With too much television, viewing every piece of content that is up for consideration for this year’s Primetime Emmy Awards nominations is impossible. With 163 drama series, 95 comedies, 51 limited or anthologies and 61 television movies, every TV-goer has their tastes.
Variety staffers have come together to curate its own dream Primetime Emmys ballot, with voting set to close at 10 p.m. PT tonight.
However, it should be noted — we love consistency, especially in TV land.
With our selections, we want to continue to promote (and advocate) for the Television Academy to allow 10 nominees in the top series categories. In addition, we would love to see uniformity in the acting races (having some categories with five while others have eight doesn’t make much sense. With this large TV boom, more options should be available for the respective lineups.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Primetime Emmy predictions in the major categories.
We also don’t “play by the rules” of submissions. If we felt a show fared better in one genre versus another (i.e., “The Bear”) or a performer felt like a leading entry as opposed to a supporting (i.e., Brian Cox), then we recognized as such. We also combined all of the reality (competition, structured and unstructured), variety (talk series, scripted variety, pre-recorded and live) and documentary (series, special and hosted nonfiction) into each of their respective races. Not every type of show needs its own category.
From the list below, you’ll find the expected critically acclaimed suspects, such as the HBO final seasons of “Barry” and “Succession” and AMC’s “Better Call Saul.” We loved the new genre breakouts of the year, such as “Andor,” “House of the Dragon” and “The Last of Us,” but also the ones that get ignored such as Paramount’s “Star Trek: Picard” with Patrick Stewart and Disney’s “The Mandalorian” with Katie Sackoff.
You’ll find inventive and passionate choices that many of us are crossing our fingers for, like Freevee’s “Jury Duty” (please find love for James Marsden), Netflix’s “Mo” (not talked about enough by the general public) and Prime Video’s “Swarm” (which cements the star power of Dominique Fishback).
Read Variety’s nominees below. Our winners will be announced before Emmy nominations drop on July 12.
Drama Series
- “Andor” (Disney+)
- “The Bear” (FX)
- “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
- “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
- “The Last of Us” (HBO)
- “The Sandman” (Netflix)
- “Succession” (HBO)
- “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- “Will Trent” (ABC)
- “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
Comedy Series
- “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- “Barry” (HBO)
- “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
- “Mo” (Netflix)
- “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
- “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
- “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- “Wednesday” (Netflix)
- “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Limited or Anthology Series
- “Beef” (Netflix)
- “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
- “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
- “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
- “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
- “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” (Netflix)
- “Love & Death” (HBO)
- “Mrs. Davis” (Peacock)
- “A Small Light” (National Geographic)
- “Swarm” (Prime Video)
TV Movie
- “Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe” (Paramount+)
- “Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas” (NBC)
- “Father of the Bride” (HBO)
- “Fire Island” (Hulu)
- “Jerry and Marge Go Large” (Paramount+)
- “The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die” (Netflix)
- “Prey” (Hulu)
- “Reality” (HBO)
- “They/Them” (Peacock)
- “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
Lead Actor (Drama)
- Paddy Considine, “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
- Kieran Culkin, “Succession” (HBO)
- Diego Luna, “Andor” (Disney+)
- Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
- Pedro Pascal, “The Last of Us” (HBO)
- Patrick Stewart, “Star Trek: Picard” (Paramount+)
- Jeremy Strong, “Succession” (HBO)
- Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear” (FX)
Lead Actor (Comedy)
- Ronald Gladden, “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
- Donald Glover, “Atlanta” (FX)
- Bill Hader, “Barry” (HBO)
- Steve Martin, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Jason Segel, “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
- Martin Short, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
Lead Actor (Limited)
- Steve Carell, “The Patient” (FX)
- Sam Claflin, “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
- Taron Egerton, “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
- Kumail Nanjiani, “Welcome to Chippendales” (Hulu)
- Evan Peters, “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
- Daniel Radcliffe, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
- Michael Shannon, “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
- Steven Yeun, “Beef” (Netflix)
Lead Actress (Drama)
- India Amarteifio — “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” (Netflix)
- Emma D’Arcy — “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
- Melanie Lynskey — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
- Helen Mirren — “1923” (Paramount+)
