Emmy 2023 Predictions
By Sioph LealThe Emmy nominations recognize shows that ran from June 1st 2022, to May 31st 2023 and were meant to air in September but with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike, they have been pushed back to January 15th 2024. It is the first time since 2001 that the highest honors in television have been postponed.
Looking at the nominations, we thought we would give our thoughts on who we want to win and who could take the award home.
Drama Series
Nominations: Andor, Better Call Saul, The Crown, House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession, The White Lotus and Yellowjackets.
Who we want to win: The Last of Us showed the cost of love in an apocalyptic world, had consistent great writing and managed to restore faith in video game adaptations. Over the episodes, we were introduced to different characters who showed us what the cost of love is in an apocalyptic world. For that, we think it should win.
Predicted winner: There are many worthy titles but despite it not being the strongest of its seasons, Succession will likely win for this category. The awards have a habit of awarding series when they have ended but given how exceptional Connor’s Wedding, America Decides and Church and State were, it would still be a deserved win.
Actor in a Drama Series
Nominations: Jeff Bridges (The Old Man), Brian Cox (Succession), Kieran Culkin (Succession), Bob Odenkirck (Better Call Saul), Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Jeremy Strong (Succession)
Who we want to win: Kieran Culkin stole the show with this season of Succession with his powerful and raw performance as Roman Roy. He showed a varied performance, giving layers and emotion to his character that saved the final series from being a letdown. Throughout the season, he was able to deliver the nuance of grief, the turmoil of it all while keeping true to what many have come to know and love (and hate) about Roman Roy. If Culkin does not win, it will be a shame not to recognise a stellar performance.
Predicted winner: Given the sheer talent in this category, it is hard to pick a winner as it could be any of the nominees. It is likely that the Succession cast splits the vote and it goes to Bob Odenkirk or, in a shocking move, goes to Brian Cox whose character dies in the third episode of the season. The death of Logan Roy changed the course of all the characters in succession, which could translate to an Emmy win.
Actress in a Drama Series
Nominations: Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters), Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets), Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale), Bella Ramsey (The Last of Us), Keri Russell (The Diplomat), Sarah Snook (Succession).
Who we want to win: It is hard to see anyone else but Sarah Snook getting the Emmy award but if Bella Ramsey wins, it will be an easy loss for the Succession cast. Bella explored all of Ellie and gave a phenomenal performance of bringing a beloved video game character to life.
Predicted winner: Sarah Snook gave a complex portrayal of the ruthless Shiv Roy in Succession. The character struggled with the breakdown of her marriage, the death of her father and potentially being pushed out by her siblings. Shiv lost everything but Snook gave one of the best performances, especially during Tailgate Party and Connor’s Wedding.
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nominations: F. Murrary Abraham (The White Lotus), Nicholas Braun (Succession), Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus), Theo James (The White Lotus), Matthew Macfadyen (Succession), Alan Ruck (Succession), Will Sharpe (The White Lotus), Alexander Skarsgård(Succession).
Who we want to win: Matthew MacFadyen brilliantly manages to toe the line between the much needed humor of Succession, and the darker tones of the series. Every scene MacFadyen is in is exceptional. It’s hard to imagine Succession without MacFadyen’s stellar performances. While everyone else in the category is a worthy nominee, it's hard to see why Nicolas Braun was nominated given that his performance has been the same for the entire series and he lacks any depth that the other nominees have given.
Predicted winner: Alexander Skarsgård might steal the crown from MacFadyen, but it seems unlikely. It seems that MacFadyen will take the win and it will be much deserved.
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Nominations: J. Smith-Cameron (Succession), Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus), Elizabeth Debicki (The Crown), Meghann Fahy(The White Lotus), Sabrina Impacciatore (The White Lotus), Aubrey Plaza (The White Lotus), Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Sual), Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus).
