Final Update (Sunday 9/20): All predicted winners remain the same except for Supporting Actor (Drama), where Billy Crudup has broken out of a tie with Kieran Culkin, Directing (Drama), where Succession has broken out of a tie with The Crown, and Supporting Actor (Movie/Miniseries), where Yahya Abdul-Mateen II now leads Jim Parsons.
Picks for the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards
If there's one sure thing, it's that this year's Emmy Awards will be unlike any of its predecessors. The most obvious difference is that the Jimmy Kimmel-hosted ceremony—which airs live Sunday night on ABC beginning at 8p ET (5p PT)—will be the first remotely-produced, audience-free, "virtual" broadcast in Emmy history. You'll see presenters and winners filming themselves from their own homes (or remote locations), with the exception of a few in-studio guests joining Kimmel. Expect glitches aplenty—but maybe some slightly more genuine moments than you'd find in a more typical broadcast—and more screentime for Kimmel. (And notify the affiliates: This ceremony is definitely running long.)
Another likely difference: The winners list. Recent Emmy stalwarts like Game of Thrones and Veep (plus last year's big winner Fleabag) are no longer on the air, making many of the races more competitive than they have been in years—theoretically, at least. The leading 2020 Emmy nominees heading into Sunday's ceremony are HBO's Watchmen (with 11 nominations) and Succession (10), and they are indeed predicted to be among the night's top winners, with Watchmen a virtual lock to dominate the limited series categories. Succession, too, is widely predicted to win many of the drama series categories (including the top prize), but there could be some upsets there—and in the comedy categories, where the just-ended Schitt's Creek now stands as the frontrunner in many races.
To help you make an informed decision when filling out your home-office Emmy pool (which, we assume, consists of you, your dog, and the ficus tree in your living room), we have collected predictions from nearly 80 professional entertainment and TV writers and critics. Remember that the so-called experts are hardly infallible. Last year, the pros were correct in just 65% of the categories, though that was an improvement over 2018's 54% success rate.
For the 11th straight year we also invited Metacritic users to submit their own picks, and the results of over 1,100 submissions are also displayed below. (Last year our users had a 46% accuracy rate.) Note that we asked our users to make selections in just 23 categories this year (three fewer than last year), since the Academy has (at least temporarily) shifted some categories from the main ceremony to the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremonies earlier in the week.
Comedy nominees
Outstanding comedy series
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Schitt's Creek (Pop) | 91% | Schitt's Creek (Pop) | 35% | |
| The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) | 4% | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) | 18% | |
| Insecure (HBO) | 3% | The Good Place (NBC) | 17% | |
Comedy lead actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
94% | Catherine O'Hara Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
42% | |
| Issa Rae Insecure (HBO) |
4% | Rachel Brosnahan The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) |
29% | |
Comedy lead actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Eugene Levy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
58% | Eugene Levy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
36% | |
| Ramy Youssef Ramy (Hulu) |
26% | Ted Danson The Good Place (NBC) |
24% | |
| Ted Danson The Good Place (NBC) |
13% | Ramy Youssef Ramy (Hulu) |
20% | |
Comedy supporting actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Alex Borstein The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) |
65% | Alex Borstein The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) |
33% | |
| Annie Murphy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
12% | D'Arcy Carden The Good Place (NBC) |
20% | |
| D'Arcy Carden The Good Place (NBC) |
10% | Annie Murphy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
15% | |
Comedy supporting actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
63% | Daniel Levy Schitt's Creek (Pop) |
24% | |
| Tony Shalhoub The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) |
18% | Mahershala Ali Ramy (Hulu) |
22% | |
| Mahershala Ali Ramy (Hulu) |
15% | Tony Shalhoub The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) |
19% | |
Comedy directing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Schitt's Creek "Happy Ending" by Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy |
77% | Schitt's Creek "Happy Ending" by Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy |
31% | |
| The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "It's Comedy Or Cabbage" by Amy Sherman-Palladino |
16% | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel "It's Comedy Or Cabbage" by Amy Sherman-Palladino |
21% | |
| 2 tied with ... | 3% | Ramy "Miakhalifa.mov" by Ramy Youssef |
16% | |
Comedy writing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
|||
| Schitt's Creek "Happy Ending" by Daniel Levy |
74% | The Good Place "Whenever You're Ready" by Michael Schur |
35% | |
| The Good Place "Whenever You're Ready" by Michael Schur |
15% | Schitt's Creek "Happy Ending" by Daniel Levy |
33% | |
Drama nominees
Outstanding drama series
