Emmy Predictions: Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on Thursday, July 12th. As always, chime in below in the comments with any thoughts of your own.

Last year’s nominees: Anthony Anderson, Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Donald Glover, William H. Macy, Jeffrey Tambor

The competition: Count out Ansari since his show didn’t air this year. Tambor probably wouldn’t have been nominated if he had been submitted by Amazon following sexual harassment allegations. Donald Glover (Atlanta) is the surest best to return for a well-received second season of his show, and I see no reason why Anthony Anderson (Black-ish) wouldn’t be back too. William H. Macy (Shameless) is looking at nomination number five for a show with an incredibly talented ensemble that’s barely been noticed in other categories, and he is just as likely to be left off as he is to return. The same odds apply to Zach Galifianakis (Baskets), who was included for the first time last year. There are a handful of past nominees whose shows are back after lengthy hiatuses, including Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Eric McCormack (Will and Grace), and Matt LeBlanc (Episodes). The only one with a perfect track record, earning nominations every season his show has aired, is LeBlanc, but he’s the likeliest to be forgotten, with David and McCormack far safer bets for their more widely-watched, warmly-received shows. Earlier this spring, John Goodman (Roseanne) might have been in the same field as the others, but given the swift cancellation of his show and announcement of a spinoff without the title character, it’s hard to know, and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) doesn’t seem all that likely either. A number of actors previously nominated for other shows are back in the running this year, including Bill Hader (Barry), Tracy Morgan (The Last O.G.), and an actor who didn’t get nominated last year for the first season of his show, Ted Danson (The Good Place).

The predicted nominees: Anderson, David, Glover, Hader, Macy, McCormack

The predicted winner: It seem likely that Glover would triumph again, but I’m not sure.

Next up: Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series