All but two of the Emmy categories that honor Limited Series and Made for Television movies make both formats compete against each other head-to-head — but make no mistake, this year is all about the limited series.
FX’s miniseries “Feud: Bette and Joan” and “Fargo” and HBO’s “Big Little Lies” and “The Night Of” should dominate these categories, though a handful of TV movies will make their presence felt to a lesser degree.
In fact, “Feud” and “Big Little Lies” should be among the most-nominated programs overall this year, and those multi-part sagas will stuff the acting categories full of formidable women.
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
It’s hard to imagine “Feud,” “Big Little Lies,” “The Night Of” and “Fargo” not being nominated in this category, which only leaves a single slot for the other contenders: “American Crime,” “Genius,” “The Young Pope,” “American Horror Story: Roanoke” and “Guerrilla” among them.
NatGeo waged a strong campaign for its Albert Einstein miniseries “Genius,” but Emmy voters appreciated the first two seasons of John Ridley’s “American Crime” and should do the same for its third and final season.
Predicted nominees (in order of likelihood):
“Feud: Bette and Joan”
“Big Little Lies”
“The Night Of”
“Fargo”
“American Crime”
Don’t rule out: “Genius,” “The Young Pope,” “American Horror Story: Roanoke,” “Guerrilla,” “Shots Fired”
Possible upset: “When We Rise”
OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE
HBO’s Bernie Madoff story, “The Wizard of Lies,” is the dominant film in this category, which has far fewer locks for nomination than does Outstanding Limited Series.
But Emmy voters always like Masterpiece’s “Sherlock” films, everybody loves Oprah Winfrey (who produced and stars in “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”), and there’s some heat behind the brain-twisting British anthology “Black Mirror,” which submitted its standout “San Junipero” episode as a standalone movie.
Predicted nominees:
“The Wizard of Lies”
“Sherlock: The Lying Detective”
“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
“Black Mirror: San Junipero”
“Churchill’s Secret”
Don’t rule out: “Custody,” “Killing Reagan,” “Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution,” “Dark Angel”
Possible upset: “David Brent: Life on the Road”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
The quality of the actors who will likely be nominated here is prelude to the ones who’ll vie in the lead-actress category. Robert De Niro, Ewan McGregor, John Turturro, Geoffrey Rush, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jude Law are all strong contenders, but one of them will surely be pushed aside for “The Night Of” star Riz Ahmed.
Predicted nominees:
Robert De Niro, “The Wizard of Lies”
Riz Ahmed, “The Night Of”
Ewan McGregor, “Fargo”
Geoffrey Rush, “Genius”
John Turturro, “The Night Of”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock: The Lying Detective”
Don’t rule out: Jude Law, “The Young Pope”; Toby Jones, “Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution”; Michael Gambon, “Churchill’s Secret”; Timothy Hutton, “American Crime”
Possible upset: Tim Matheson, “Killing Reagan”
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
This field starts with four Oscar winners: Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon from “Feud” and Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon from “Big Little Lies.” From there, you could go to another Oscar winner, Viola Davis (“Custody), to honorary Oscar winner Oprah Winfrey (“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”), to Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”), and to the estimable likes of Carrie Coon (“Fargo”), Bryce Dallas Howard (“Black Mirror: Nosedive”), Freida Pinto (“Guerrilla”) and Joanne Froggatt (“Dark Angel”).
Predicted nominees:
Jessica Lange, “Feud”
Nicole Kidman, “Big Little Lies”
Susan Sarandon, “Feud”
Reese Witherspoon, “Big Little Lies”
Carrie Coon, “Fargo”
Oprah Winfrey, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”
Don’t rule out: Bryce Dallas Howard, “Black Mirror: Nosedive;” Viola Davis, “Custody;” Felicity Huffman, “American Crime;” Joanne Froggatt, “Dark Angel”
Could pull off an upset: Freida Pinto, “Guerrilla”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
Half the nominees here will probably be the men who support the women who dominate their miniseries: Stanley Tucci and Alfred Molina from “Feud” and Alexander Skarsgard from “Big Little Lies.” The other half include “Sherlock” co-star Martin Freeman, a past winner who’s in the rare position of competing in the movies/minis field playing a role for which he’s been nominated in the past, Holmes’ sidekick and biographer Dr. Watson.
Predicted nominees:
Stanley Tucci, “Feud”
Alfred Molina, “Feud”
Martin Freeman, “Sherlock: The Lying Detective”
Alexander Skarsgard, “Big Little Lies”
Hank Azaria, “The Wizard of Lies”
David Thewlis, “Fargo”
Don’t rule out: Idris Elba, “Guerrilla;; Michael Stuhlbarg, “Fargo;” Benito Martinez, “American Crime;” Michael K. Williams, “The Night Of;” Richard Dreyfus, “Shots Fired”
Possible upset: Adam Scott, “Big Little Lies”
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
“Big Little Lies” and “Feud” have more actresses to give us here – but “American Horror Story” is typically strong in this category as well, and you’d be foolish to underestimate Robert De Niro’s co-star in “The Wizard of Lies,” Michelle Pfeiffer.
Predicted nominees:
Laura Dern, “Big Little Lies”
Judy Davis, “Feud”
Regina King, “American Crime”
Michelle Pfeiffer, “The Wizard of Lies”
Shailene Woodley, “Big Little Lies”
Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Roanoke”
Don’t rule out: Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Roanoke;” Mary Elizabeth Winstead, “Fargo;” Jackie Hoffman, “Feud;” Ellen Burstyn, “Custody;” Lili Taylor, “American Crime”
Possible upset: Diane Keaton, “The Young Pope”