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Succession (HBO) | 95% | Succession (HBO) | 50% | |
| Better Call Saul (AMC) | 3% | Better Call Saul (AMC) | 22% | |
Drama lead actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|||
| Laura Linney Ozark (Netflix) |
39% | Olivia Colman The Crown (Netflix) |
31% | |
| Jennifer Aniston The Morning Show (Apple TV+) |
38% | Laura Linney Ozark (Netflix) |
24% | |
| Olivia Colman The Crown (Netflix) |
16% | Zendaya Euphoria (HBO) |
16% | |
Drama lead actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|||
| Jeremy Strong Succession (HBO) |
44% | Brian Cox Succession (HBO) |
33% | |
| Brian Cox Succession (HBO) |
40% | Jeremy Strong Succession (HBO) |
23% | |
| Jason Bateman Ozark (Netflix) |
13% | Jason Bateman Ozark (Netflix) |
22% | |
Drama supporting actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Helena Bonham Carter The Crown (Netflix) |
54% | Helena Bonham Carter The Crown (Netflix) |
26% | |
| Sarah Snook Succession (HBO) |
33% | Julia Garner Ozark (Netflix) |
17% | |
| Julia Garner Ozark (Netflix) |
10% | Sarah Snook Succession (HBO) |
17% | |
Drama supporting actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|||
| Billy Crudup The Morning Show (Apple TV+) |
39% | Giancarlo Esposito * Better Call Saul (AMC) |
26% | |
| Kieran Culkin Succession (HBO) |
36% | Kieran Culkin Succession (HBO) |
26% | |
| Giancarlo Esposito Better Call Saul (AMC) |
10% | Billy Crudup The Morning Show (Apple TV+) |
14% | |
* Ahead by exactly 1 vote
Drama directing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Succession "This Is Not for Tears" by Mark Mylod |
44% | Succession "This Is Not for Tears" by Mark Mylod |
28% | |
| The Crown "Aberfan" by Benjamin Caron |
41% | Succession "Hunting" by Andrij Parekh |
16% | |
| 3 tied with ... | 5% | The Crown "Aberfan" by Benjamin Caron |
15% | |
Drama writing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Succession "This Is Not for Tears" by Jesse Armstrong |
90% | Succession "This Is Not for Tears" by Jesse Armstrong |
41% | |
| Better Call Saul "Bagman" by Gordon Smith |
5% | Better Call Saul "Bagman" by Gordon Smith |
19% | |
| The Crown "Aberfan" by Peter Morgan |
5% | Better Call Saul "Bad Choice Road" by Thomas Schnauz |
15% | |
Movie and miniseries nominees
Outstanding limited series (miniseries)
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Watchmen (HBO) | 100% | Watchmen (HBO) | 76% | |
| Mrs. America (FX) | 7% | |||
| (TIE) Unbelievable (Netflix) -AND- Unorthodox (Netflix) |
6% | |||
Movie/miniseries lead actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Regina King Watchmen (HBO) |
90% | Regina King Watchmen (HBO) |
64% | |
| Cate Blanchett Mrs. America (FX) |
8% | Cate Blanchett Mrs. America (FX) |
21% | |
Movie/miniseries lead actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|||
| Mark Ruffalo I Know This Much Is True (HBO) |
42% | Jeremy Irons Watchmen (HBO) |
37% | |
| Hugh Jackman Bad Education (HBO) |
33% | Mark Ruffalo I Know This Much Is True (HBO) |
23% | |
| Paul Mescal Normal People (Hulu) |
17% | Hugh Jackman Bad Education (HBO) |
21% | |
Movie/miniseries supporting actress
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Jean Smart Watchmen (HBO) |
60% | Jean Smart Watchmen (HBO) |
44% | |
| Toni Collette Unbelievable (Netflix) |
24% | Toni Collette Unbelievable (Netflix) |
29% | |
| Uzo Aduba Mrs. America (FX) |
13% | Uzo Aduba Mrs. America (FX) |
10% | |
Movie/miniseries supporting actor
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Watchmen (HBO) |
39% | Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Watchmen (HBO) |
35% | |
| Jim Parsons Hollywood (Netflix) |
30% | Louis Gossett Jr. Watchmen (HBO) |
19% | |
| Louis Gossett Jr. Watchmen (HBO) |
23% | Jim Parsons Hollywood (Netflix) |
16% | |
Movie/miniseries directing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Watchmen "This Extraordinary Being" by Stephen Williams |
54% | Watchmen "This Extraordinary Being" by Stephen Williams |
41% | |
| Watchmen "It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice" by Nicole Kassell |
28% | Watchmen "It’s Summer And We’re Running Out Of Ice" by Nicole Kassell |
23% | |
| Little Fires Everywhere "Find a Way" by Lynn Shelton |
15% | Watchmen "Little Fear of Lightning" by Steph Green |
11% | |
Movie/miniseries writing
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Watchmen "This Extraordinary Being" by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson |
90% | Watchmen "This Extraordinary Being" by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson |
68% | |
| 3 tied with ... | 3% | Unbelievable "Episode 1" by Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, and Ayelet Waldman |
9% | |
| Mrs. America "Shirley" by Tanya Barfield |
9% | |||
Other shows
Outstanding competition program
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1) | 83% | RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1) | 52% | |
| The Masked Singer (Fox) | 15% | Top Chef (Bravo) | 15% | |
| Top Chef (Bravo) | 2% | The Masked Singer (Fox) | 13% | |
Outstanding variety talk series
| Experts | Users | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
|
|||
| Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) | 69% | Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO) | 61% | |
| The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) | 24% | The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) | 13% | |
| The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS) | 5% | The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS) | 11% | |
Who are the experts?
