Final Emmy Predictions

Tomorrow morning, the nominations for the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced. I've made detailed predictions in the top eighteen categories, and offered my best blind guesses for the Miniseries/TV Movie and variety categories below as well. There are so many things I’m hoping for, but mainly it’s the recognition of shows like “The Bridge,” “Shameless,” “Orphan Black,” “Parks and Recreation” and other underdogs. It would be nice to see the usual shows not dominate, and to see some great surprises. Click on category headings below for full analysis in each race. I'm looking forward to the nominations, and you can expect analysis and reactions by category all day. Nominations will be announced starting at 8:15am by Mindy Kaling and Carson Daly. Please offer your own predictions and thoughts in the comments below.

BEST DRAMA SERIES
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
House of Cards
Mad Men
True Detective

BEST DRAMA LEAD ACTOR
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Woody Harrelson (True Detective)
Matthew McConaughey (True Detective)
Michael Sheen (Masters of Sex)
Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)

BEST DRAMA LEAD ACTRESS
Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Kerry Washington (Scandal)
Robin Wright (House of Cards)

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Charles (The Good Wife)
Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
Dean Norris (Breaking Bad)
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
Jon Voight (Ray Donovan)
Jeffery Wright (Boardwalk Empire)

BEST DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones)
Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey)
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad)
Lena Headey (Game of Thrones)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey)

BEST COMEDY SERIES
The Big Bang Theory
Louie
Modern Family
Orange is the New Black
Silicon Valley
Veep

BEST COMEDY LEAD ACTOR
Don Cheadle (House of Lies)
Louis C.K. (Louie)
Matt LeBlanc (Episodes)
William H. Macy (Shameless)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

BEST COMEDY LEAD ACTRESS
Lena Dunham (Girls)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
Emmy Rossum (Shameless)
Taylor Schilling (Orange is the New Black)

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ty Burrell (Modern Family)
Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Tony Hale (Veep)
Keegan Michael-Key (Key and Peele)
Jordan Peele (Key and Peele)
Christopher Evan Welch (Silicon Valley)

BEST COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Mayim Bialik (The Big Bang Theory)
Allison Janney (Mom)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother)
Kate Mulgrew (Orange is the New Black)
Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie)

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Beau Bridges (Masters of Sex)
Dan Bucatinsky (Scandal)
Paul Giamatti (Downton Abbey)
Harry Hamlin (Mad Men)
Nathan Lane (The Good Wife)
Robert Morse (Mad Men)

BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Marcia Gay Harden (The Newsroom)
Allison Janney (Masters of Sex)
Lisa Kudrow (Scandal)
Margo Martindale (The Americans)
Julianne Nicholson (Masters of Sex)
Carrie Preston (The Good Wife)

BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Louis C.K. (Saturday Night Live)
Gary Cole (Veep)
Jimmy Fallon (Saturday Night Live)
Nathan Lane (Modern Family)
Bob Newhart (The Big Bang Theory)
Andy Samberg (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Uzo Aduba (Orange is the New Black)
Elizabeth Banks (Modern Family)
Ellen Burstyn (Louie)
Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black)
Melissa McCarthy (Saturday Night Live)
Kerry Washington (Saturday Night Live)

BEST DRAMA DIRECTING
Felina (Breaking Bad)
Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)
The Watchers on the Wall (Game of Thrones)
Pilot (Masters of Sex)
Who Goes There (True Detective)

BEST DRAMA WRITING
Felina (Breaking Bad)
Granite State (Breaking Bad)
Ozymandias (Breaking Bad)
Episode 1 (Downton Abbey)
The Secret Fate of All of Life (True Detective)

BEST COMEDY DIRECTING
Last Forever (How I Met Your Mother)
Elevator, Part 6 (Louie)
The Wedding, Part 2 (Modern Family)
Can’t Fix Crazy (Orange is the New Black)
Lesbian Request Denied (Orange is the New Black)

BEST COMEDY WRITING
Episode 305 (Episodes)
I Wasn’t Ready (Orange is the New Black)
Moving on Up (Parks and Recreation)
A Jailbird, Invalid, Martyr, Cutter, Retard, And Parasitic Twin (Shameless)
Minimum Viable Product (Silicon Valley)

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE LEAD ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock: His Last Vow)
Chiwetel Ejiofor (Dancing on the Edge)
Idris Elba (Luther)
Martin Freeman (Fargo)
Mark Ruffalo (The Normal Heart)
Billy Bob Thornton (Fargo)

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE LEAD ACTRESS
Helena Bonham Carter (Burton and Taylor)
Toni Collette (Hostages)
Minnie Driver (Return to Zero)
Jessica Lange (American Horror Story: Coven)
Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Coven)
Cicely Tyson (The Trip to Bountiful)

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTOR
Matt Bomer (The Normal Heart)
Martin Freeman (Sherlock: His Last Vow)
John Goodman (Dancing on the Edge)
Colin Hanks (Fargo)
Alfred Molina (Return to Zero)
Jim Parsons (The Normal Heart)

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kathy Baker (Return to Zero)
Kathy Bates (American Horror Story: Coven)
Jacqueline Bisset (Dancing on the Edge)
Janet McTeer (The White Queen)
Julia Roberts (The Normal Heart)
Allison Tolman (Fargo)

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE DIRECTING
Dancing on the Edge
Fargo (Buridan's Ass)
Fargo (The Crocodile's Dilemma)
The Normal Heart
Return to Zero

BEST MINISERIES/TV MOVIE WRITING
Burton and Taylor
Dancing on the Edge
Fargo
The Normal Heart
Return to Zero

BEST MINISERIES
American Horror Story: Coven
Dancing on the Edge
Fargo
Luther
The White Queen

BEST TV MOVIE
Killing Kennedy
The Normal Heart
Return to Zero
Sherlock: His Last Vow
The Trip to Bountiful

BEST REALITY COMPETITION SERIES
The Amazing Race
Dancing with the Stars
Project Runway
Survivor
Top Chef
The Voice

BEST REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars)
Carson Daly (The Voice)
Cat Deeley (So You Think You Can Dance)
Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race)
Heidi Klum/Tim Gunn (Project Runway)
Jeff Probst (Survivor)
Betty White (Betty White Off Their Rockers)

BEST VARIETY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Real Time with Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon