There are certain annual rituals that signify the end of summer and beginning of fall. Football returns, pumpkin spice lattes go back on Starbucks menus and Hollywood celebrates the year in television with a glitzy awards ceremony.
The 74th Emmy Awards are set to air Monday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. "Saturday Night Live" veteran Kenan Thompson will be hosting this year's festivities at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Whatever shenanigans Thompson cooks up will hopefully provide the necessary levity to what is sure to be a bloodbath of a competition given just how many quality shows are up for major awards this year.
Most avid TV watchers probably have strong opinions about who they think should be recognized during Monday's Emmys telecast. Well, so do I! Here's who I believe will — and should — win some of the major awards at the 2021 Emmys:
Outstanding drama series
What will win: "Succession"
What should win: "Succession" or "Better Call Saul"
If there's a year with a season of "Succession," chances are good it's going to take home this award. There's no signs of its creative juices slowing down three seasons in, and thus there's no reason to expect a different outcome than the last time "Succession" was eligible in this category.
All that said, it would be lovely if the criminally overlooked "Better Call Saul" finally had its day in the sun. The second half of the "Breaking Bad" spinoff's final season is technically eligible for the 2023 Emmys, but that spectacular series finale won't be nearly as fresh in Emmy voters' minds this time next year. The 2022 Emmys may be its best shot to claim the prize creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould earned multiple times over.
Outstanding lead actor in a drama
Who will win: Brian Cox or Jeremy Strong, "Succession"
Who should win: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul"
What an absolutely stacked field. Chances are good this one will go either to Strong for the second time or Cox for his reliability as the cantankerous Roy family patriarch on "Succession." Again, though, it would be great to see the Emmys pay tribute to the incredible work Bob Odenkirk has done over six seasons of "Better Call Saul." Now would be an excellent time for Emmy voters to call Saul.
Outstanding lead actress in a drama
Who will win: Zendaya, "Euphoria"
Who should win: Zendaya, "Euphoria"
Just give this one to Zendaya right now. If you're skeptical, go boot up season two, episode five of "Euphoria." That should do the trick.
Outstanding supporting actor in a drama
Who will win: Kieran Culkin, "Succession"
Who should win: Kieran Culkin, "Succession"
If season one of "Succession" was Kendall's year and season two was Shiv's time in the spotlight, season three was undoubtedly Roman's chance to show what he can do. Kieran Culkin took what was already one of the funniest and showiest parts on TV and added extra layers of depravity and sadness that only an actor of his caliber could pull off. This one's a no-brainer.
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama
Who will win: Someone who isn't Rhea Seehorn
Who should win: Rhea Seehorn, "Better Caul Saul"
*Finds the loudest megaphone on Earth and shoves it directly into the ears of every Emmy voter*: GIVE RHEA SEEHORN HER EMMY ALREADY, YOU COWARDS!!!
Outstanding comedy series
What will win: "Barry"
What should win: "Barry"
This is such a tough category because most of those shows are the pinnacle of what a television comedy can accomplish in 2022. Nominees like ABC's "Abbott Elementary," Hulu's "Only Murders in the Building," HBO Max's "Hacks" and AppleTV+'s "Ted Lasso" are all vastly different shows that could have all been surefire winners in any other year.
They all have the misfortune, though, of going up against "Barry," Bill Hader's miracle of an HBO dramedy that somehow is just as sharp and poignant in its third season as it was from the outset. The Emmys have already showered Hader and co-star Henry Winkler with acting accolades, and this feels like the right moment for the powers that be to give "Barry" the big award it more than deserves.
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy
Who will win: Bill Hader, "Barry," or Jason Sudeikis, "Ted Lasso"
Who should win: Bill Hader, "Barry"
The most viable options in this category are Hader and Jason Sudeikis, two former "Saturday Night Live" castmates who have each won this particular award in years past. Who knows if Emmy voters were more taken by Hader's journey into oblivion on "Barry" or Sudeikis letting Ted Lasso's vulnerable side shine through. It feels like Hader has the inside track here, but Sudeikis coming out on top may signal big things for "Ted Lasso" on Emmy night.
