Wolf Hall and Downton Abbey are probably the best hopes if you’re looking to place a bet on some UK talent bringing an Emmy home – but there’s also a good selection of British actors in the Game of Thrones cast who might be winners this year.
Outstanding drama series
Better Call Saul
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange Is the New Black
Last year the final season of Breaking Bad was the big winner here – will the judges decide that Mad Men’s grand finale should also be rewarded? It’s hard to see Downton’s last series (Will Bates go to jail? Where’s Isis the labrador? Will tenant farming take off?) winning over Don Draper’s on-the-road existential crisis, but stranger things have happened…
Lead actor in a drama series
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
Liev Schrieber, Ray Donovan
Another strong category – can Lord Grantham really beat Don Draper?
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series
Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
Michael Kelly, House of Cards
The return of Breaking Bad’s uber-fixer Mike Ehrmantraut was one of the many joys of Better Call Saul; Ben Mendelsohn was compelling in Bloodline, and Peter Dinklage had another good season on Game of Thrones. Could Alan Cumming’s continued role as the highly entertaining political fixer Eli Gold edge them out on The Good Wife?
Outstanding actor in a mini-series or movie
Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge
David Oyelowo, Nightingale
Adrien Brody, Houdini
Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
Ricky Gervias, Derek
Wolf Hall v Derek is definitely one of the quirkier face-offs in this year’s Emmys. We’re going out on a limb and giving Mark Rylance this one …
Outstanding actress in a mini-series or movie
Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Queen Latifah, Bessie
Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge
Emma Thompson, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Live from Lincoln Center
OK, it’s Maggie Gyllenhaal and not The Honorable Woman itself that’s up for an Emmy here, but she was great; Frances McDormand in HBO’s Olive Kitteridge (shown on Sky Atlantic in the UK) is probably her most serious rival here.
Supporting actress, drama
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Lena Headey, Game Of Thrones
Emilia Clarke, Game Of Thrones
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Uzo Aduba, Orange Is The New Black
Christina Hendricks’ final run in Mad Men this year gave Joan a decent send off – but was there anything in the last days of SCP as intense as Cersei’s walk of shame?
Guest actress, drama
Margo Martindale, The Americans
Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
Rachel Brosnahan, House Of Cards
Cicely Tyson, How To Get Away With Murder
Allison Janney, Masters Of Sex
Khandi Alexander, Scandal
The Guest Actress category is a kind of impact-role. As Olivia Pope’s unhinged terrorist mother Maya Lewis, Khandi Alexander did a very good job of stealing all her scenes in the last series of Scandal and could be the one to beat here; that said, Diana Rigg’s turn as Olenna Tyrell on Game of Thrones was very fun to watch.
Supporting actor, limited series or movie
Richard Cabral, American Crime
Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Finn Wittrock, American Horror Story: Freak Show
Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie
Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge
Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
Seeing as Bill Murray was only in the last 10 minutes or so of Olive Kitteridge and Damian Lewis literally rules in Wolf Hall, surely he’s got this one?
Outstanding television movie
Agatha Christie’s Poirot: Curtain, Poirot’s Last Case
Bessie
Grace Of Monaco
Hello Ladies: The Movie (Stephen Marchant)
Killing Jesus
Nightingale (David Oyelowo)
Poirot has his fans, but there’s a lot to admire in David Oyelowo’s single-handed performance (basically this one is surely the “anything except Grace Of Monaco” award, isn’t it?).
Outstanding reality competition series
Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
Cat Deeley left Ant and Dec and their Wonky Donkeys behind and turned into a decent primetime host on America’s So You Think You Can Dance although she might be an outside bet here.
Limited series
American Crime
American Horror Story: Freak Show
Olive Kitteridge
The Honorable Woman
Wolf Hall
Murder! Adultery! Drama by candlelight! Come on, this is Wolf Hall’s to lose, isn’t it?
The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, 8pm ET/5pm PT Sunday 20 September on Fox in the US; Monday 21 September 8am and 9pm Sky Living in the UK
