "Halston"; Lin-Manuel Miranda, "Hamilton"; Leslie Odom Jr., "Hamilton."
Will and should win: "Undoing" came apart at the end, but the former rom-com star's performance remained intact.
reality competition
Nominees: "The Amazing Race," "Nailing It," "RuPaul's Drag Race," "Top Chef," "The Voice."
Will win: Expect RuPaul to make it four in a row.
Should win: Co-hosts Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman nail it.
Variety Talk
Nominees: "Conan"; "Daily Show With Trevor Noah"; "Jimmy Kimmel Live"; "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver"; "Late Show With Stephen Colbert."
Will win: Expect Oliver to make it six in a row.
Should win: Conan O'Brien, who recently ended his TBS series, deserves a proper going-away gift.
Njustin@startribune.com
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Twitter: @nealjustin
