Culturess’ Emmy Predictions for 2016: Will HBO and FX Clean Up?
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Drama: Supporting Acting, Writing, and Directing
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Nominees: Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Dame Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey), Maura Tierney (The Affair), Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Constance Zimmer (UnREAL)
Winner: Lena Headey
This is Headey’s third nomination for this Emmy. One could easily argue that she has deserved it before, but Season 6 belonged to her in a way that neither Seasons 4 or 5 (her other nominations) did. Williams could play spoiler, as could Zimmer, but neither of them ruled as their characters, literally or figuratively, quite as much as Headey did.
Outstanding Supporting Actor
Nominees: Jonathan Banks (Better Call Saul), Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Michael Kelly (House of Cards), Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline), Jon Voight (Ray Donovan)
Winner: Kit Harington
“Battle of the Bastards” made Jon Snow cool, particularly with Harington’s work during the near-smothering scene. No one else on this list can really top coming back to life, either, even though Dinklage’s drinking and knowing things quickly turned into a highlight of an often-frustrating plotline in Thrones. The King in the North will have his day.
Outstanding Writing
Nominees: “Episode 8” (Downton Abbey), “Battle of the Bastards” (Game of Thrones), “eps1.0_hellofriend.mov” (Mr. Robot), “Persona Non Grata” (The Americans), “End” (The Good Wife), “Return” (UnREAL)
Winner: “Persona Non Grata”
Once again, Mr. Robot could play spoiler here. We’ll hand this one to The Americans, though, since its season finale delivered killer suspense, teased the end of the series next year, and capped off a fantastic season. Yes, this means we’ve just picked Thrones to lose something, but like Mr. Robot, it could also easily spoil The Americans‘ night.
Outstanding Directing
Nominees: Michael Engler (Downton Abbey, “Episode 9”), Jack Bender (Game of Thrones, “The Door”), Miguel Sapochnik (Game of Thrones, “Battle of the Bastards”), Leslie Linka Glatter (Homeland, “The Tradition of Hospitality”), David Hollander (Ray Donovan, “Exsuscito”), Steven Soderbergh (The Knick, “This Is All We Are”)
Winner: Miguel Sapochnik
Sapochnik has directed four episodes of Thrones all told, and three of them are in contention for top episodes ever. “Battle of the Bastards” continued the show’s tradition of killer penultimate episodes. The metaphorical rebirth of Jon Snow and the advancing wall of Bolton shields combined should easily win this for him. From start to finish, though, “Battle” just blows everything else away.
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