Emmy Awards 2017: Who is likely to take home awards Sunday night

Newcomers and network TV could score big at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.

By
LUCHINA FISHER
September 15, 2017, 3:58 AM ET
6 min read

— -- It should be a big night for newcomers and network television when the 2017 Emmy Awards is broadcast Sunday night.

A handful of new shows, including "Westworld," "The Handmaid's Tale," "This Is Us," "Feud: Bette and Joan" and "Big Little Lies," scored big when nominations were announced in July. "Saturday Night Live," a network veteran, tied with "Westworld" for the most nominations with 22 apiece.

For the TV networks, this year's Emmy Awards presents a rare chance in recent years to dominate. Ken Tucker, Yahoo! TV's critic-at-large, expects NBC, the network that airs "SNL" and "This Is Us," to have a good night.

"I think 'This is Us' will be sweeping up a lot of awards, which would be news in the sense that it's one of few network shows being nominated -- it's the only network drama in the drama category."

As for the 22 nominations for "SNL," Tucker said, "Trump lifted all boats there. When you've got Alec Baldwin so much in the center of pop culture, it really raised the visibility of that show more than it has been in years."

So, without further ado, here are Tucker's predictions for 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Stephen Colbert and airing Sunday:

Emmy Award nominations 2017: 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Westworld' lead
2017 Emmy Awards: Who is likely to nab nominations

Drama series

  • "Better Call Saul"
  • "The Crown"
  • "The Handmaid's Tale"
  • "House of Cards"
  • "Stranger Things"
  • "This Is Us"
  • "Westworld"

    • Tucker is torn. Although he said "The Handmaid's Tale" has the strongest chance of winning, he picks "This Is Us" for the win. Let's throw network television a bone," he said, calling the multi-generational drama "undeniably a great show."

    Lead actress in a drama series

  • Viola Davis, "How to Get Away With Murder"
  • Claire Foy, "The Crown"
  • Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale"
  • Keri Russell, "The Americans"
  • Evan Rachel Wood, "Westworld"
  • Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

    • "This is where I think 'The Handmaid's Tale' comes to the fore. I think Elisabeth Moss will win," Tucker said. "In the past, Robin Wright has had a very good run ... but I think this is Elisabeth Moss' year."

    Supporting actress in a drama series

  • Uzo Aduba, "Orange Is the New Black"
  • Millie Bobby Brown, "Stranger Things"
  • Ann Dowd, "The Handmaid's Tale"
  • Chrissy Metz, "This Is Us"
  • Thandie Newton, "Westworld"
  • Samira Wiley, "The Handmaid's Tale"

    • For the supporting category, Tucker flipped back to "This Is Us" and actress Chrissy Metz. "There were a number of strong performances, including Ann Dowd, and a lot of people are going to look at Millie Bobby Brown in "Stranger Things," Tucker said. "But I think Metz will win. [She plays] a kind of character we don't see very often."

    Lead actor in a drama series

  • Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us"
  • Anthony Hopkins, "Westworld"
  • Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul”
  • Matthew Rhys, "The Americans"
  • Liev Schreiber, "Ray Donovan"
  • Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"
  • Milo Ventimiglia, "This Is Us"

    • "At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I think Sterling K. Brown is the guy to beat," Tucker said about the "This Is Us" star. "Some say that Brown being up against Milo Ventimiglia, those votes might cancel each other out. But I think with Brown having won last year (for 'The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story'), he has the momentum."

    Supporting actor in a drama series

  • Jonathan Banks, "Better Call Saul"
  • David Harbour, "Stranger Things"
  • Ron Cephas Jones, "This Is Us"
  • Michael Kelly, "House of Cards"
  • John Lithgow, "The Crown"
  • Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"
  • Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld"

    • Tucker give Lithgow the strongest chance of winning for his role in "The Crown." "He did such a great job playing Churchill," he said, adding that there's always a chance that Mandy Patinkin or Jeffrey Wright could pick up the Emmy.

