[media-credit name=”Jake McIntosh” align=”alignright” width=”225″]
[/media-credit]The Emmy nominations have been out for a while, and with the Sunday Primetime Emmy Awards rapidly approaching, The Signpost A&E staff wants all Wildcats to clean up on their Emmy ballot predictions. Here’s the list of nominations for the major awards, along with our picks for who will (and should) take home a trophy:
Best drama series: Boardwalk Empire, Friday Night Lights, Dexter, Game of Thrones, The Good Wife, Mad Men. Will win: Mad Men, a three-time winner and the heavy favorite. Should win: Friday Night Lights, the best show you’ve never seen.
Best comedy series: Modern Family, 30 Rock, Glee, The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation. Will win: Modern Family. Should win: Modern Family (with Parks and Recreation a close second).
Drama actress: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife; Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men; Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU; Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law; Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights; Mireille Enos, The Killing. Will win: Margulies, though Enos is a strong dark horse. Should win: Britton, who proves that a character without a dark side can still be emotionally deep.
Comedy actor: Steve Carell, The Office; Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock; Jim Parsons, Big Bang Theory; Matt LeBlanc, Episodes; Louis C.K., Louie; Johnny Galecki, Big Bang Theory. Will win: Carell, in a sentimental last season. Should win: Baldwin.
Drama actor: Jon Hamm, Mad Men; Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire; Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights; Michael C. Hall, Dexter; Hugh Laurie, House; Timothy Olyphant, Justified. Will win: Hamm, who could finally get a win now that Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) isn’t nominated. Should win: Chandler, as the best dad since Bill Cosby.
Comedy actress: Tina Fey, 30 Rock; Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie; Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation; Laura Linney, The Big C; Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope; Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly. Will win: Linney (the critics love a dark comedy). Should win: Poehler.
Supporting drama actor: Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age; John Slattery, Mad Men; Alan Cumming, The Good Wife; Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones; Josh Charles, The Good Wife; Walton Goggins, Justified. Will win: Cumming. Should win: Braugher, as the best part of a failed series.
Supporting comedy actor: Ty Burrell, Modern Family; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family; Ed O’Neill, Modern Family; Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family; Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men; Chris Colfer, Glee. Will win: Stonestreet, the funniest actor of an enormously funny cast. Should win: Stonestreet or Burrell.
Supporting comedy actress: Julie Bowen, Modern Family; Sofia Vergara, Modern Family; Jane Lynch, Glee; Betty White, Hot in Cleveland; Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live; Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock. Will win: Lynch, as the comedy anchor of a directionless dramedy. Should win: Vergara.
Supporting drama actress: Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife; Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire; Christine Baranski, The Good Wife; Michelle Forbes, The Killing; Margo Martindale, Justified; Christina Hendricks, Mad Men. Will win: Hendricks. Should win: Hendricks.
Movie or miniseries: Mildred Pierce, HBO; Downtown Abbey, PBS; The Kennedys, ReelzChannel; Cinema Verite, HBO; Too Big To Fail, HBO; Pillars of the Earth, Starz. Will win: Too Big To Fail. Should win: Downtown Abbey.
Reality competition: So You Think You Can Dance, Top Chef, The Amazing Race, American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway. Will win: The Amazing Race. Should win: So You Think You Can Dance.
Reality host: Jeff Probst, Survivor; Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance; Phil Keoghan, Amazing Race; Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars; Ryan Seacrest, American Idol. Will win: Probst or Seacrest. Should win: A long-deserving Deeley.
Variety, music or comedy series: The Colbert Report, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, Conan, Real Time with Bill Maher, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. Will win: The Daily Show, although Conan O’Brien could get the atta-boy here. Should win: The Daily Show.