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy
Who will win: Jean Smart, "Hacks"
Who should win: Jean Smart, "Hacks"
Look, as long as Jean Smart keeps giving audiences the laughs and feels in equal measure as she has been doing through two seasons of "Hacks," she's probably going to keep winning Emmys. It would be fun to see Quinta Brunson sneak in a win here for leading the ensemble that helped make "Abbott Elementary" an overnight phenomenon. If that doesn't happen, this is Smart's award to lose.
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy
Who will win: Brett Goldstein, "Ted Lasso"
Who should win: Anthony Carrigan, "Barry"
Brett Goldstein's Roy Kent is already verging on all-time great television character status after only two seasons of "Ted Lasso." He already won this award though, and it would be wonderful if the Emmys opted to reward Carrigan for giving the pound-for-pound funniest performance on TV as NoHo Hank on "Barry." Every word out of that guy's mouth is gold. Give NoHo Hank his due, Emmys!
Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy
Who will win: Hannah Waddingham or Juno Temple, "Ted Lasso"
Who should win: Janelle James, "Abbott Elementary"
Waddingham is the reigning winner in this category who did nothing in season two of "Ted Lasso" to loosen her grip on it. If the Emmys don't go with her this year, they may instead crown her fellow "Ted Lasso" scene-stealer Juno Temple. In a perfect world, though, Janelle James would win her first Emmy for creating such an instantly iconic character in loopy principal Ava Coleman on "Abbott Elementary."
Outstanding limited or anthology series
What will win: "The White Lotus"
What should win: "Dopesick"
I'm going to level with you all here: I haven't seen "The White Lotus" and have nothing to say about it other than the fact GoldDerby currently has it as the betting favorite in this category. I have, however, seen all of "Dopesick," Hulu's dramatized deep dive into every facet of the opioid crisis. How that show was able to so thoroughly examine so many factors that led to the country being overrun by opioids was, dare I say, Emmy-worthy.
Outstanding television movie
What will win: "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers," Disney+
What should win: "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers," Disney+, or "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas," The Roku Channel
This is an odd category that at least features some interesting experiments like "Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers," a zany live-action/animation hybrid brimming with creativity and cartoon high jinks. Also, shout out to "Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas," which was just a much longer episode of the former NBC series but somehow managed to make that not feel like a bad thing.
Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie
Who will win: Michael Keaton, "Dopesick"
Who should win: Michael Keaton, "Dopesick"
Consider this one of the evening's easiest locks. Keaton put in the work as a small-town doctor overwhelmed by the systems touting this new, highly effective (and addictive) pain drug and will be going home with an Emmy. It's worth mentioning, though, that the Emmys completely snubbed Jon Bernthal's electric performance in HBO's "We Own This City," which would have given Keaton a run for his money.
Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie
Who will win: Amanda Seyfried, "The Dropout"
Who should win: Amanda Seyfried, "The Dropout"
Of all the scammer shows that overran streaming services this year, "The Dropout" was the most creatively successful and Amanda Seyfried made the most indelible impression with her work as former Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes. From the voice to the demeanor to the moments where she got to let the crazy out, Seyfried did everything it should take to win an Emmy.
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie
Who will win: Murray Bartlett, "The White Lotus"
Who should win: Michael Stuhlbarg, "Dopesick"
Once again, we can just go with the GoldDerby odds on this one. Really, it's kind of messed up that this category almost exclusively features "The White Lotus" and "Dopesick" actors. Ideally, this one would go to Michael Stuhlbarg for how deeply he inhabited the neurotic and aggressively amoral former Purdue Pharma chairman and president Richard Sackler.
Outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie
Who will win: Jennifer Coolidge, "The White Lotus"
Who should win: Jennifer Coolidge "The White Lotus"
Emmy voters, please watch more shows so we're not stuck with two acting categories mostly comprised of actors from only two different shows. That doesn't take away from the work this group of talented performers did, but a little variety would be nice. Jennifer Coolidge seemed to be the breakout star of the first "White Lotus" season, so she can have this one.