Who we want to win: Despite our blatant love for Succession, J. Smith-Cameron didn’t have much to do this season and was, unfortunately, forgettable had it not been for Culkin’s performance in their scenes. It will be a tight race, but we believe Jennifer Coolidge should win this category.
Predicted winner: Jennifer Coolidge’s performance sparked a lot of interest and love from all corners of the internet and from other actors so it stands to reason that Coolidge will take the award.
Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Nominations: Murrary Bartlett (The Last of Us), James Cromwell (Succession), Lamar Johnson (The Last of Us), Arian Moayed (Succession), Nick Offerman (The Last of Us), Keivonn Montreal Woodard (The Last of Us)
Who we want to win: Nick Offerman could easily take the award for the same reasons we want Bartlett to win. If either of these actors take the award, it would be testament to their incredible time on screen and easy chemistry with each other.
Predicted winner: There was barely anything from the source material for Murray Bartlett to work with but thanks to a tweaked divergence from the game canon and expert writers, he gives a heart wrenching performance as Frank in The Last of Us that is a standout moment in the series.
Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Nominations: Hiam Abbass (Succession), Cherry Jones (Succession), Melanie Lynskey (The Last of Us), Storm Reid (The Last of Us), Anna Torv (The Last of Us), Harriet Walter (Succession).
Who we want to win: Melanie Lynskey delivered a fantastic performance, showing the complex emotions that grief can cause. Yes, her character was ruthless, but it showed a more volatile aspect of love and what it could be like to lose someone you hold in such high regard and the cost of vengeance.
Predicted winner: It is a tough category, but we can’t see any of the Succession cast winning in this category despite how much we love them. Despite that, if anyone could win it is Harriet Walter who is a good contender and whose scenes are memorable. We think it could go to Melanie Lynskey or Harriet Walter.
Writing for a Drama Series
Nominations: Beau Willimon (Andor, “One Way Out”), Jesse Armstrong, (Succession, “Connor’s Wedding”), Gordon Smith (Better Call Saul, “Point and Shoot”), Peter Gould, (Better Call Saul, “Saul Gone”), Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer (Bad Sisters, “The Prick”), Craig Mazin (The Last of Us. “Long, Long Time”), Mike White (The White Lotus “Arrivederci”).
Who we want to win: Connor’s Wedding subverted expectations regarding Logan Roy’s demise and that simple choice made it so perfect and grounded. How the news was delivered of a loved one’s sudden passing and the reactions from it came from someone who has experienced loss and understands it. Being able to translate all that onto a screen and in a 62-minute episode is nothing short of remarkable. For that, we think it deserves the win.
Predicted winner: It is a hard category but out of all the nominations, we think it could be Connor’s Wedding or Long, Long Time from The Last of Us. The latter delivered a brave episode, taking focus away from the protagonists of the story to focus on a gay love story between Bill and Frank that could have easily felt like filler but gave a deep, heartwarming story about love and choosing to live. It had an impact on the rest of the series so if either of these episodes win, it will be a worthy win.
Directing for a Drama Series
Nominations: Benjamin Caron (Andor, “Rix Road”), Peter Hoar (The Last of Us, “Long, Long Time”), Mark Mylod (Succession, “Connor’s Wedding”), Andrij Parekh (Succession, America Decides”), Lorene Scafaria (Succession, “Living+”), Dearbhla Walsh (Bad Sisters, “The Prick”), Mike White (The White Lotus “Arrivederci”).
Who we want to win: Again, Connor’s Wedding deserves yet another win. For directing, Mark Mylod’s choices were perfect and created the sense of panic, urgency and devastation and heightened each actor’s performance.
Predicted winner: We can’t see any other episode winning other than Connor’s Wedding. It will be a shame if Mylod does not get the recognition for this fantastic episode.
Comedy Series
Nominations: Abbott Elementary, Barry, The Bear, Jury Duty, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Only Murders in the Building, Ted Lasso, Wednesday.
Who we want to win: We loved Abbott Elementary and Jury Duty the most out of all the nominees and would love to see either of these titles win but would have to select Abbott Elementary. It constantly delivers comedy and rarely has a bad moment.