Experts included in our survey this year are: Thelma Adams (Gold Derby), Erik Anderson (AwardsWatch), Kristen Baldwin and Darren Franich (Entertainment Weekly), Chuck Barney (San Jose Mercury News), Judy Berman (Time), Jennifer Bisset and Sean Keane (CNET), Alec Bojalad (Den of Geek), Danette Chavez (A.V. Club), Jen Chaney (Vulture), Michael Cuby (Nylon), Daniel D’Addario (Variety), Eric Deggans (NPR*), Kevin Dillon (Awards Daily), Lynn Elber (Associated Press*), Gregory Ellwood (Awards Campaign/Playlist), Stuart Emmrich (Vogue), Joyce Eng (Gold Derby), Kate Feldman (New York Daily News), Caroline Framke (Variety), Verne Gay (Newsday), Matthew Gilbert (Boston Globe), Tom Gliatto (People), Tim Gray (Variety*), Jalal Haddad (Awards Daily), Pete Hammond (Deadline), Libby Hill (Indiewire*), Julie Hinds (Detroit Free Press), Dan Holloway (Variety), Adrian Horton (The Guardian), Angelique Jackson (Variety), Matthew Jacobs (HuffPo*), Kevin Jacobsen (AwardsWatch), Allison Keene (Paste), Mark Kennedy (Associated Press), Justin Kirkland (Esquire), Shadan Larki (Awards Daily), Kelly Lawler (USA Today*), Ed Martin (MediaVillage), Megan McLachlan (Awards Daily), Bruce R. Miller (Omaha World-Herald), Liz Shannon Miller (Collider), Matt Webb Mitovich (TVLine*), Wilson Morales (BlackFilmAndTV*), Joey Morona (Cleveland Plain Dealer), Joey Moser (Awards Daily), Clarence Moye (Awards Daily), Philiana Ng, Meredith B. Kile and Stacy Lambe (Entertainment Tonight), Hanh Nguyen (Salon*), Nikki Novak (Fandango*), Tom O'Neil (Gold Derby), Joe Otterson (Variety), David Phillips (Awards Daily), Steve Pond (The Wrap), Lauren Puckett (Elle), Ben Randall (Awards Daily), Joe Reid (Primetimer), Lynette Rice (Entertainment Weekly*), Matt Roush (TV Insider/TV Guide Magazine*), Michael Schneider (Variety), Alan Sepinwall (Rolling Stone), Amanda Spears (AwardsWatch), Michael Starr (New York Post), Brian Steinberg (Variety), Jazz Tangcay (Variety), Kaitlin Thomas (TVGuide.com*), Anne Thompson (Indiewire*), Will Thorne (Variety), Ben Travers (Indiewire), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone*), Ken Tucker (Yahoo*), Danielle Turchiano (Variety), Kristi Turnquist (The Oregonian), Emily VanDerWerff (Vox*), Vanity Fair staff (Vanity Fair), Adam B. Vary (Variety), Jordan Walker (Awards Daily), Glenn Whipp (Los Angeles Times), and Susan Wloszczyna (Gold Derby).
After the ceremony
Check our site again late Sunday night after the Emmy ceremony for reviews of the telecast from a selection of professional TV critics. We'll also reveal which experts and users had the most accurate predictions this year.
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