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 Limited Series categories.
Best Limited Series
The Nominees: I May Destroy You, Mare of Easttown, The Queen’s Gambit, The Underground Railroad, WandaVision
Will Win: The Queen’s Gambit
It’s been nearly a year since The Queen’s Gambit release on Netflix, yet people are still obsessing over it now. The hype hasn’t gone away yet, and with Anya Taylor-Joy’s stardom on the rise, this show could take home the gold.
Should Win: I May Destroy You
Let’s just give a round of applause for the masterpiece that is Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You because this show was raw and brilliant. Michaela Coel is going to have a big career following this, and the show is absolutely deserving of a win here. Plus, the controversy of the Golden Globes shutting the show out completely might lead Emmy voters to want to rectify the situation.
Could Win: WandaVision
This show took everyone by storm. From tributes to some of the best sitcoms of the last 60 years to creating one of the best stories about grief and loss that has been on television in recent years, WandaVision had it all. Marvel was really in its creative bag making this ambitious show and it very well could be rewarded as such by the Emmy voters.
Best Actor in a Limited Series
The Nominees: Ewan McGregor (Halston), Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Leslie Odom Jr. (Hamilton), Hugh Grant (The Undoing), Paul Bettany (WandaVision)
Will Win: Hugh Grant (The Undoing)
The Undoing may have been a bit muddled upon further reflection, but there’s no denying that Hugh Grant gave a great performance in it. Hollywood and the Emmys love when they have a movie star nominated for a television award (and the fact that it’s Hugh Grant) is likely going to turn the tides in his favor.
Should Win: Paul Bettany (WandaVision)
While everyone has (rightfully so) been giving praise to Elizabeth Olsen’s performance in WandaVision, they have been overlooking a key and great performance on the show and that’s Paul Bettany as Vision. He embraced the wackiness of the earlier eras of sitcoms and provided gravitas, delivering one of the most iconic lines of the whole series. I hope he gets the recognition and the gold on Sunday, but there’s a good chance it goes to someone else.
Could Win: The men of Hamilton
Listen, I know there’s a lot of discourse around whether Hamilton should have even been eligible at the Emmys, but they are nominated so there’s nothing we can do about it now. I do think that both Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. are having such important moments this year that either one of them could take this category (if I had to choose one on personal preference I would say Odom Jr. since he was the stronger performance of the two, but Miranda is the bigger name so that could carry him).
Best Actress in a Limited Series
The Nominees: Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha), Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You), Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown), Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit), Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
Will Win: Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
Mare captured everyone’s attention this past spring and Winslet’s performance was the main element of everyone’s praise. She’s beloved by her fellow actors as well, so that could lead to her getting the win in this category.
Should Win: Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
She balanced the comedic elements, the superhero elements, and her portrayal of grief so well across the nine episodes of WandaVision. This is Marvel’s first television show to get nominated for the Emmys and she is absolutely worthy of winning this award. However, this category is STACKED and there does tend to be a bit of a bias against genre shows, but hopefully, she will prevail.
Could Win: Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
Again, this show still has a grip on people, plus Taylor-Joy has been in the press a lot lately, both factors that do help her chances of winning this category. Also again, this category is STACKED. However, she has won all the precursor awards, so she definitely has a good chance of winning.
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series
The Nominees: Daveed Diggs (Hamilton), Jonathan Groff (Hamilton), Anthony Ramos (Hamilton), Paapa Essidiedu (I May Destroy You), Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit)
Will Win: Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown)
Mare of Easttown may have been a bit muddled but the performances are all stand-out, with Evan Peters being a prime example of that. It’s nice to see him get recognition for a project not tied to Ryan Murphy, and this may be his ticket to the statue.
Should Win: Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)
I don’t think every Hamilton actor in this category necessarily needed to be nominated, but if any of them deserve it, it’s definitely Daveed Diggs. His turns as Lafayette and Jefferson won him a Tony (rightfully so), and of all of the Hamilton actors, I hope he takes the Emmy too.
Could Win: Paapa Esiedu (I May Destroy You)
I May Destroy You is more than just Michaela Coel, and Esiedu’s nomination is proof of that. Again, this is a stacked year, but in the event that all of the Hamilton people cancel each other out, that does leave quite an opening for Esiedu.
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series
The Nominees: Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Eastttown), Jean Smart (Mare of Easttown), Moses Ingram (I May Destroy You), Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision)
Will Win and Should Win: Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision)
“It’s been Agatha all along!” Of all the actresses in this category, Kathryn Hahn took everyone by storm with the role of Agatha Harkness. She played the nosy neighbor trope so well and then flipped it to the manipulative villain just as easily. She’s been an underrated actress for so long that it’s about time she got her due.
Could Win: Renée Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton)
Aside from the fact that she should have been nominated in the comedy categories for Girls5eva, Goldsberry was on another level in Hamilton. She’s another one who has been working for many years on stage and screen, so people know her well. But all you really need to do is watch the “Satisfied” performance and know that she could come for this Emmy like she did the Tony.
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.