Emmy Predictions 2016 - Which Shows Will Likely Get Nominated for Drama Series?

From June 13 to June 27, voting took 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 Drama Series.

2015 Nominees:
        AMC's Better Call Saul
        PBS' Downton Abbey
        HBO's Game of Thrones (WINNER)
        Showtime's Homeland
        Netflix's House of Cards
        AMC's Mad Men
        Netflix's Orange Is the New Black

Drama Series has been one of the more frustrating categories over the past few years. It has a tendency to nominate shows that don't really reflect just how strong this genre is right now. The voters have their favorites - House of Cards, Downton Abbey, Homeland - even though no one else would call those shows the best dramas currently on television. And yet, all three of those shows seem likely to get nominated again. Voters - especially the acting branch - love House of Cards. Downton Abbey will get a final season boost. And Homeland had a somewhat better season that people will take as it being back in the conversation. Six nominees from last year are eligible again this year. Only Mad Men isn't returning. This was a great year for drama. It would be great to see shows like The Americans, Horace and Pete, UnREAL, Underground and The Leftovers get nominated. They all have solid odds too. And yet, it's an uphill battle to get recognized. Even Orange Is the New Black isn't guaranteed a spot again. It's not the typical show Emmy voters love and was really hurt by the move to the drama category. Plus, the third season wasn't as good as the previous two (or the most recent one). But it still deserves to be nominated. It may not though which is so crazy. The voters will probably just latch onto Mr. Robot as the one new show to nominate and then just embrace all of the other shows that have been previously nominated. And that makes for a boring race.

So now, here's my thoughts on the shows most likely to be nominated for Drama Series:

1. HBO's Game of Thrones
2. Netflix's House of Cards
3. PBS' Downton Abbey
4. AMC's Better Call Saul
5. Showtime's Homeland
6. Netflix's Orange Is the New Black
7. USA's Mr. Robot

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

1. Louis C.K.'s Horace and Pete
2. CBS' The Good Wife
3. FX's The Americans
4. Showtime's Billions
5. Lifetime's UnREAL
6. WGN America's Underground
7. HBO's The Leftovers
8. Amazon's The Man in the High Castle
9. Netflix's Narcos
10. Showtime's The Affair
11. Netflix's Bloodline
12. FOX's Empire
13. Netflix's Jessica Jones
14. Hulu's The Path
15. Showtime's Penny Dreadful
16. SundanceTV's Rectify

Some considerable long-shots:

1. NBC's Shades of Blue
2. FOX's The X-Files
3. ABC's Scandal
4. Showtime's Ray Donovan
5. Starz's Outlander
6. Netflix's Daredevil
7. A&E's Bates Motel
8. AMC's Halt and Catch Fire
9. AMC's Humans
10. Amazon's Bosch
11. Cinemax's The Knick
12. BBC America's Orphan Black
13. Showtime's Masters of Sex
14. Crackle's The Art of More
15. Amazon's Hand of God
16. Audience's Kingdom
17. Syfy's The Magicians
18. AMC's The Walking Dead

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

1. Netflix's Sense8
2. PBS' Mercy Street
3. Netflix's Happy Valley
4. Netflix's Peaky Blinders
5. NBC's Hannibal
6. BBC America's The Last Kingdom
7. CBS' Limitless
8. Syfy's 12 Monkeys
9. History's Vikings
10. Cinemax's Banshee
11. The CW's The Flash
12. The CW's iZombie
13. Freeform's Switched at Birth
14. Freeform's The Fosters
15. CBS' Supergirl
16. AMC's Fear the Walking Dead

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