Emmy Nomination Predictions for Dramas

Emmy nominations are announced on the 18^th of the month and the ballots were mailed yesterday, so here is my lengthy discourse on Emmy nomination predictions:

Before We Begin in Earnest, However: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: currently, we are witnessing the Golden Age of Television, or at least the Golden Age of the Drama Series. 1939 is inarguably the greatest year in film. Because series run for multiple years, one single year obviously can’t be the greatest year in television history. Instead, a specific period of time is needed. Every decade has a halfway-decent argument for the title, with the 1950’s and 1970’s being the more talked about. But no, simply no. Both decades boasted many of the prototypical sitcoms ever made. I Love Lucy, Make Room for Daddy, Father Know Best, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, M*A*S*H, Taxi. The list of “classic” comedies that aired during these 2 decades about equals the number that aired in the other 4 decades since the dawn of the small screen, a list that includes such juggernauts as The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Get Smart, Cheers, The Cosby Show, The Golden Girls, Seinfeld, Frasier, and Friends. The decade we completed about 3 years ago had some great comedies, but I venture to say not one of them will live on as a “classic” comedy, though I have my hopes about 30 Rock. The drama series has been reasonably strong since the dawn of serial-style storytelling, which really began in the 1960s with The Fugitive and, to some degree, Run for Your Life and Route 66. This style, which became prevalent in such 1970s series as The Waltons, Upstairs, Downstairs, and Family and continued into the 1980s with primetime soaps Dallas, Dynasty, and Knots Landing and the two series that pretty much created their genres: Hill Street Blues (crime/police) and St. Elsewhere (medical). With 1990, the 20 year preamble to the golden age of today began. Law & Order, then NYPD Blue, then ER, all 3 of them incredibly successful series that ran more than 10 seasons (20, 12, and 15 respectively) dominated the Emmy nominations in the 1990s, though not the wins, all the while supported by underseen series such as Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, Quantum Leap, thirtysomething, Picket Fences, The X-Files, Chicago Hope, and Homicide: Life on the Street. At one time, though, no more than 7 or 8 shows would be deserving of an Emmy nomination, and  for 3 consecutive years not really even a 7^th series could compete with the 6-some of Chicago Hope, ER, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and The X-Files, and brilliant, but never-nominated Homicide: Life on the Street. The Sopranos and The West Wing sparked a creative dramatic genius previously unseen in the industry. Dramas, both awarded and unsung took off, and cable television along with it. The West Wing, The Sopranos, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Gilmore Girls, 24, The Shield, Six Feet Under, The Wire, early CSI, Deadwood, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, early Grey’s Anatomy, Mad Men, Damages: the list is beyond extensive, but no more so than today. Indeed, that is why I just wrote those almost 550 words giving a pea-sized view of the history television. Just contemplate this information as you read about the dramas in this, our small-screen’s dramatic golden age.

Here we go. This is extremely long, just FYI.

Drama Series: Instead of the 6 series vying for the now 6 Emmy nomination slots, there are upwards of 12 that have a decent shot at landing one, and more like 20 or so that are deserving. The San Antonio Spurs aren’t perennial title contenders because they have Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, both Hall of Famers, but because they have such a fabulous wealth of bench talent. This depth has given them a golden decade, and the depth of TV’s dramatic lineup is what makes this its golden age.

Here are the most probable contenders:

--Breaking Bad (AMC)

--Downton Abbey (PBS/ITV)

--Homeland (Showtime)

--Mad Men (AMC)

These four are virtual locks, unless Emmy voters stop being snobs and Downton fails to make the cut (simply not going to happen) or decide that they don’t like Mad Men at all anymore as it set the record for most nominations in an 0-for-17 shut-out last year (likewise extremely unlikely to happen).

