New Dramas Vie for Emmy Crown

Why This Matters With drama hits on the shelf and turnover among comedies, this year's race for the Emmys looks to be wide open.

With HBO'S Game of Thrones and PBS' Downton Abbey out of contention this year, the primetime Emmy race for outstanding drama is wide open, with a bunch of prestige newcomers entering the fray.

One strong contender is Netflix's The Crown, awarded the Golden Globe in January. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale is getting rave reviews across the board, and star Elisabeth Moss should be expected to face The Crown's Claire Foy in the best actress race.

Many of the Hollywood people we've interviewed who don't have a chance to watch a lot of TV have all seen The Crown. That could really sweep it, said the New York Post's Robert Rorke.

NBC's breakout hit, This Is Us, also is expected to be an Emmys contender, one of the few broadcast entries to rise to that level in this age of the prestige premium cable or streaming drama.

Us' Versus Them

The true definition of the blended TV family, this diverse character-driven ensemble drama, much like thirtysomething decades before, is ripe for water-cooler banter, Marc Berman, editor in chief of Programming Insider, said. In a sea of generic scripted crime-solvers, This Is Us offers a fresh and inventive way to tell a story. Most important, it proves that the concept of an immediate hit, both critically and by the numbers, can still exist on a broadcast network.

If NBC submits the Memphis' episode, This Is Us will win, Rorke said. It's the equivalent of Moonlight in a category where the other shows - such as The Crown and Westworld - will try to impress the Academy with how much money they've spent. This Is Us claimed your emotions with its excellent actors and writers and involved you without any of the expense. The Memphis episode was the most emotionally wrenching episode of TV this year.

The show's cast is also full of Emmy contenders, including Sterling K. Brown, Mandy Moore, Milo Ventimiglia and Chrissy Metz. Still, a broadcast drama hasn't won this prize since Fox's 24 in 2006.

Even without two-time outstanding drama winner Game of Thrones, HBO should remain in the mix with Westworld, with potential nominations for stars Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood.

Emmy voters like a good debate, and there is no better show to decipher than Westworld, Berman said. Did anyone really know what was going on?

A dark-horse possibility for HBO is The Leftovers, with critics raving about its third and last season, although viewership for the Justin Theroux-starrer is low.

Beyond The Crown, Netflix could find itself having to back several entries, including Stranger Things; House of Cards, which returns just before the Emmys deadline on May 30; Orange Is the New Black, which runs out of sync with the Emmy calendar, with its latest season debuting on June 9; and the much-discussed 13 Reasons Why, which takes on the difficult topic of teenage suicide.

And now that FX finally got its critically beloved The Americans into the race last year, most critics expect it to remain there for its penultimate season. Another possibility for FX, and a show that the network will certainly push, is its trippy take on Marvel's X-Men franchise, Legion, starring Downton Abbey's Dan Stevens.

AMC's Better Call Saul, now in season three, should also get a nomination here, just as it did for seasons one and two.

Other possibilities include Showtime's Homeland, which was an Emmy darling in its earlier years; CBS All Access' The Good Fight, following in the footsteps of its Emmy-darling parent, The Good Wife; season two of USA's Mr. Robot; and OWN's Queen Sugar.

Emmy Looks At Hot lanta'

The comedy field is ripe for upset, with HBO's Veep having won the last two years. FX's Atlanta - created, written, executive produced by and starring Donald Glover - seems like the heir apparent, with many critics naming it the best show of 2016.

Outstanding acting, production and a setting that is anything but typical for a sitcom is all the more reason to believe Emmy will come calling, Berman said. This is comedy with dramatic overtones, and real life presented the way it should be on the small screen.

FX could also see comedies Better Things and You're the Worst earn nominations.

ABC's Black-ish, nominated last year as well, also seems like a shoo-in for another nod. That said, Veep hasn't lost any of its oomph and should be expected back on the list this year. And several of Veep's comedy brethren on HBO - Girls, in its final season, and Silicon Valley - have good shots to make a reappearance on the list. HBO rookie Insecure also could rate.

Netflix has its own comedy contenders, with shows such as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Master of None on the roster. And Amazon's Transparent, nominated for its first and second seasons, is also likely to return. Transparent could be joined by Amazon's Fleabag, written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

ABC's five-time Emmy winner Modern Family and CBS' The Big Bang Theory should always be considered possibilities but neither should be expected to take the trophy.

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