And the Emmy award goes to...

The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards are all set to be given away today. With ever-dominating Game Of Thrones out of the race, the competition has turned more tight and interesting — as Stephen Colbert prepares to host TV’s biggest night. There are a plethora of favourites as always, but there could be a few surprises on the radar...

Comedy

Outstanding series:

With some heavyweights like Atlanta, Black-ish, Modern Family, Silicon Valley and Veep all in the running, this is a genuinely tough category to call. Atlanta is a critics’ favourite, while Veep is the Emmy darling. However, Netflix’s Master Of None is a also a good bet, if the jury roots for original and quirky content this time. The pleasurable creation of Aziz Anzari and Alan Yang deserves the win!

Outstanding lead actor:

Experts are already with Jeffrey Tambor on this one for his performance as a transgender person in the series Transparent. However, Donald Grover’s college dropout Earns in Atlanta also looks like a challenger in the category. The other contenders include Anthony Anderson (Black-ish), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), Zach Galifianakis (Baskets), and William H. Macy (Shameless).

Outstanding lead actress:

Its Veep all over again, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus seems unstoppable... and looks to stay that way. The actress has bagged five consecutive Emmys and looks to add another one to her kitty. The category, however has some serious competition with Pamela Adlon (Better Things) and Tracee Ellis-Ross (black-ish) as nominees.

DRAMA

Outstanding drama:

Even without Game Of Thrones, the fight in this category is vibrant and tough with Westworld, House Of Cards, Stranger Things, This Is Us, The Handmaid’s Tale, and the Golden Globe favourite The Crown.

One would be tempted to stick with it, but The Handmaid’s Tale and its horrendous dystopia could be a compelling bet. But wait, who are we kidding? Of course we all want Stranger Things to win! As the hit show prepares to wow us all with a second season, Eleven should be happy with an Emmy trophy by her side, no?

Outstanding lead actor

Anthony Hopkins is a possible winner for Westworld, but Milo Ventimiglia seems to be the popular choice for his impressive performance in This Is Us. However, he has an opponent from his same team — Sterling K Brown — who cannot be overlooked.

Nevertheless, Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul) is our pick of for his incredible act, that has made even hardcore Breaking Bad buffs accept that this could be Vince Gilligan’s finest.

Outstanding lead actress:

Elisabeth Moss came close with Mad Men in 2015, but this time she is within touching distance of the Primetime Emmy, thanks to the The Handmaid’s Tale. Though Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder), and Robin Wright (House of Cards), are also in the running, it should be Clarie Foy (The Crown), giving Moss the biggest fight.