Emmy Predictions: Best Directing for a Drama Series

The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, July 13th. Chime in below in the comments with any thoughts of your own.

Last year’s nominees: Episode 9 (Downton Abbey), Battle of the Bastards (Game of Thrones), The Door (Game of Thrones), The Tradition of Hospitality (Homeland), This Is All We Are (The Knick), Exsuscito (Ray Donovan)

The top contenders:
The Bone Orchard (American Gods)
The Soviet Division (The Americans)
Golden Frog Time (Billions)
Hyde Park Corner (The Crown)
Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope For A Treasure (The Get Down)
Of Mice and Men (Goliath)
Inauguration (The Good Fight)
Offred (The Handmaid’s Tale)
The Bridge (The Handmaid’s Tale)
America First (Homeland)
Sock Puppets (Homeland)
Chapter 53 (House of Cards)
The Book of Nora (The Leftovers)
The Most Powerful Man In The World (And His Identical Twin Brother) (The Leftovers)
eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc + eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc (Mr. Robot)
Rattus Rattus (Ray Donovan)
Chapter One: The Vanishing Of Will Byers (Stranger Things)
Memphis (This Is Us)
Moonshadow (This Is Us)
The Bicameral Mind (Westworld)
Chestnut (Westworld)
Trompe L’Oeil (Westworld)

The roundup: Two-thirds of last year’s lineup won’t be back because the shows didn’t air this past year. I think that Homeland is on its way out from the Emmys after plummeting in quality several years ago, but it might still show up here. The season finale of Ray Donovan was up last year, and I suspect that this year’s finale will be nominated this time around, though it’s hardly a guarantee. The Crown submitted only one episode, making its chances very good, and Stranger Things is likely to show up too. I think that the pilot of The Handmaid’s Tale is a solid bet. I’m not overly confident about any of my other choices, including the season finales and other poignant episodes of This Is Us and Westworld, and the series finale of The Leftovers might finally allow the previously unrecognized HBO show to score. Another strong possibility is the series premiere of The Get Down.

The predicted nominees: Hyde Park Corner (The Crown), Offred (The Handmaid’s Tale), Rattus Rattus (Ray Donovan), Chapter One: The Vanishing Of Will Byers (Stranger Things), Memphis (This Is Us), The Bicameral Mind (Westworld)

The predicted winner: The Bicameral Mind (Westworld)

Next up: Best Writing for a Drama Series