Now what about the other 2 spots? HBO’s Game of Thrones seems like a lock as it’s received nominations in the category each of the last 2 years, but you can never consider a science-fiction series or a fantasy series (which Game of Thrones is, of course) a lock for this award. The X-Files is the most Emmy-decorated sci-fi/fantasy series ever, but it didn’t begin garnering the awards until it hit mainstream culture and 15 million-or-so weekly viewers in its 2^nd season. That being said, Game of Thrones, having won a TCA Award a couple of years ago and having won the Critics’ Choice Television Award for Best Drama today in a tie with Breaking Bad, making that Thrones’ 2^nd win in a row for the award, I’d say the show is all but a lock.

That leaves 1 spot for a plethora of series. The contenders seem to be House of Cards (Netflix), The Americans (FX), The Newsroom (HBO), Boardwalk Empire (HBO), and The Good Wife (CBS). At the moment, and not being a fan of The Newsroom at all and being lukewarm on what I’ve seen of and fed-up on seeing nominations for The Good Wife, the 5 are now 3. Boardwalk Empire has been having far less success than in the past and will most likely be the only nominee from last year not to make this year’s lineup. It hasn’t performed very well at in the critical awards arena, and it just seems like Emmy voters fear they will have a stale taste in their mouth if they nominate it. So House of Cards or The Americans it is. Both series are quite good from what I’ve heard. House of Cards has been the front-runner for the final slot for a while now, even though the two series have fared entirely evenly in terms of award nominations from major groups. I don’t know why exactly, but I’m going to go with The Americans, though that might change between now and next Tuesday.

All that being said, a number of other series had great seasons this year (from what I’ve heard as I only religiously watch Downton Abbey and NCIS) and deserve mention even though they’re not in the nomination conversation. I’m only going to list them, and you can read about and watch them for yourself:

--Bates Motel (A&E) starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga

--Damages (DirecTV) starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne

--Dexter (Showtime) starring Michael C. Hall

--Elementary (CBS) starring Jonny Lee Miller and Lucy Liu

--Hannibal (NBC) starring Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, and Laurence Fishburne

--Hell on Wheels (AMC) starring Anson Mount and Colm Meaney

--Justified (FX) starring Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins

--Nashville (ABC) starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere

--NCIS (CBS) starring Mark Harmon (I’m completely serious)

--Orphan Black (BBC America) starring Tatiana Maslany

--Parenthood (NBC) starring Lauren Graham, Peter Krause, and Craig T. Nelson

--Shameless (Showtime) starring William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum

--Sons of Anarchy (FX) starring Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal

--Southland (TNT) starring Regina King, Ben McKenzie, and Michael Cudlitz

--The Walking Dead (AMC) starring Andrew Lincoln

--Treme (HBO) starring a massive ensemble cast

So as a recap, here’s my predicted 6 nominees:

--The Americans (FX)

--Breaking Bad (AMC)

--Downton Abbey (PBS)

--Homeland (Showtime)

--Mad Men (AMC)

Lead Actor in a Drama Series:

3 men are locks for a nomination:

--Bryan Cranston as Walter White in Breaking Bad

--Damian Lewis as Nicholas Brody in Homeland

--Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood in House of Cards

Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men is also pretty much a lock, but the relatively waning success of his series calls the possibility of nomination into question. Nevertheless, I would consider him to be a lock.

That leaves 2 spots, spots that I currently have filled by Jeff Daniels as Will McAvoy in The Newsroom and Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in Boardwalk Empire. Daniels is a pretty solid bet as I found him to be great in the 3 episodes I watched, even if the series was annoyingly preachy. Buscemi’s chances all depend upon the level to which the Academy shuts out Boardwalk. His most obvious and likely replacement would be Hugh Bonneville as Lord Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham in Downton Abbey, but even as a huge fan of Downton, I don’t think Bonneville had a single episode that is nomination-worthy, at least not when up against such a tremendous group of talented men. Matthew Rhys as Phillip Jennings in The Americans and Timothy Olyphant as Marshal Raylan Givens in Justified are the other two best bet alternates. For the moment I will stick with Buscemi, but Rhys is looking better and better every day.

