Predicting who will take home Emmys will never be as popular as playing fantasy football or diving into the office Oscar pool, but this year's ceremonies should be of interest to anyone with even a casual gambling habit. With past winners "Game of Thrones" and "The Handmaid's Tale" competing against each other for the first time and "Veep" on hiatus, many of the races are harder than ever to handicap. Here are seven to keep an eye on:
Drama series
Nominees: "The Americans," "The Crown," "Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Stranger Things," "This Is Us," "Westworld."
Over the past decade, only "Homeland" has triumphed without a return to the winner's circle. That pattern bodes well for 2017 champ "Handmaid," although it didn't have to compete last year against two-time champ "GOT."
Comedy series
Nominees: "Atlanta," "Barry," "Black-ish," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "GLOW," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Silicon Valley," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."
"Atlanta" deserves to be recognized — as TV's best drama. Despite the show being in the wrong category, Donald Glover and company will come out on top, even though a "Maisel" or "GLOW" win would be more appropriate.
Actress, comedy
Nominees: Pamela Adlon, "Better Things"; Rachel Brosnahan, "Maisel"; Allison Janney, "Mom"; Issa Rae, "Insecure"; Tracee Ellis Ross, "Black-ish"; Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie."
With "Veep" 's Julia-Louis Dreyfus taking the season off, voters have a chance to honor their other fave, Janney. Or maybe they'll go for Ross, who has fallen short three years in a row. But Brosnahan's fast-and-furious performance was just too rich to ignore.
Actor, drama
Nominees: Jason Bateman, "Ozark"; Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us"; Ed Harris, "Westworld"; Matthew Rhys, "The Americans"; Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld"; Milo Ventimiglia, "This Is Us."
