Emmy Awards 2022 Predictions

As the month of September begins to fly by, the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards is upon us. The Emmys are the most prestigious night in the television industry as many well-deserved actors, actresses, directors, screenwriters, and more are awarded for all of their hard work done in the last year. 

Premiering on Sep. 12 at 8 pm on NBC, the 2022 Emmy’s bring much excitement to the industry as many popular shows will go head to head for some of the night’s toughest categories, such as Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. According to Variety, HBO/HBO Max leads the nominations this year with 140 combined nominations, while Netflix follows with 105 nominations. Shows with the most nominations include Succession(25), Ted Lasso (20) and The White Lotus (20). 

As we lead up to the Emmys, many entertainment outlets, such as Variety and Deadline, have been making predictions as to who they think will win the big awards of the night. 

For Outstanding Drama Series, both news outlets agree that HBO Max’s Succession will win due to its astounding 25 nominations among multiple categories, including acting and directing, as well as the fact that it is the only series in this category to have won this award before. Although shows like Stranger Things and Euphoria are more critically acclaimed amongst young viewers, Succession has a deeper connection to adult viewers. 

Regarding Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, the general consensus is that Zendaya will take the trophy for her brilliant work in season two of HBO Max’s Euphoria. Zendaya previously won this award in 2020, becoming the youngest actress ever to win in this category. 

For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, entertainment outlets seem to disagree as to who will win this award, with Variety believing that Ozark’s Jason Bateman will come up on top, while Deadline believes Squid Game’s Lee Jung-Jae will win. Both Bateman and Jung-Jae have never previously won this award, but both actors have received much praise for their roles in their respective shows, with Jung-Jae previously winning a SAG award earlier this year for his role as Seong Gi-Hun in Squid Game. 

Entertainment outlets are also having differing opinions on who will win Outstanding Comedy Series, with Abbott Elementary being Variety’s predicted winner and Hacks being Deadline’s predicted winner. Although Hacks has been commended for its incredible writing and for Jean Smart’s lead performance as Deborah Vance, Abbott Elementary has been widely credited for reviving the network comedy and many believe that this show may have what it takes to beat out its other competitors from the streaming services. 

The Outstanding Limited Series category is dominated by series’ based on real-life people, such as Hulu’s Pam and Tommy, Netflix’s Inventing Anna, and Hulu’s The Dropout. However, both Variety and Deadline agree that HBO Max’s The White Lotus will prevail, with its star-studded cast and amusing plot twists taking its audience by storm. 

Make sure to tune in to the Emmy’s on Sep.12 at 8pm on NBC to see who won all of the above mentioned categories and more! 

The award handed out to all the Emmy winners features a bright gold-winged woman with black features around the base. Source: Niall Kennedy, Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0).