Emmy Awards 2017 nominations: Our predictions for the stars, shows that will make it to the list

With the nominations for the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards soon to be announced, speculation surrounding the nominee list is rife.

This year, with Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey not in the contender’s list, other shows have winning prospects in literally all categories. The former chose a late start for its upcoming season in July 2017, while the latter came to a close last year.

Here are Firstpost’s predictions for the Emmy 2017 nominees:

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live): Last year’s winner McKinnon has a high probability of repeating the feat this year too. Who can forget her impeccable performance in the Saturday Night Live episodes, where she essayed the role of Hillary Clinton during the election season?

Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory): She has previously been nominated four times for her performance as Dr Amy Farrah Fowler in CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. She has also bagged this year’s Critics Choice Television Award in the same category.

Anna Chlumsky (Veep): Chlumsky’s portrayal of Amy Brookheimer in the HBO series Veep has earned her four consecutive Emmy nominations since the show commenced in 2012.

Jane Krakowski (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt): Ever since the Netflix series aired in 2015, Krakowski has been a popular choice for viewers and critics alike. She was nominated for her performance at Emmys 2015.

Julie Bowen (Modern Family): The two-time Emmy-winning actress has a chance of making it this time as well for her outstanding performance in ABC’s sitcom, which itself is a five-time consecutive Emmy award winning show.

Molly Shannon (Divorce): Another tentative contender this year for the award is Shannon, who played Sarah Jessica Parker in this HBO comedy series.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:

Louie Anderson (Baskets): Last year’s winner Anderson floored the critics and audience with his role as the mother of Zach Galifianakis in FX’s black comedy series Baskets. It is very likely that he might land a nomination this year too, and who knows, maybe bag the award for the second time?

Andre Braughter (Brooklyn Nine-Nine): He has been already been nominated three times, consecutively, for his role of Raymond Holt in the Golden Globes award-winning show. Both the show and the actor have been going strong ever since 2013, when it first aired.

Ty[ler> Burrell (Modern Family): A show becomes iconic only when its actors deliver phenomenal performances. Burrell happens to be one of those pillars behind the show with his double-Emmy-winning performance as Phil Dunphy.

Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt): With the audience and critics raving about Burgess’ performance time and again in the Netflix sitcom, he is a sure shot contender this time too. He has been nominated twice previously in 2015 and 2016.

Alec Baldwin (Saturday Night Live): Because of his caricaturised portrayal of US President Donald Trump, before and during the election season, he is definitely one contender to watch out for.

Laurence Fishburne (Black-ish): This show has caught some major attention, especially with the third season. Fishburne’s portrayal of Pops, Anthony Anderson’s father, has been a recurring role for some time now. Our very own Morpheus has a chance this time to take the coveted award home.

*Following last year’s trend, this time, too, we are expecting a seventh nomination instead of the usual six. Brian Tyree Henry may be the lucky one from the new lot to be among the top contenders for his performance as a rapper in FX’s Atlanta.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:

Vanessa Kirby (The Crown):  Kirby, gifted actor that she is, is one of the strongest contenders for the award. Her portrayal as Princess Margaret in Netflix’s The Crown is absolutely nomination-worthy.

Maura Tierney (The Affair): She won the Golden Globe last year for her role in The Affair as Helen Solloway, the wife of Noah. It will be no wonder if she continues her winning streak this year at the Emmys.

Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the News Black): The two-time Emmy winner Aduba is an eligible nominee this year for her performance in Netflix’s comedy-drama Orange is The New Black as Suzzane Warren. She is one of the very few actors who has won an Emmy for the same role both in the comedy as well as the drama genre.

Constance Zimmer (UnReal): In this Lifetime’s drama series UnReal, Zimmer shines as Quinn King, the demanding and venal executive producer of a TV show channel.

Margo Martindale (The Americans): FX’s period drama stars Martindale as Claudia, who has an immense chance this year to win the trophy.

Thandie Newton (Westworld): In the sci-fi drama Newton plays the role of an android host Maeve Millay who is battling with an identity crisis. Her performance has been lauded everywhere, she might as well get a nomination this year too.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:

Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul): Banks’ performance as Mike Ehrmantraut in the Breaking Bad spin-off is an obvious inclusion in the prize list. He has earlier been nominated twice for Better Call Saul and twice for Breaking Bad.

Ed Harris (Westworld): Harris plays the evil Man in Black in Westworld, a performance that definitely makes it to the final 6.

James Marsden (Westworld): In this sci-fi TV magnum opus, James Marsden delivers a phenomenal performance as the android host named Teddy Flood.

John Lithgow (The Crown): He effortlessly slipped into the shoes of Winston Churchill is this period drama and has earned a lot of attention including a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2016.

