The Nominees Ranked By Which Should Win:
- Billy Porter for FX's Pose - "Love Is the Message"
- Bob Odenkirk for AMC's Better Call Saul - "Winner"
- Sterling K. Brown for NBC's This Is Us - "R & B"
- Milo Ventimiglia for NBC's This Is Us - "Sometimes"
- Kit Harington for HBO's Game of Thrones - "The Iron Throne"
- Jason Bateman for Netflix's Ozark - "Reparations"
Billy Porter was one of the breakout stars from the first season of Pose. It's such a tremendous and confident performance too. He is atypical for a leading man. And yet, he commends so much attention because of the power in which he walks through the world. It was such a celebration when he got nominated - though many of his co-stars deserved the attention from Emmy voters too. Bob Odenkirk may be the only person who can rival what he did in the past year of television. The fourth season finale of Better Call Saul was an incredible episode. It was a standout moment for so many reasons. It cemented so much tragedy for the future. But it was so delicious and agonizing to watch because the audience could see those wheels start to move while also understanding just how pointed all of this is from a character perspective. It was all so magnificent. Those are the two most deserving winners of this category. Sterling K. Brown and Milo Ventimiglia have always done stellar work on This Is Us. And yet, this was the year I had to walk away from that show which absolutely hinders my ability to see them as the best performers in this category. They are probably still deserving of the nominations though unlike Kit Harington and Jason Bateman who are the real head scratchers in this race.
The Nominees Ranked by Which Will Win:
- Billy Porter for FX's Pose - "Love Is the Message"
- Kit Harington for HBO's Game of Thrones - "The Iron Throne"
- Sterling K. Brown for NBC's This Is Us - "R & B"
- Bob Odenkirk for AMC's Better Call Saul - "Winner"
- Milo Ventimiglia for NBC's This Is Us - "Sometimes"
- Jason Bateman for Netflix's Ozark - "Reparations"
The biggest hurdle for Billy Porter may have simply been getting the nomination in the first place. Once that was secure, he could easily follow through with a winning trajectory. Again, it's one of the most stellar performances from the past year. The voters would be insane not to recognize it as such. Sure, they have made many glaring mistakes in the past where they overlooked the performers playing the most iconic roles of a given era. Porter may enter their ranks. Or he may become the new dominant force in this particular category. Sterling K. Brown has certainly become an Emmy favorite in recent years. However, he hasn't actually won since 2017. That's not too long ago. So, he has to be seen as a major contender as well. It should be noted though that having two contenders from This Is Us in the race probably won't help one win as Brown is prominent in his episode and Milo Ventimiglia is the same in his but they don't actually appear in each other's hour. Of course, this could finally be the year that Bob Odenkirk wins the prize. Again, he is doing such stellar work on that show. It has escaped from the shadow of being a Breaking Bad prequel. But it also hasn't had the winning track record for its actors like the former AMC drama had. That's significant. And finally, Kit Harington may be the biggest potential spoiler simply because he is seen as so intrinsic to Game of Thrones and its popularity. He has never won before. But the voters could feel the obligation to award him for the work he did across the whole series. That is a strategy they have embraced before - just as recently as last year with Matthew Rhys for The Americans.
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my predictions? Let me know in the comments below!
