2013 Emmy Award Predictions

It's time for the Emmy Awards! I've stopped watching all of the other award shows (yes, including the Oscars), but I will always keep my eye on the Emmys because not only do I get to see most of the nominees from the comfort of my own living room, but I always dreamed of picking up one of the golden statuettes when I was kid and I'm still holding out for one. So here are my predictions for 2013...

BEST DRAMA SERIES
"Breaking Bad"
"Downton Abbey"
"Game of Thrones"
"Homeland"
"House of Cards"
"Mad Men"

Will Win: Six years into its run, Breaking Bad will win it's first drama series award. It has all the buzz right now and at this point I don't think it can possibly lose.

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Hugh Bonneville, "Downton Abbey"
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
Jeff Daniels, "The Newsroom"
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
Damian Lewis, "Homeland"
Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"

Will Win: Bryan Cranston will definitely win Emmy #4 for Breaking Bad. Damian Lewis is lucky Cranston had last year off, which allowed him to win in 2012. The only chance I see for a spoiler is Jeff Daniels, who gets to deliver an endless number of Aaron Sorkin's "Give Me an Emmy" speeches on The Newsroom.

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Connie Britton, "Nashville"
Claire Danes, "Homeland"
Michelle Dockery, "Downton Abbey"
Vera Farmiga, "Bates Motel"
Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men"
Kerry Washington, "Scandal"
Robin Wright, "House of Cards"

Will Win: This is the only category I'm really going out on a limb on, and I predict Vera Farmiga will win for Bates Motel. I know, I know, that means I'm betting against Claire Danes, who seems to accumulate Emmys at the drop of a hat, but Farmiga has the most interesting role among these nominees and I think a shockeroo is in order.

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonathan Banks, "Breaking Bad"
Bobby Cannavale, "Boardwalk Empire"
Jim Carter, "Downton Abbey"
Peter Dinklage, "Game of Thrones"
Mandy Patinkin, "Homeland"
Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad"

Will Win: So long as the two guys from Breaking Bad don't split the vote, this one goes to Jonathan Banks. There's an outside chance Mandy Patinkin could win, but he wasn't even nominated last year, so I'm not counting on it.

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Morena Baccarin, "Homeland"
Christine Baranski, "The Good Wife"
Emilia Clarke, "Game of Thrones"
Anna Gunn, "Breaking Bad"
Christina Hendricks, "Mad Men"
Maggie Smith, "Downton Abbey"

Will Win: Another win for Breaking Bad, this one goes to Anna Gunn.

BEST COMEDY SERIES
"The Big Bang Theory"
"Girls"
"Louis"
"Modern Family"
"30 Rock"
"Veep"

Will Win: My vote would be for Veep (the funniest show on TV!), but that's just not going to happen, so I predict Modern Family will make it four in a row. It's possible Louis could win, especially given the high number of nominations it received, but that show is just a little too weird for the Academy, which tends to vote on the safe side.

BEST COMEDY ACTOR
Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development"
Don Cheadle, "House of Lies"
Louis C.K., "Louie"
Matt LeBlanc, "Episodes"
Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"

Will win: Same scenario as Comedy Series, Louis C.K. could very well win, but I predict a very safe win for Alec Baldwin. Now that 30 Rock is off the air, I think it's very possible they will send him off with a farewell hug.

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS
Laura Dern, "Enlightened"
Lena Dunham, "Girls"
Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"
Amy Poehler, "Parks and Recreation"

Will win: For years I've been wanting Amy Poehler to take this award. Her character from Parks and Recreation, Leslie Knope, is the funniest creation to hit the tube in a decade or more. However, this year I'm betting on, and cheering for, Julia Louis-Dreyfus to win for Veep. I know she won last year, but she deserves two for making me laugh harder than anyone on TV all year. Her reaction to walking through a plate glass window last season made me laugh so hard that I pulled a muscle.

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ty Burrell, "Modern Family"
Adam Driver, "Girls"
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, "Modern Family"
Bill Hader, "Saturday Night Live"
Tony Hale, "Veep"
Ed O'Neill, "Modern Family"

Will Win: I'd love to see Tony Hale win for his off-beat performance on Veep, or Ed O'Neill for being the rock of the Modern Family ensemble, or Jesse Tyler Ferguson for being the most undervalued player of the Modern Family ensemble, but this one is going to the loveable Ty Burrell. And quite deservedly so, even if it would be nice if they spread the love around to his other cast mates.

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mayim Bialik, "The Big Bang Theory"
Julie Bowen, "Modern Family"
Anna Chlumsky, "Veep"
Jane Krakowski, "30 Rock"
Jane Lynch, "Glee"
Sofia Vergara, "Modern Family"
Merritt Wever, "Nurse Jackie"

Will win: In a just world, Jane Krakowski would finally get the recognition she deserves for all of her seven brilliant seasons on 30 Rock, but the problem is that her role is much smaller than her fellow nominees, so I doubt she will be able to compete with the Modern Family machine. Which means Julie Bowen will take home Emmy #3.

BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES
"American Horror Story: Asylum"
"Behind the Candelabra"
"The Bible"
"Phil Spector"
"Political Animals"
"Top of the Lake"

Will Win: Expect that whatever category Behind the Candelabra is nominated in, it will win.

BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, "Parade's End"
Matt Damon, "Behind the Candelabra"
Michael Douglas, "Behind the Candelabra"
Toby Jones, "The Girl"
Al Pacino, "Phil Spector"

Will Win: Michael Douglas will for sure win, and he was very good indeed, but I think the best performance in that movie was Matt Damon's.

BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES ACTRESS
Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Laura Linney, "The Big C: Hereafter"
Helen Mirren, "Phil Spector"
Elisabeth Moss, "Top of the Lake"
Sigourney Weaver, "Political Animals"

Will Win: I'd love to see the brilliant Elisabeth Moss finally win an Emmy for something, but Jessica Lange is another one of those actresses who wins awards that she's not even nominated for, so when she's nominated, don't even cross your fingers for anyone else.

BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES SUPPORTING ACTOR
Scott Bakula, "Behind the Candelabra"
James Cromwell, "American Horror Story: Asylum"
John Benjamin Hickey, "The Big C: Hereafter"
Peter Mullan, "Top of the Lake"
Zachary Quinto, "American Horror Story: Asylum"

Will Win: Peter Mullan will very likely be the only representative from Top of the Lake to win tonight.

BEST TV MOVIE/MINISERIES SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Ellen Burstyn, "Political Animals"
Sarah Paulson, "American Horror Story: Asylum"
Charlotte Rampling, "Restless"
Imelda Staunton, "The Girl"
Alfre Woodard, "Steel Magnolias"

Will Win: Normally I'd always bet the farm of Alfre Woodard, another oft-awarded actress, but Steel Magnolias is pretty lightweight stuff, so Sarah Paulson will win for American Horror Story.

BEST REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
"The Amazing Race"
"Dancing with the Stars"
"Project Runway"
"So You Think You Can Dance"
"Top Chef"
"The Voice"

Will Win: The Amazing Race. Like, duh.

BEST VARIETY SERIES
"The Colbert Report"
"The Daily Show"
"Jimmy Kimmel Live"
"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"
"Real Time with Bill Maher"
"Saturday Night Live"

Will Win: The Daily Show wins every year, it always wins, it always has won, hell will have frozen over if it doesn't win. But call me crazy, I think this is the year hell will turn to ice, and I'm thinking Jimmy Kimmel Live is capable of an upset. I'll be the first to laugh at myself if/when this does not happen.