Emmys 2020 predictions: Who will win each category? - CNET

We've probably all watched a lot of TV this year, right? This Sunday, Sept. 20, the 2020 Emmy Awards will recognize the best TV shows that have been distracting us, as Watchmen, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Ozark are among the modern classics battling it out. 

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Emmy Awards ceremony will look a little different, but it's still set to be a star-studded night. HBO's Watchmen scored the most nominations with 26 nods, followed by Amazon's ever-popular The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel with 20 and Netflix's dark drama Ozark with 18. Scroll down for the full list of nominations and my predictions for who's going to win the Emmy in each category. 

Several newcomers to the streaming game are nominated, including Apple TV Plus (18 noms), Disney Plus (18) and Quibi (10), and it's notable that more than half of the best drama nominees are found on streaming services: Netflix has The Crown, Ozark and Stranger Things in the running, Hulu returns with The Handmaid's Tale, and newcomer Disney Plus brings The Mandalorian, which has already won a number of technical Emmys. In total, Netflix bagged 160 nominations while HBO managed 107.

Read more: How to stream the 2020 Emmys online

Outstanding Drama Series

We're happy to see The Mandalorian get so much love, but it's still a sci-fi action show, and awards shows may see a genre piece as less worthy than some of the prestige dramas on the list. Killing Eve and The Handmaid's Tale, meanwhile, have struggled to maintain their explosive initial excitement into second and third seasons. Over on Netflix, Stranger Things would be the popular choice, but the Emmys sure do love Ozark. For my money it's between the delicious dynastic drama Succession or the longer-running Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. A big win could confirm what many fans insist, that Better Call Saul is even better than its legendary progenitor. 

Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid's Tale
Killing Eve
The Mandalorian
Ozark
Stranger Things
Succession

Prediction: Better Call Saul could edge it

Outstanding Comedy Series

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is consummate television, and the many previous wins for costume and design are richly deserved. The showbusiness-focused Kominsky Method will probably strike a chord with Emmy voters, while Curb Your Enthusiasm had a long-awaited return to form in its 10th season. Meanwhile Insecure just keeps getting better and better. But it's unlikely that anything can stand in the way of the mighty Schitt's Creek and its glorious, life-affirming finale.

Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead to Me
The Good Place
Insecure
The Kominsky Method
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Schitt's Creek
What We Do In the Shadows

Prediction: It's got to be Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Limited Series

What a lineup. Unbelievable and Unorthodox both offered harrowing yet gripping ripped-from-the-headlines drama powered by utterly convincing performances, as did the hugely entertaining Mrs. America. Watchmen was perhaps the biggest surprise: a superhero show based on a comic that had already been made into a movie, yet delivered a searingly gripping examination of race and power in modern America.

Little Fires Everywhere
Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox
Watchmen

Prediction: Watchmen

Outstanding Television Movie

It's interesting to see a nomination for Netflix's interactive choose-your-own-adventure movie Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but the statuette will probably go to something a little more heavyweight. Bad Education is a deliciously twisty and entertaining true-life tale, and El Camino was a welcome coda to the Breaking Bad saga. But American Son's gripping howl of despair is the most serious and timely film here.

American Son
Bad Education
Dolly Parton's Heartstrings: These Old Bones
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend

Prediction: American Son

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession

Prediction: Brian Cox, Succession 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria

Prediction: Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy

Prediction: Eugene Levy, Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead to Me
Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Prediction: Catherine O'Hara, Schitt's Creek

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True

Prediction: Hugh Jackman, Bad Education

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere

Prediction: Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nicholas Braun, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld

Prediction: Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid's Tale 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Julia Garner, Ozark
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve
Sarah Snook, Succession
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid's Tale

Prediction: Sarah Snook, Succession 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Mahershala Ali, Ramy
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
Daniel Levy, Schitt's Creek
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live

Prediction: Mahershala Ali, Ramy 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
D'Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Betty Gilpin, GLOW
Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Annie Murphy, Schitt's Creek
Yvonne Orji, Insecure
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live

Prediction: Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
Louis Gossett Jr., Watchmen
Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Jim Parsons, Hollywood

Prediction: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
Jean Smart, Watchmen
Holland Taylor, Hollywood
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America

Prediction: Toni Collette, Unbelievable

Variety Talk Series

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Prediction: Jimmy Kimmel Live

Variety Sketch Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show
Drunk History
Saturday Night Live

Prediction: Drunk History 

Competition Program

The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul's Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice

Prediction: The Masked Singer 

New movie calendar for 2020 and 2021 following coronavirus delays

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