    Comedy series

  • "Black-ish"
  • "Atlanta"
  • "Master of None"
  • "Modern Family"
  • "Silicon Valley"
  • "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
  • "Veep"

    • Although Tucker's favorite comedy this season was "Atlanta," he said, "I just think 'Veep' is pretty near unbeatable. It was another strong season, and coming after the Trump election they had to do a lot of rewriting. They did a terrific job of making that show timely." It was just announced that the upcoming season will be the series last one. "It's one of the last times to give it some love," Tucker said.

    Lead actress in a comedy series

  • Pamela Adlon, "Better Things"
  • Tracee Ellis Ross, "Black-ish"
  • Jane Fonda, "Grace and Frankie"
  • Allison Janney, "Mom"
  • Ellie Kemper, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
  • Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"
  • Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie"

    • Speaking of "Veep," Tucker predicted another win for its star. "You can't beat her, Julia Louis-Dreyfus," he said.

    Supporting actress in a comedy series

  • Vanessa Bayer, "Saturday Night Live"
  • Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"
  • Kathryn Hahn, "Transparent"
  • Leslie Jones, "Saturday Night Live"
  • Judith Light, "Transparent"
  • Kate McKinnon, "Saturday Night Live"

    • "Here I think Kate McKinnon is going to win," Tucker said about the "SNL" star. "She was so strong throughout the season. Her Hillary Clinton was so good. And because 'SNL' was such as pop culture barometer in the political season, it beats out performances in more conventional comedies."

    Lead actor in a comedy series

  • Anthony Anderson, "Black-ish"
  • Aziz Ansari, "Master of None"
  • Zach Galifianakis, "Baskets"
  • Donald Glover, "Atlanta"
  • William H. Macy, "Shameless"
  • Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"

    • "Atlanta" has its best chance for a win, Tucker said, with star Donald Glover earning the Emmy. "Looking at the competition, I think he has a good chance of beating Jeffrey Tambor, his closest competitor."

    Supporting actor in a comedy series

  • Louie Anderson, "Baskets"
  • Alec Baldwin, "Saturday Night Live"
  • Tituss Burgess, "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
  • Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
  • Tony Hale, "Veep"
  • Matt Walsh, "Veep"

    • Chalk up another win for "SNL," Tucker predicted. "I think Alec Baldwin is just hands-down the winner. If there is one sure shot of the night, it's him for his Trump impersonation. It was so pervasive, it overshadowed everything else."

    Limited series or movie

  • "Big Little Lies"
  • "Fargo"
  • "Feud: Bette and Joan"
  • "Genius"
  • "The Night Of"

    • Among this year's entrees, Tucker said he went back and forth between the two leaders, "Big Little Lies" and "Feud: Bette and Joan." "Both are excellent productions, but I give the edge to 'Big Little Lies,'" he said. "It's one of those limited series that just got better as it went as it went along."

    Lead actress in a limited series or movie

  • Carrie Coon, "Fargo"
  • Felicity Huffman, "American Crime"
  • Nicole Kidman, "Big Little Lies"
  • Jessica Lange, "Feud"
  • Susan Sarandon, "Feud"
  • Reese Witherspoon, "Big Little Lies"

    • "It's going to be tough -- the names alone, they are just such big names," Tucker said about the lead actress category. "Carrie Coon and Felicity Huffman did very well, but these kind of big name movie star names (Sarandon, Lange, Kidman and Witherspoon) are very impressive. I think Nicole Kidman will win. It was a strikingly strong performance."

    Lead actor in a limited series or movie

  • Riz Ahmed, "The Night Of"
  • Benedict Cumberbatch, "Sherlock: The Lying Detective"
  • Robert De Niro, "The Wizard of Lies"
  • Ewan McGregor, "Fargo"
  • Geoffrey Rush, "Genius"
  • John Turturro, "The Night Of"

    • Tucker predicted the underrated "The Night Of" would earn a win for its star Riz Ahmed. But, he added, don't count out Robert De Niro for his portrayal of Bernie Madoff.