2018 Emmy Predictions for Drama: Matt Roush’s Picks For Best Actress, Actor, Series & More
CATEGORY: Drama Series
The Americans
The Crown
Game of Thrones
The Handmaid’s Tale
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld
Most Likely to Win
It’s a toss-up between the previous two winners in this category: Hulu’s provocative and relevant Handmaid’s Tale, which won last year when Game of Thrones sat out; and HBO’s spectacular Thrones, which upped its game in its penultimate season by moving beyond the source material to bring key players together with pivotal payoffs. Plus: evil dragon badness! The award could go to either, but I’m betting the epic scale of Game of Thrones will return it to the winners’ circle.
Should Win
FX’s The Americans, for a flawless final season that kept the tension and emotions high as the Russian spies’ family fractured when it was time to return to the Motherland.
Should Have Been Nominated
BBC America’s sexy breakout spy thriller, Killing Eve.
CATEGORY: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Ed Harris, Westworld
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld
Most Likely to Win
Sterling K. Brown is a new Emmy favorite, scoring consecutive wins in 2016 (as Christopher Darden in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story) and 2017 (as Randall in NBC’s tear-jerking hit This Is Us). He’s also nominated this year for a knockout guest performance on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. With another terrific storyline involving Randall becoming a foster parent, Brown’s chances for a repeat win are strong. He faces a strong challenge from Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright, who moved from supporting to lead actor as the sci-fi drama’s most compellingly conflicted “host.”
Should Win
The Americans’ Matthew Rhys, for his complex portrayal of a spy who struggled to stay true to his mission, eventually giving up the game (albeit temporarily) for the sake of his tormented soul.
Should Have Been Nominated
The Good Doctor’s Freddie Highmore, for playing an autistic surgeon with intense sensitivity. Dr. Shaun Murphy couldn’t be more different from Bates Motel’s loony Norman Bates, and Highmore’s range deserves acknowledgment.
CATEGORY: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Foy, The Crown
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Keri Russell, The Americans
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Most Likely to Win
The Emmys have a habit of rewarding actors repeatedly once they land a meaty role like embattled Handmaid heroine Offred/June, and Elisabeth Moss made the most of a grueling second season of pregnancy, resistance and sacrifice. Though this is one of the year’s most competitive categories, it’s hard to imagine Moss not repeating.
Should Win
Hard to argue against Moss, but this is Claire Foy’s last opportunity to be rewarded for her majestic and nuanced performance as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown — she’ll be replaced by Olivia Colman in Season 3, to reflect the monarch’s maturity. Foy set a high bar with her mixture of vulnerability and regal resilience.
Should Have Been Nominated
Ozark’s Laura Linney, as a wife on the lam who’s too smart, sharp and cunning to ever be seen as a damsel in distress.
CATEGORY: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Mandy Patinkin, Homeland
David Harbour, Stranger Things
Matt Smith, The Crown
Joseph Fiennes, The Handmaid’s Tale
Most Likely to Win
Emmy precedent favors two-time winner Peter Dinklage as scene-stealer Tyrion, but David Harbour seems a safe bet as Stranger Things’ stalwart lawman.
Most Likely to Win
Emmy precedent favors two-time winner Peter Dinklage as scene-stealer Tyrion, but David Harbour seems a safe bet as Stranger Things’ stalwart lawman.
Should Have Been Nominated
The Americans’ Noah Emmerich as FBI Agent Stan Beeman. We’ll long remember his masterful control in the breathtaking climactic scene when he confronts the friends he now knows to be the villains he’s tracked for so long.
CATEGORY: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Vanessa Kirby, The Crown
Yvonne Strahovski, The Handmaid’s Tale
Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Most Likely to Win
In a category that features two former Handmaid winners (Dowd for supporting, Bledel for then-guest actress), Yvonne Strahovski came into her own this year as we learned what made the monstrous mistress Serena Joy tick. She earned unexpected empathy as she was punished for trying to speak her mind, then made the ultimate maternal sacrifice to keep her (and June’s) daughter safe from Gilead’s horrors.
Should Win
Yvonne Strahovski (although Thandie Newton is fierce as Westworld’s rebellious replicant).
Should Have Been Nominated
Ray Donovan’s Paula Malcomson for her haunting death throes as Ray’s long-suffering spouse, Abby.
Are you ready for the 2018 Emmys?! We sure are, as this year’s nominees are so evenly-matched, it’s sure to be an exciting night come September 17.
In anticipation of TV’s biggest night — this year airing on NBC — we got our own top critic Matt Roush to share his predictions for who will take home statues in all of the major categories. (Plus, he’s talking who actually should win and who was totally snubbed from nomination.)
Today, we’re onto the drama contenders: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor/Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actor/Actress in a Drama Series. With stars from shows like The Handmaid’s Tale, This Is Us, and Game of Thrones, we have no idea where this one will bring us — but Matt does!
Click through the gallery above for his picks, and sound off with your own in the comments below!
