We’re still very much in the midst of an incredibly productive peak TV time — with more and more dramas, comedies and miniseries to watch every passing month. So it’s only fitting that we get to see some of those titles recognized by the Television Academy. The nominations for the 94th Primetime Emmy Awards have been out for a month, and some categories — like the guest performers — have already been announced ahead of the Emmy Awards ceremony on NBC this Monday, September 12.
The nominations are showing us some trends when it comes to Emmy voters’ tastes — and their habit of nominating the same shows year after year. A few titles have emerged as frontrunners.
HBO’s Succession leads the pack with 25 nominations, including a lot of them for its ensemble cast as well as the coveted Outstanding Drama Series nomination. Another fan-favorite, Ted Lasso, is the frontrunner in the comedy category with 20 nominations. The White Lotus also has 20 nominations. The HBO show is nominated in the limited or anthology series categories, even though it has been renewed for a second season.
Let’s see what else has gotten some Emmy voters’ love. Here are the titles and performers leading the 2022 Emmys and the list of nominations for the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards — and our predictions for them.
Emmys 2022: Best Comedy Series Predictions
The seven-time Primetime Emmy winner Ted Lasso could see its luck return come Emmy night. Its 20 nominations — the most for any of this year’s comedies — make this Apple TV+ the favorite to once again take home the Outstanding Comedy Series statuette as well as several others for its cast and crew.
It could see some competition from Only Murders in the Building though. The Hulu series has 17 nominations and has debuted a second season that didn’t show any signs of quality decline. Nathan Lane has already nabbed an Emmy for his Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series turn in Only Murders in the Building. But I don’t understand how the Emmy voters decided to nominate Martin Short and Steve Martin in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category when their co-star Selena Gomez got completely overlooked in the Outstanding Lead Actress one.
Other titles among the funny watches include ABC newcomer Abbott Elementary — one of my favorite shows of 2022. The Quinta Brunson-created workplace comedy has seven nominations.
The list of outstanding comedies is rounded out by Hacks and the already-veteran shows Barry (HBO), What We Do in the Shadows (FX) and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video). The one title I miss the most from this lineup, and which got completely snubbed by Emmy voters, is the FX Indigenous-made comedy Reservation Dogs.
Emmys 2022: Best Drama Series Predictions
When it comes to dramas, the chances could also be in favor of another veteran show with multiple Emmy wins to its name already. The nine-time Primetime Emmy winner Succession is the title to beat in this category.
Three debuting shows made their way into the list of nominees for the Outstanding Drama Series award. One of them is the critical darling Severance from Apple TV+. Another one is Squid Game, which is not only Netflix’s most popular TV property but, as a Korean show, has also made history by becoming the first non-English show to score a best drama nomination. Squid Game has 14 nominations in total, with nominations for Lee Jung-jae as a Lead Actor in a Drama Series, as well as nominations for Park Hae-soo and Oh Yeong-su as supporting actors and Jung Ho-yeo as supporting actress. The show has already nabbed the Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series award for Lee Yoo-mi.
And the third newbie to be nominated is Showtime’s Yellowjackets, which also received nominations for Melanie Lynskey and Christina Ricci. And even though I’m missing a nomination for Juliette Lewis, I’m happy the show was at least included since the Television Academy can sometimes overlook debut titles.
Better Call Saul — which ended its run on AMC this year — as well as Euphoria, Ozark and Stranger Things are among the other veteran dramas to have received nods.
Emmys 2022: Best Limited or Anthology Series Predictions
When it comes to limited or anthology series, you’ll see a great array of titles based on true events with a crime or scam element to them this year, as we’ve already mentioned that is one of the most dominating 2022 TV trends.
But the miniseries with the most nominations is actually the completely fictional The White Lotus. And yes, it’s kind of paradoxical that the Mike White-created series has already been renewed for a second season. But you know successful limited series tend to get converted into ongoing shows more and more often these days. The White Lotus has already won five Emmys in technical categories such as music composition, casting and sound mixing — in case you want to see that as an indication of how the rest of Emmy voters’ tastes may align for the main categories.
