Every year in September Hollywood comes together to award the best of television for the past year. This year’s ceremony marks a slight return to normal, with an audience gathering in the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles to find out who will win the golden statues for 2021. Every year I predict who will win, who should win, and who could win the Emmy in the major categories. Here are my predictions for the Drama categories.
Best Drama
The Nominees: Bridgerton, Lovecraft Country, Pose, The Boys, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale. The Mandalorian, This Is Us
Will Win: The Crown
The Crown’s fourth season was one of its strongest, especially when looking at the story of Diana and Charles. This season had some of its strongest performances, namely Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, Josh O’Connor as Prince Charles, Olivia Coleman as Queen Elizabeth, and Gillian Anderson as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Considering that this season marks all of these actor’s final turns as their respective characters, this seems like a fitting way to send all of these performances out.
Should Win: The Boys
We are in an era where movies and television are being dominated by superheroes saving the day. Every channel has attempted their own version of the superhero but none have had quite the spin that The Boys put on the genre. Taking a more critical and satirical approach, the second season of The Boys played with the tropes of the super-organization, how far one is willing to go to seem like a hero, and whether superheroes are actually what the world needs. Will it win the Emmy? Probably not, but it would be a deserved win if it did.
Could Win: Lovecraft Country
While the show was unjustly canceled by HBO just days before racking up 18 Emmy nominations, that may not necessarily mean its chances of winning are completely gone. The show boasts some of the strongest performances on television this past year and is a critical darling. While that may not necessarily translate to a win, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still stand a strong chance of beating those odds.
Best Actor in a Drama
The Nominees: Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton), Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country), Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason), Billy Porter (Pose), Josh O’Connor (The Crown), Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Will Win: Josh O’Connor (The Crown)
While he is certainly far better looking than Prince Charles has ever looked, O’Connor captured the rage and smarminess of the Prince to a T. He’s won every other precursor award in this category this past year as well so he’s very likely going to take the Emmy as well for his final turn as the Prince.
Should Win: Billy Porter (Pose)
Porter has always given strong performances as Pray Tell on Pose (he even won an Emmy for it!), but his work in the final season of the hit FX show was next level. It would only be fair to give such a role and such a performer another win in this category (and hey, maybe then he won’t have to take any more roles like the Cinderella disaster).
Could Win: Regé-Jean Page (Bridgerton)
Literally who hasn’t been thirsting over the Duke of Hastings after watching Bridgerton (heck he’s why I started watching the show in the first place!). Everyone has been capital-O obsessed with his character and the show since it dropped on Netflix in December and this category and character would be the most likely place the show would get a major category win.
Best Actress in a Drama
The Nominees: Uzo Aduba (In Treatment), Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country), MJ Rodriguez (Pose), Emma Corrin (The Crown), Olivia Coleman (The Crown), Elizabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Will Win: Emma Corrin (The Crown)
Their performance as Princess Diana was simply uncanny; she simply embodied the late Princess perfectly. Corrin is a rising talent in the industry and has won every precursor award in this category this year so the Emmy win would complete the set.
Should Win: MJ Rodriguez (Pose)
If Rodriguez were to win, she would make history by being the first trans woman to win this award. Her acting quality grew tremendously from the first season of Pose through its finale and she is absolutely deserving of a win in this category for Blanca.
Could Win: Uzo Aduba (In Treatment)
If I have learned anything in my years of predicting Emmy winners it’s to never count out Uzo Aduba. The Television Academy adores her, hence why she’s won three Emmy awards prior to this year. Therefore, based on history, if she’s nominated there is a very strong chance she is winning.
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama
The Nominees: Michael K. Williams (Lovecraft Country), John Lithgow (Perry Mason), Tobias Menzies (The Crown), Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale), Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale), O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale), Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), Chris Sullivan (This Is Us)
Will Win: Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian)
I’ll be honest, I don’t really remember much of his character from The Mandalorian; he was kind of forgettable there. However, Emmy voters love him so there’s a very good chance he will end up winning this category (even though his nomination should really be for The Boys but whatever).
Should Win: Chris Sullivan (This Is Us)
At this point, to get an Emmy nomination for This Is Us when your name isn’t Sterling K. Brown is impressive. And Sullivan’s work this past year on This Is Us was impressive; Toby’s storyline in season five had him going through it and Sullivan brought his A-game and gave one of the best performances on the show this past year. There’s a reason he was nominated and he deserves the win for it.
Could Win: Michael K. Williams (Lovecraft Country)
He’s been one of the favorites to win this award this whole awards season for his outstanding performance in Lovecraft Country. What a great way to honor the late actor then by giving him the win in this category for which he is one of the strongest contenders.
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
The Nominees: Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country), Gillian Anderson (The Crown), Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown), Emerald Fennell (The Crown), Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale), Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale), Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale), Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Will Win: Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
I’m not even bothering with a should win or could win in this category because there is no question that Gillian Anderson is winning this category. She has dominated this category for her role as Margaret Thatcher all awards season and that is likely not going to change come Sunday night.
We won’t know for sure who wins these categories until September 19 so here’s to guessing who will win!
The Emmys air September 19 at 8 PM on CBS.