Predicted winner: Ted Lasso will most likely win even with the vagueness around if it is its final season or not. If Ted Lasso does win, it will be a shame to Jury Duty and Abbott. The latest season (and last?) of Ted Lasso was a letdown with diehard fans expressing disappointment at a formerly beloved series that has lost its way and outstayed its welcome.
Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Bill Harder (Barry), Jason Segal (Shrinking), Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building), Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), Jeremy Allen White (The Bear).
Who we want to win: We’ve been fans of Jeremey Allan White since Shameless so would love to see him win an award even if it is not for the series we wished. Although The Bear has had success, it’s hard to see how it fits into the comedy category.
Predicted winner: It is likely that Jason Sudeikis will win for Ted Lasso.
Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Christina Applegate (Dead to Me), Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary), Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday).
Who we want to win: Who we want to win: Quinta Brunson is hilarious in Abbott Elementary, and we wish she would be recognised for her talent in this series so hope that she takes the award.
Predicted winner: If not Quinta Brunson, it will likely be Rachel Brosnahan for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as the Emmys seem to love that series.
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Anthony Carrigan (Barry), Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), James Marsden (Jury Duty), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), Tyler James Wiliams (Abbott Elementary), Henry Winkler (Barry).
Who we want to win: James Marsden was consistently hilarious and able to navigate the unpredictable nature of Jury Duty with casual expertise while maintaining his comedy triumphs and charisma.
Predicted winner: Since the Emmy’s love Ted Lasso, it will most likely be Brett Goldstein or Phil Dunster although we could not tell you why since neither were funny or gave anything new to their performances worthy of an award.
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear), Janelle James (Abbott Elementary), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Juno Temple (Ted Lasso), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Jessica Williams (Shrinking).
Who we want to win: Every season we love Janelle James in Abbott Elementary with Ava being one of the funniest members of the cast and so perfectly delivered every time by Janelle James so we would love to see them recognised.
Predicted winner: It would be no surprise if Alex Borstein or any of the Ted Lasso cast take the Emmy nomination but we hope Janelle James wins.
Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Jon Bernthal (The Bear), Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Nathan Lane (The Only Murders in the Building), Pedro Pascal (Saturday Night Live), Oliver Platt (The Bear), Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso).
Who we want to win: Pedro Pascal in Saturday Night Live was hilarious and delivered consistently throughout the airing so we would love for Pedro to win.
Predicted winner: Again, it will likely be someone from Ted Lasso or The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.
Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Nominations: Becky Ann Baker (Ted Lasso), Quinta Brunson (Saturday Night Live), Taraji P. Henson (Abbott Elementary), Judith Light (Poker Face), Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso), Harriet Walter (Ted Lasso).
Who we want to win: Taraji P. Henson was fantastic in Abbott Elementary and able to hold her own in the ensemble past so we would like to see her win for this category.
Predicted winner: Harriet Walter is phenomenal in everything she is in – even Ted Lasso so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Harriet wins this award.
Writing for a Comedy Series
Nominations: Bill Hader (Barry, “wow”), John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese & Rob Turbovsky (Only Murders in the Building, “I Know Who Did It”), Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly & Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso, “So Long, Farewell”), Christopher Storer (The Bear, “System”), Mekki Leeper (Jury Duty, “Ineffective Assistance”), Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, The Other Two (The Other Two, “Cary & Brooke Go to an AIDS Play”).
Who we want to win: Jury Duty with Ineffective Assistance is our pick for what we hope will win. It was a clever idea and had a lot of work to create the situation and creative writing to make the plan go as well as it did. Not only that but it was genuinely funny and entertaining with a lot of buzz. Either that or The Other Two with Cary & Brooke Go to an AIDS Play. Up until that episode, the season was dull but it revitalized the season and was a great turning point with perfect comedy from all involved.
Who will win: Likely it will be Ted Lasso.