Emmy Predictions: Best Directing for a Drama Series

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, July 12th. As always, chime in below in the comments with any thoughts of your own.

Last year’s nominees: Diamond of the First Water (Bridgerton), Fairytale (The Crown), War (The Crown), The Wilderness (The Handmaid’s Tale), Chapter 9: The Marshal (The Mandalorian), Series Finale (Pose)

The top contenders:
Plan and Execution (Better Call Saul)
Rock and Hard Place (Better Call Saul)
Chapter 5: Return of the Mandalorian (The Book of Boba Fett)
Capital R Rake (Bridgerton)
Stand Still Like the Hummingbird (Euphoria)
La Amara Vita (The Morning Show)
Laura (The Morning Show)
A Private Person (The Morning Show)
Journey Into Mystery (Loki)
A Hard Way to Go (Ozark)
Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin' (Ozark)
The We We Are (Severance)
The You You Are (Severance)
Red Light, Green Light (Squid Game)
Chapter Four: Dear Billy (Stranger Things)
Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab (Stranger Things)
All the Bells Say (Succession)
The Disruption (Succession)
Lion in the Meadow (Succession)
Retired Janitors of Idaho (Succession)
Too Much Birthday (Succession)
What It Takes (Succession)
The Train (This Is Us)
F Sharp (Yellowjackets)
Pilot (Yellowjackets)

The rundown: Only one show from last year’s list, Bridgerton, is eligible this year, and I wouldn’t expect a return. While both submitted installments of Succession got nominated last time it was eligible, it’s hard to figure out what to make of six different episodes being in contention here. Ozark has also done well with dual nominations in this race in the past, and should repeat that this time, even though more episodes are eligible (I’d bet on the ones helmed by Jason Bateman and Laura Linney). Both Stranger Things and Better Call Saul have been cited in the past and could be again, and The Morning Show could also return following a nomination for season one. From new contenders, Severance and Squid Game seem likeliest to show up, while Yellowjackets is also a possibility. Watch out also for a standout episode of Euphoria that was submitted.

The predicted nominees: A Hard Way to Go (Ozark), Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin’ (Ozark), The We We Are (Severance), Red Light, Green Light (Stranger Things), All the Bells Say (Succession), Retired Janitors of Idaho (Succession), Too Much Birthday (Succession)

The predicted winner: I think Severance may be able to win this.

Next up: Best Writing for a Drama Series