The other titles in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category are Dopesick, The Dropout, Inventing Anna and Pam & Tommy. As much as I liked several of those, I’m definitely missing Netflix’s Maid among them but I’m glad Margaret Qualley got a nomination as the lead actress on that show.
Emmys 2022: List of Key Primetime Emmy Award Nominations
And here are some of the Emmys 2022 nominations for key categories. You can check out a full list of all the nominees here.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary
Barry
Hacks
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Ted Lasso
What We Do In The Shadows
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Rachel Brosnahan • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Quinta Brunson • Abbott Elementary
Kaley Cuoco • The Flight Attendant
Elle Fanning • The Great
Issa Rae • Insecure
Jean Smart • Hacks
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover • Atlanta
Bill Hader • Barry
Nicholas Hoult • The Great
Steve Martin • Only Murders In The Building
Martin Short • Only Murders In The Building
Jason Sudeikis • Ted Lasso
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Hannah Einbinder • Hacks
Jannelle James • Abbott Elementary
Kate McKinnon • Saturday Night Live
Sarah Niles • Ted Lasso
Sheryl Lee Ralph • Abbott Elementary
Juno Temple • Ted Lasso
Hannah Waddingham • Ted Lasso
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Carrigan • Barry
Brett Goldstein • Ted Lasso
Toheeb Jimoh • Ted Lasso
Nick Mohammed • Ted Lasso
Tony Shalhoub • The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Tyler James Williams • Abbott Elementary
Henry Winkler • Barry
Bowen Yang • Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
Euphoria
Ozark
Severance
Squid Game
Stranger Things
Succession
Yellowjackets
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jodie Comer • Killing Eve
Laura Linney • Ozark
Melanie Lynskey • Yellowjackets
Sandra Oh • Killing Eve
Reese Witherspoon • The Morning Show
Zendaya • Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman • Ozark
Brian Cox • Succession
Lee Jung-jae • Squid Game
Bob Odenkirk • Better Call Saul
Adam Scott • Severance
Jeremy Strong • Succession
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette • Severance
Julia Garner • Ozark
Jung Ho-yeon • Squid Game
Christina Ricci • Yellowjackets
Rhea Seehorn • Better Call Saul
J. Smith-Cameron • Succession
Sarah Snook • Succession
Sydney Sweeney • Euphoria
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nicholas Brayn • Succession
Billy Crudup • The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin • Succession
Park Hae-soo • Squid Game
Matthew Macfadyen • Succession
John Turturro • Severance
Christopher Walken • Severance
Oh Yeong-su • Squid Game
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Dopesick
The Dropout
Inventing Anna
Pam & Tommy
The White Lotus
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Toni Collette • The Staircase
Julia Garner • Inventing Anna
Lily James • Pam & Tommy
Sarah Paulson • Impeachment: American Crime Story
Margaret Qualley • Maid
Amanda Seyfried • The Dropout
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Colin Firth • The Staircase
Andrew Garfield • Under The Banner Of Heaven
Oscar Isaac • Scenes From A Marriage
Michael Keaton • Dopesick
Himesh Patel • Station Eleven
Sebastian Stan • Pam & Tommy
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Connie Britton • The White Lotus
Jennifer Coolidge • The White Lotus
Alexandra Daddario • The White Lotus
Kaitlyn Dever • Dopesick
Natasha Rothwell • The White Lotus
Sydney Sweeney • The White Lotus
Mare Winningham • Dopesick
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Murray Bartlett • The White Lotus
Jake Lacy • The White Lotus
Will Poulter • Dopesick
Seth Rogen • Pam & Tommy
Peter Sarsgaard • Dopesick
Michael Stuhlbarg • Dopesick
Steve Sahn • The White Lotus
