TV Talk Podcast: Final Emmy Predictions! Our Actor, Actress And Series Picks As ‘The Bear,’ ‘Hacks’ & ‘Shōgun’ Close In On Big Night

Deadline’s TV Talk podcast is almost over for another season, taking listeners all the way to the 76th Emmy Awards ceremony September 15. Today’s episode is the last one for this year, but, like we and Arnold say, we’ll be back.

For this extended edition of TV Talk, Deadline TV Critic Dominic Patten and Awards Columnist/Chief Film Critic Pete Hammond offer our predictions of what will win, as well as who they think should win as they assess the nominees in the major Emmy program and acting categories for Drama, Comedy, and Limited Series or Anthology.

If it seems like we just went through all this, in a way we did as this Emmy ceremony will be the second one this year (a first in history), coming just eight months after the 75th Primetime Emmys on January 15. Of course, that one was delayed by four months due to the WGA and SAG strikes, which not only affected those Emmy dates but also put fear in the industry that a slow ramp-up of production in some cases might diminish the quality of contenders.

That has not turned out the be the case as we discovered in talking about all these worthy nominees, including in races that are the most competitive ever. Just look at Limited Series and the shows that didn’t make the cut — they could have created a category just among themselves. The nominees that did make it are a treasure trove of riches, from widely praised new editions of the True Detective and Fargo franchises, as well as the likes of Baby Reindeer, Ripley and Lessons In Chemistry.

With breakouts like Shōgun among six other contenders not in the running for Drama Series last season (only The Crown is a returnee), that category presents all sorts of possibilities. And can a resurgent Hacks overtake frontrunner and reigning Comedy Series winner The Bear? Or might we see Curb Your Enthusiasm upset them all in its 12th and final year?

As we head towards the Emmys ceremony hosted by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy on September 15 on ABC, remember that you can hear all of our past TV Talk episodes by subscribing to Deadline’s TV Talk podcast at Apple Podcasts and Spotify.