Michael Kelly (House of Cards): Who wouldn’t include Doug Stamper, Frank Underwood’s prime confidant, in the Emmy race wagon?

Mandy Patinkin (Homeland): Patinkin has aptly performed as the lead’s (Carie Mathison) mentor in the American spy-thriller Homeland. The actor could be one of the names getting the award as well.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep): If she is nominated this year for the HBO’s political satire, Dreyfus will make her sixth nomination for the role of Selina Meyer, for which she has already won a record five times at the Emmys.

Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish): Ross is riding high on success and Emmy-win probability after winning this year’s Golden Globe Award for her performance as Dr Rainbow Johnson.

Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt): This show, in particular, has emerged as a favourite among the viewers; a major chunk of that credit also goes to the actress Kemper who plays the titular character, Kimmy Schmidt.

Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie): This series based on the femme-friendship of its two title characters is one of those shows which has improved over time. Tomlin has been delivering a memorable performance ever since the show first aired in 2015 and has bagged Emmy nominations both in 2015 and 2016.

Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie): The legendary two-time Academy Award winner is just so good that the list is graced simply by her being in it.

Allison Janney (Mom): This role has already helped Janney bag two consecutive Emmy awards in the supporting role in 2014 and 2015. This year, she might get a lead role nomination with critics and viewers giving rave reviews for her performance.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent): Tambor has won a Golden Globe and Emmy for his performance in Amazon Studio’s comedy drama in the past. Who knows, maybe he will go up the stairs yet again this time!

Anthony Anderson (Black-ish): The twice-nominated actor has a huge fan following, and is appreciated by critics as well. His portrayal of Andre Johnson will have quite a fair chance to make it again to the award race list.

Will Forte (The Last Man On Earth): The writer-creator-actor of the show, Forte, has been nominated earlier for it — both for his writing as well as acting skills.

William H Macy (Shameless): Having won the Screen Actor Guild Awards twice for this part, Macy is expected to be nominated for the third time at Emmys.

Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley): One of the newer entrants — both the show and the actor are very promising. Both have received Emmy nominations last year and should be able to make it to the list this year too.

Donald Glover (Atlanta): The Golden Globe award winning actor for his role as Earn Marks in FX’s Atlanta is one of the potential winners at this year’s Emmys as well.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

Claire Foy (The Queen): This year, Foy has swept awards at Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild for her fabulous performance in Netflix drama The Queen, where she portrays the role of Queen Elizabeth II in her youth.

Rachel Wood (Westworld): Wood starring in the sci-fi drama Westworld has made waves across the globe with her phenomenal performance as a human-android host named Dolores Abernathy who finds herself struggling with lies, fabricated stories, and conjecture pertaining to her life.

Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder): What do we say about Viola Davis! Isn’t the name now synonymous with excellence? The actor known for her powerhouse performance is another contender for the award, which she has previously won in 2015 for her performance as a Professor Annalise Keating on ABC’s thriller drama.

Claire Danes (Homeland): Danes’ detective act in Showtime drama Homeland has fetched her numerous awards ever since it aired in 2011, and that also includes two Emmys. Will she be able to repeat history?

Robin Wright (House of Cards): Wright definitely has a well-deserved slot ready in the list for her portrayal as Claire Underwood, the cruel wife of Frank Underwood in the Netflix political drama. She has always been in the list ever since the show started, and even became the first actress ever to win the Golden Globe Award for an online show.

Christine Baranski (The Good Fight): Baranski, who has been nominated six times in the supporting actress category for her role as lawyer Diane Lockhart on The Good Wife, should now be featured in the lead category in The Good Wife sequel spin-off The Good Fight.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:

Kevin Spacey (House of Cards): The most obvious nomination in the entire list of contenders. He has etched his name in the nomination list ever since it started on Netflix in 2013.

Anthony Hopkins (Westworld): Sir Anthony Hopkins and Westworld (No explanations. Period)

Billy Bob Thornton (Goliath): In this Amazon web-series, Thorton nails his performance as Billy McBride, who is a lawyer-turned-alcoholic. He also won the Golden Globe this year for the same role.

Rami Malek (Mr Robot): Last year’s winner Malek was nominated this year for all the other major awards. Can he land a back-to-back- win this year?

Kyle Chandler (Bloodline): Previously, he has been nominated twice for his role as Detective John Rayburn in the Netflix thriller. He might get another nomination this year.

Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us): He has emerged as one of the most popular entrants in the list as Randall Pearson in the major hit series, This is Us. Earlier he had been awarded an Emmy for his show The People v. O.J. Simpson last year.

Outstanding Comedy Series:

Veep Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Modern Family Silicon Valley Black-ish Transparent

Outstanding Drama Series:

House of Cards Westworld The Queen Mr Robot Better Call Saul The Americans