Jimmy Kimmel hosts the 64th annual Emmy Awards live from Los Angeles tomorrow night! We know who we want to win (Jon Hamm! Lena Dunham’s Girls!), but who’s likely to walk away with the trophies? If you’re about to throw in $20 to the office Emmy Awards pool, you might want to put your money on the stars and shows that insiders are saying have the most chance of winning this year. We’ve put together a list of the major awards and highlighted the likely winner of each category with a little explanation as to why. In some cases, we’re hoping the likely winner actually doesn’t go home with the Emmy, but we also like to be crowned the official winner of our own Emmys party, so we did our research! Here’s who we think will win!
Related Link: 2012 Emmy Awards Nominations
Outstanding Drama
Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
Breaking Bad (AMC)
Downton Abbey (PBS)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Homeland (Showtime/Super Channel)
Mad Men (AMC)
If Mad Men wins the Emmy, it will be the fifth year in a row that the AMC show takes home the Best Drama trophy. Everyone likes a history making moment, right? If there is an upset, it will likely be Breaking Bad that steals Mad Men’s thunder.
Related Link: Mad Men Season 5 Recap-Don Draper is Back
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Sure, she has some serious competition, but Claire Danes kills it in Homeland as a bipolar counterterrorism analyst.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
If Bryan Cranston wins this year, it will be his fourth Emmy win for playing Walter White. Sure, it would be nice to see someone else win, but when an actor consistently plays a character with such brilliance, the Emmys tend to consistently reward him with trophies.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey may be up for a ton of awards this year, but if there’s a category its sure to win, it’s this one. Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, might only be a supporting character, but she’s the heart and soul of Downton Abbey.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Jared Harris, Mad Men
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Peter Dinklage may have taken home this trophy last year, but no one out-acted Giancarlo Esposito’s performance as an insane meth dealer on Breaking Bad this year.
Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory (CBS/CTV)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Girls (HBO)
Modern Family (ABC/Citytv)
30 Rock (NBC/Citytv)
Veep (HBO)
Sure, we want Girls to win more than anything, but if we’re being realistic, Modern Family will take home the trophy. And we can’t really complain. It’s witty, hilarious and brilliantly written.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Zooey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
This is definitely the toughest category, given that there are 7 hilarious and brilliant women nominated. We’d have to put our money on Julia Louis-Dreyfus, though. Melissa McCarthy took home the award last year, and that probably had a lot more to do with her role in Bridesmaids, if we’re being perfectly honest. This year, we think the Emmys will reward one of their old time favourites. Julia is hilarious on Veep, and given that the Emmys are big fans of Jon Stewart, we think have a feeling they also might be big fans of Julia’s political satire.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Sometimes awards shows like to show that they believe in the guy who doesn’t play by the rules. Giving Louie C.K. the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series would prove just that.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Modern Family tends to sweep in the comedy department, and this year we’re betting on Julie Bowen who managed to even outshine costar Sofia Vergara this season.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Jesse Ferguson, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
We could be wrong here, but we definitely think this award will go to one of the guys from Modern Family. We think Ty might just get it, even though he took the trophy home last year. The Emmys aren’t afraid to be consistent.
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Photo Courtesy of: AMC & ITV
Tags: 2012 Emmy Predictions, breaking bad, bryan cranston, claire danes, emmy predictions, Homeland, Mad Men, modern family