There are a number of deserving men not in contention here as well:

--Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead

--Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannan in Hell on Wheels

--Charlie Hunnam as Jax Teller in Sons of Anarchy

--Jeremy Irons as Rodrigo Borgia/Pope Alexander VI in The Borgias

--Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes in Elementary

--Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane in Boss

--Kevin Bacon as Ryan Hardy in The Following

--Mark Harmon as Leroy Jethro Gibbs in NCIS

--Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan in Dexter

--Peter Krause as Adam Braverman in Parenthood

--Tom Selleck as Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods

--William H. Macy as Frank Gallagher in Shameless

As a recap, my 6 are:

--Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

--Damian Lewis in Homeland

--Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom

--Jon Hamm in Mad Men

--Kevin Spacey in House of Cards

--Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire

Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

There are either 3 absolute locks in this category:

--Claire Danes as Carrie Mathison in Homeland

--Julianna Margulies as Alicia Florrick in The Good Wife

--Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Crawley in Downton Abbey

The 4^th and 5^th spots are both pretty firmly in place, though not locked in. Elisabeth Moss, barring the same Mad Men backlash that would keep Jon Hamm out of his race, is a virtual lock as Peggy Olson in Mad Men. Glenn Close seems poised for another nomination as Patty Hewes in Damages, but her position is precarious.

Once again, that just leaves the 6^th spot as completely unsure. I currently have Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings in The Americans, but she most certainly does have competition, though her recent nominations for the role are helpful. Vera Farmiga could provide a shocker nomination as Norma Louise Bates in Bates Motel given her recent Critics’ Choice and TCA nominations. With her Critics’ Choice win today and her TCA nomination, Tatiana Maslany as Sarah Manning/Alison Hendrix/Cosima Niehaus/Helena/Katja Obinger/Rachel Duncan in Orphan Black made a huge statement and cemented herself in the conversation for a nomination. In the few episodes I've seen (meaning 2), she is astonishing. The first 4 characters I listed are the 4 she portrays the majority of the time. With those, and I'm assuming with the others as well, she creates 4 distinct characters with impeccable accents (even in her original role as Sarah, who is British, while Maslany is Canadian). She deserves the nomination hands-down. Connie Britton is also a threat as Rayna James in Nashville, as is Robin Wright as Claire Underwood in House of Cards. Britton got a Globe nomination, but those are far from assuring an Emmy nomination. Both have missed out on valuable award nominations elsewhere, with Wright’s snub at the hands of both the Critics’ Choice and the TCA being especially harmful to her chances. Kerry Washington is also a favorite for a nomination as Olivia Pope in Scandal, but I just can’t see it happening. Shonda Rhimes’s leads have always had an awful time with the Emmys, with neither Ellen Pompeo nor Patrick Dempsey receiving the nominations they deserved for any of the first few Grey’s Anatomy seasons. Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer and Mariska Hargitay in Law & Order: SVU are long shots as they haven’t been nominated for a couple of years, but they’ve both once won before and have been nominated for those roles a combined 13 times.

Just a few women not in contention deserve to be:

--Anna Paquin as Sookie Stackhouse in True Blood

--Emmy Rossum as Fiona Gallagher in Shameless

--Katey Sagal as Gemma Teller Morrow in Sons of Anarchy

I’m going to go out on a limb here for my pick:

--Claire Danes in Homeland

--Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men

--Keri Russell in The American

--Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife

--Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey

--Vera Farmiga in Bates Motel

Top Alternate: Glenn Close in Damages

Second Alternate: Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black
Bear in mind that if Maslany shocks and gets a nomination, she automatically becomes my frontrunner for the win as her possible submission tapes are lights out.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:

This is a stacked category. There are really only 2 locks for nominations:

--Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad

--Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones

Both have won before and have no reason why they shouldn’t be nominated. Mandy Patinkin as Saul Berenson in Homeland is a virtual lock, especially since he was so egregiously snubbed last year in favor of the undeserving Downton Abbey men (whom I love, but who had no business being nominated). Jonathan Banks and Corey Stoll as Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Peter Russo in House of Cards respectively are also quite likely, especially Stoll because of his scene-stealing status. Interestingly, Banks was nominated 24 years ago in 1989 for Wiseguy.

Assuming both Banks and Stoll get their nominations, this leaves just 1 spot. The hopeful voice inside of me is shouting Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones, so that’s who I have right now. This means nothing, however. Coster-Waldau has a couple of award nominations for this season, so that’s working in his favor, but name recognition isn’t. Name recognition is working in the favor of Jack McCoy, or rather Sam Waterston, however, who is a strong contender as Charlie Skinner in The Newsroom. Noah Emmerich is also a strong possibility as Agent Stan Beeman in The Americans. Alan Cumming was nominated as Eli Gold in The Good Wife 2 years ago, but another nomination is incredibly unlikely, as is a 5 nomination for John Slattery as Roger Sterling in Mad Men, also coming off a 1 year hiatus from the nomination pool. Bobby Cannavale as Gyp Rosetti in Boardwalk Empire is quite unlikely with Boardwalk Empire as a series nomination lock much less on the cusp of not being nominated so he’s pretty much out of the question. Rob James-Collier as James Barrow or Dan Stevens as Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey could nab that 6^th spot if the Academy gets British fever again like last year. The two represent the definite best supporting male performances on the series. I prefer James-Collier to Stevens on the whole, though Stevens does have 1 or 2 great possible episodes.

With all that sorted out, here’s some deserving men not in contention:

--Ben McKenzie as Ben Sherman in Southland

--Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad

--David Morrissey as The Governor in The Walking Dead

--Dean Norris as Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad

--Freddie Highmore as Norman Bates in Bates Motel

--Jim Carter as Charles Carson in Downton Abbey

--John Noble as Dr. Walter Bishop in Fringe

--Kit Harrington as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones

--Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing in Dallas

--Mads Mikkelsen as Dr. Hannibal Lecter in Hannibal

--Michael Cudlitz as John Cooper in Southland

--Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden in Boardwalk Empire

--Vincent Kartheiser as Pete Campbell in Mad Men

--Walton Goggins as Boyd Crowder in Justified

To predict this wide-open category:

--Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad

--Corey Stoll in House of Cards

--Jonathan Banks in Breaking Bad

--Mandy Patinkin in Homeland

--Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Game of Thrones

--Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:

This category is only slightly easier to predict. There are what essentially amount to 4 locks, though really only 3 of them are done deals.

--Maggie Smith as Lady Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey

--Anna Gunn as Skyler White in Breaking Bad

--Christina Hendricks as Joan Harris in Mad Men

I’m going out on an extremely tenuous limb here by predicting that neither of the two main female supporting players from The Good Wife, Christine Baranski and Archie Panjabi, will be nominated. They have both been nominated each of the last 3 years, with Panjabi winning 3 years ago. In their place, a number of women could get a nomination. With the 2 Good Wife women gone, the remaining 3 nomination slots are being vied for by what essentially amounts to 4 or 5 actresses. The 4 main contenders are Morena Baccarin as Jessica Brody in Homeland, who was egregiously snubbed last year and definitely deserves to be nominated; Elizabeth McGovern as Lady Mary Crawley, Countess of Grantham in Downton Abbey, who received a nomination in the lead category for movie/miniseries 2 years ago but missed out last year in the lead category; Monica Potter as Kristina Braverman in Parenthood, a wholly deserving performance the completely that is reportedly receiving the bulk of NBC’s campaigning funds for drama; and Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, as she takes the place of Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister and Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark as Thrones’ frontrunner for the series’ first female acting nomination. Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes in Nashville, Joanne Froggatt as Anna Smith Bates in Downton Abbey, and Kate Mara as Zoe Barnes in House of Cards are all also reasonably strong contenders, but they seem out of the race for the time being.