- Sophie Nélisse — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
- Bella Ramsey — “The Last of Us” (HBO)
- Katie Sackhoff — “The Mandalorian” (Disney+)
- Sarah Snook — “Succession” (HBO)
Lead Actress (Comedy)
- Christina Applegate, “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
- Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
- Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Natasia Demetriou, “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Bridget Everett, “Somebody Somewhere” (HBO)
- Selena Gomez, “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Jenna Ortega, “Wednesday” (Netflix)
- Heléne Yorke — “The Other Two” (HBO)
Lead Actress (Limited)
- Jessica Chastain — “George & Tammy” (Showtime)
- Dominique Fishback — “Swarm” (Prime Video)
- Kathryn Hahn — “Tiny Beautiful Things” (Hulu)
- Riley Keough — “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
- Amber Midthunder — “Prey” (Hulu)
- Elizabeth Olsen — “Love & Death” (HBO)
- Rachel Weisz — “Dead Ringers” (Prime Video)
- Ali Wong — “Beef” (Netflix)
Supporting Actor (Drama)
- Claes Bang — “Bad Sisters” (Apple TV+)
- Brian Cox — “Succession” (HBO)
- Ismael Cruz Córdova — “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (Prime Video)
- Giancarlo Esposito — “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
- Tom Hollander — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- Matthew Macfadyen — “Succession” (HBO)
- Alexander Skarsgård — “Succession” (HBO)
- Matt Smith — “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
Supporting Actor (Comedy)
- Mel Brooks — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Anthony Carrigan, “Barry” (HBO)
- Phil Dunster — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Harvey Guillén — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- James Marsden — “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
- Chris Perfetti — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Luke Tennie — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
- Tyler James Williams — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
Supporting Actor (Limited)
- Murray Bartlett — “Welcome to Chippendales” (Hulu)
- Domhnall Gleeson — “The Patient” (Hulu)
- Paul Walter Hauser — “Black Bird” (Apple TV+)
- Joseph Lee — “Beef” (Netflix)
- Young Mazino — “Beef” (Netflix)
- Timothy Olyphant — “Daisy Jones and the Six” (Prime Video)
- Jesse Plemons — “Love & Death” (HBO)
- Liev Schreiber — “A Small Light” (National Geographic)
Supporting Actress (Drama)
- Jennifer Coolidge — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- Ayo Edebiri — “The Bear” (FX)
- Meghann Fahy — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- Simone Kessell — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
- Gates McFadden — “Star Trek: Picard” (Paramount+)
- Aubrey Plaza — “The White Lotus” (HBO)
- Christina Ricci — “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
- Rhea Seehorn — “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
Supporting Actress (Comedy)
- Paulina Alexis — “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
- Sarah Goldberg — “Barry” (HBO)
- Janelle James — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Lukita Maxwell — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
- Sheryl Lee Ralph — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Hannah Waddingham — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Lisa Ann Walter — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Jessica Williams — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
Supporting Actress (Limited)
- Nabiyah Be — “Daisy Jones & the Six” (Prime Video)
- Maria Bello — “Beef” (Netflix)
- Margaret Cho — “Fire Island” (Hulu)
- Niecy Nash-Betts — “Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” (Netflix)
- Julianne Nicholson — “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
- Ashley Park — “Beef” (Netflix)
- Lily Rabe — “Love & Death” (HBO)
- Evan Rachel Wood — “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (The Roku Channel)
Reality Program (Competition, Structured and Unstructured)
- “AEW: All Access” (HBO)
- “Chopped” (Food Network)
- “Couples Therapy” (Showtime)
- “Indian Matchmaking” (Netflix)
- “Is It Cake?” (Netflix)
- “90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way” (TLC)
- “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
- “Top Chef” (Bravo)
- “Vanderpump Rules” (Bravo)
- “Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)
Variety Series (Talk, Scripted, Pre-Recorded, Live Special)
- “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
- “Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium” (Disney+)
- “Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl” (Disney+)
- “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
- “Late Night with Seth Meyers” (NBC)
- “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
- “The Oscars” (ABC)
- “The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Rihanna” (Fox)
- “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” (Bravo)
Documentary (Series, Special, Hosted Nonfiction)
- “Descendant” (Netflix)
- “The Last Movie Stars” (CNN)
- “Harry & Meghan” (Netflix)
- “MH370: The Plane That Disappeared” (Netflix)
- “Secrets of the Elephants” (National Geographic)
- “The Secrets of Hillsong” (FX)
- “The 1619 Project” (Hulu)
- “Sr.” (Netflix)
- “Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence” (Hulu)
- “Surviving R. Kelly Part III: The Final Chapter” (Lifetime)
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Creative Arts predictions in all categories.
