Emmy Predictions 2016: Who Will Likely Be Nominated for Lead Actress in a Drama Series?

From June 13 to June 27, voting is taking place for The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. To add to the excitement of the past year in television, I'm providing analysis on which shows and performers are likely to get nominated this year. Next up is Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

2015 Nominees:

        Claire Danes for Showtime's Homeland
        Viola Davis for ABC's How to Get Away With Murder (WINNER)
        Taraji P. Henson for FOX's Empire
        Tatiana Maslany for BBC America's Orphan Black
        Elisabeth Moss for AMC's Mad Men
        Robin Wright for Netflix's House of Cards

From last year's nominees, only Elisabeth Moss isn't eligible again. However, Maslany and Henson's positions in the field could be in jeopardy as well. Henson continues to do great work on Empire. But after a pretty disastrous season, she could be pushed aside for other contenders. Conversely, Orphan Black had a much better season this year than last year. Though Maslany's nomination largely came from the voters finally recognizing everything she has done on the show. It could just be a one and done deal so that we can always say she at least got an Emmy nomination for playing all of those clones. Plus, former nominees Michelle Dockery and Julianna Margulies (who won twice) could have strong cases to return to the field with both of their shows airing their final seasons during the eligibility window. And then, there are all of the great performances that happened this year. This category is going to have plenty of snubs. I'm already dreading that. But if just one of them was able to sneak into the race, it would make me (and likely many others) very happy.

So now, here's my thoughts on the actors must likely to be nominated for Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

1. Viola Davis for ABC's How to Get Away With Murder
2. Robin Wright for Netflix's House of Cards
3. Claire Danes for Showtime's Homeland
4. Julianna Margulies for CBS' The Good Wife
5. Taraji P. Henson for FOX's Empire
6. Michelle Dockery for PBS' Downton Abbey

And now, for some serious threats that could break into the list:

1. Tatiana Maslany for BBC America's Orphan Black
2. Michelle Monaghan for Hulu's The Path
3. Kerry Washington for ABC's Scandal
4. Taylor Schilling for Netflix's Orange Is the New Black
5. Keri Russell for FX's The Americans
6. Eva Green for Showtime's Penny Dreadful
7. Shiri Appleby for Lifetime's UnREAL
8. Caitriona Balfe for Starz's Outlander
9. Vera Farmiga for A&E's Bates Motel
10. Gillian Anderson for FOX's The X-Files
11. Carrie Coon for HBO's The Leftovers
12. Jurnee Smollett-Bell for WGN America's Underground
13. Krysten Ritter for Netflix's Jessica Jones

Some considerable long-shots:

1. Ruth Wilson for Showtime's The Affair
2. Jennifer Lopez for NBC's Shades of Blue
3. Mariska Hargitay for NBC's Law & Order: SVU
4. Joan Allen for ABC's The Family
5. Lizzy Caplan for Showtime's Masters of Sex
6. Kerry Bishé and Mackenzie Davis for AMC's Halt and Catch Fire
7. Sarah Lancashire for Netflix's Happy Valley
8. Marcia Gay Harden for CBS' Code Black
9. Alexa Davalos for Amazon's The Man in the High Castle

And now, just some colorful oddities who still have an outside chance:

1. Mireille Enos for ABC's The Catch
2. Hayley Atwell for ABC's Agent Carter
3. Melissa Benoist for CBS' Supergirl
4. Jaime Alexander for NBC's Blindspot
5. Priyanka Chopra for ABC's Quantico

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Let me know in the comments below!