Some other deserving women not in contention include:

--Connie Nielsen as Meredith Kane in Boss

--January Jones as Betty Draper Francis in Mad Men

--Jessica Paré as Megan Draper in Mad Men

--Kelly Macdonald as Margaret Schroeder in Boardwalk Empire

--Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper in Mad Men

--Lauren Graham as Sarah Braverman in Parenthood

--Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones

--Michelle Fairley as Lady Catelyn Stark in Game of Thrones

--Regina King as Lydia Adams in Southland

--Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons in Damages

To recap my predictions:

--Anna Gunn in Breaking Bad

--Christina Hendricks in Mad Men

--Elizabeth McGovern in Downton Abbey

--Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey

--Monica Potter in Parenthood

--Morena Baccarin in Homeland

First One Out: Elizabeth McGovern

First One In: Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones

Guest Actor in a Drama Series:

Nobody in the guest categories is ever a lock, so here we go. Nathan Lane as Clarke Hayden in The Good Wife is as close as you can get considering guests have fared well on The Good Wife Emmy-wise and he’s Nathan Lane, which is really what these categories are all about. Michael J. Fox is probably the most secure for a nomination considering he’s been nominated each of the last 2 years for playing the exact same role, Louis Canning, in the exact same series, The Good Wife. Dylan Baker is also a pretty solid bet as Colin Sweeney in The Good Wife. He’s been nominated for the role in this category both last year and 3 years ago, and he didn’t make an appearance in the series 2 years ago to be eligible. Jimmy Smits has been nominated for various series 12 times and won for his perennially nominated supporting work on L.A. Law back in 1989 or 1990. He then received a handful of lead nominations for NYPD Blue and was probably #7 or 8 out of 6 for a supporting nomination as Matt Santos on The West Wing in 2006 if not 2005 as well. His 12^th nomination was a guest nomination as the main villain of one of the seasons of Dexter, getting the nomination in 2009. Sons of Anarchy is far from a favorite of the Academy, but Smits’ history as an Emmy darling makes him an attractive possibility as Nero Padilla. Matthew Perry, eligible as Mike Kresteva on The Good Wife, has 4 prior nominations, and is a well-known, well-liked, well-respected TV actor and is another likely bet. Ray Romano as Hank Rizzoli on Parenthood is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jason Ritter, who was awarded a surprise guest nomination for the series last year. Romano, though, has been a frontrunner since the beginning due to his name and his 3 Emmy victories in 16 nominations. Robert Morse is never to be counted out as Bertram Cooper in Mad Men, but with the possible decline in Mad Men’s popularity with the Academy and his year-long hiatus from the nominee list, Morse looks to be fading from the race. Rupert Friend as Peter Quinn in Homeland is another strong contender, but his name just isn’t big enough to garner to sort of support he would need to get on the nomination list. Jason Ritter as Mark Cyr in Parenthood seems strong, but his nomination last year was most likely just a fluke, though the idea that people thought they were voting for John Ritter of Three’s Company fame is ridiculous and stupid considering John Ritter died 10 years ago. Jim Beaver, who’s biggest role was as Whitney Ellsworth on Deadwood, is probably the next closest anybody’s going to come to cracking the top 6 and snatching a spot away from one of the first 6 I mentioned, as Shelby Parlow on Justified. Mike O’Malley has a long shot as Nicky Augustine on Justified as does Andre Braugher as Bayard Ellis on Law & Order: SVU, but SVU’s power in the guest categories was never on the male side and its power on the female side has waned significantly in the last several years to boot.

A couple of other notable possibilities:

--Bradley Whitford as Abraham Paige in Shameless

--Ciaran Hinds as Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones

--Edward Asner as Martin Schultz in Law & Order: SVU

--Harry Hamlin as Jim Cutler in Man Men

To recap:

--Dylan Baker in The Good Wife

--Jim Beaver in Justified

--Jimmy Smits in Sons of Anarchy

--Michael J. Fox in The Good Wife

--Nathan Lane in The Good Wife

--Ray Romano in Parenthood

Guest Actress in a Drama Series:

I lied when I said that there are no locks in these categories.

--Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson in Downton Abbey

--Jane Fonda as Leona Lansing in The Newsroom

Both MacLaine and Fonda have enormous amounts of sway with the voting base of the Academy just by virtue of who they are. When you then add the fact that MacLaine is utter scene-stealing brilliance and Fonda is excellent as well. Stockard Channing is another famous name and should be all but guaranteed a nomination as Veronica Loy in The Good Wife. The final 3 spots seem, as best I can tell, to be reserved for 5 actresses. Martha Plimpton as Patti Nyholm in The Good Wife won the Emmy last year for the role and her inclusion seems incredibly likely. Joan Cusack in looking for her 3^rd consecutive nomination as Sheila Jackson in Shameless, and while it’s likely, I’m not going to predict it. She hasn’t won yet and her competition has never been all that great, so I see no reason to think she’ll be back. Diana Rigg is not at all a sure thing to make it in as Lady Olenna Redwyne in Game of Thrones, but the 5-time nominee and 1-time winner has a great shot at making it on veteran status and respect alone. That leaves the final spot for two women. Margo Martindale won a supporting Emmy 2 years ago as Mags in Justified with a tremendous submission tape that launched her ahead of the competition after a shocking nomination. As Claudia in The Americans, she has a good chance to get a second nomination this year. Finally, Carrie Preston has received several critics’ award nominations for her performances as Elsbeth Tascioni in The Good Wife, and this could be the year she finally gets a nomination.

There are a number of notable women not in contention, but I want to be done with this, so I’m not going to list them.

To recap:

--Diana Rigg in Game of Thrones

--Jane Fonda in The Newsroom

--Margo Martindale in The Americans

--Martha Plimpton in The Good Wife

--Shirley MacLaine in Downton Abbey

--Stockard Channing in The Good Wife

Overall Predictions for Dramas (in order of likelihood):

Drama Series:

1.      Homeland

2.      Breaking Bad

3.      Downton Abbey

4.      Mad Men

5.      Game of Thrones

6.      The Americans

Next One In: Boardwalk Empire

Drama Actor:

1.      Bryan Cranston in Breaking Bad

2.      Damian Lewis in Homeland

3.      Kevin Spacey in House of Cards

4.      Jon Hamm in Mad Men

5.      Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom

6.      Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire

Next On In: Matthew Rhys in The Americans

Second One In: Hugh Bonneville in Downton Abbey

Third One In: Timothy Olyphant in Justified

Drama Actress:

1.      Claire Danes in Homeland

2.      Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife

3.      Michelle Dockery in Downton Abbey

4.      Elisabeth Moss in Mad Men

5.      Keri Russell in The Americans
6.   Vera Farmiga in Bates Motel

Next One In: Glenn Close in Damages

Second One In: Tatiana Maslany in Orphan Black

Drama Supporting Actor:

1.      Aaron Paul in Breaking Bad

2.      Peter Dinklage in Game of Thrones

3.      Mandy Patinkin in Homeland

4.      Jonathan Banks in Breaking Bad

5.      Corey Stoll in House of Cards

6.      Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in Game of Thrones

Next One In: Noah Emmerich in The Americans

Second One In: Sam Waterston in The Newsroom

Drama Supporting Actress:

1.      Maggie Smith in Downton Abbey

2.      Anna Gunn in Breaking Bad

3.      Christina Hendricks in Mad Men

4.      Morena Baccarin in Homeland

5.      Monica Potter in Parenthood

6.      Elizabeth McGovern in Downton Abbey

Next One In: Emilia Clarke in Game of Thrones

Second One In: Christine Baranski in The Good Wife

Third One In: Archie Panjabi in The Good Wife

Drama Guest Actor:

1.      Michael J. Fox in The Good Wife

2.      Nathan Lane in The Good Wife

3.      Ray Romano in Parenthood

4.      Dylan Baker in The Good Wife

5.      Jimmy Smits in Sons of Anarchy

6.      Jim Beaver in Justified

Next One In: Matthew Perry in The Good Wife

Second One In: Robert Morse in Mad Men

Drama Guest Actress:

1.      Shirley MacLaine in Downton Abbey

2.      Jane Fonda in The Newsroom

3.      Stockard Channing in The Good Wife

4.      Martha Plimpton in The Good Wife

5.      Diana Rigg in Game of Thrones

6.      Margo Martindale in The Americans

Next One In: Joan Cusack in Shameless

Second One In: Carrie Preston in The Good Wife

Tomorrow I will do the comedies. Oh, God. Help me.