Emmy nominations: What to look for
Who will get to be known as a 2015 Emmy nominee?
Television fans find out Thursday.
Here are some of the burning questions:
Will popular Fox hip-hop music drama Empire make the cut?
At GoldDerby.com, which aggregates the predictions of critics and other experts, the top six shows likely to be nominated are Mad Men, Game of Thrones, House of Cards, Empire, Orange Is the New Black and Downton Abbey. Last month, Paste BN Television Critic Robert Bianco noted other shows that might get nods: Masters of Sex, The Americans, The Good Wife, Justified, Better Call Saul and How to Get Away With Murder.
Will ABC's Modern Family have a shot at its sixth straight Emmy for best comedy?
The leading contenders to be nominated here are Modern Family, Veep, Transparent, The Big Bang Theory, Louie and Silicon Valley, according to GoldDerby. Bianco said that Jane the Virgin could be a possible nominee while adding that others might favor Mozart in the Jungle, Black-ish, The Middle or Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
Will Jon Hamm get a chance to win for Mad Men's last season after losing out seven years in a row? GoldDerby puts Hamm in the lead for a nod, with Kevin Spacey (House of Cards), Terrence Howard (Empire), Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), Kyle Chandler (Bloodline) and Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom) rounding out the top six. Bianco also could envision Matthew Rhys (The Americans) and Timothy Olyphant (Justified) on this list.
Could Julia Louis-Dreyfus possibly take home four trophies in row as best comedy actress for HBO's Veep? She leads the list of likely nominees, according to GoldDerby. Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation), Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Gina Rodriguez (Jane the Virgin), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) and Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie) round out the top six. Bianco also could see Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer) and Lisa Kudrow (The Comeback) make the cut.
Uzo Aduba, an Emmy winner for guest actress in a comedy series in 2014 for her role on the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black, and Cat Deeley, a four-time Emmy nominee for host of a reality or reality competition series for Fox's So You Think You Can Dance, will be announcing the nominees at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday. The presentation will be streamed live at usatoday.com.
Deeley is subbing for actor John Stamos, who checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic after he was taken into police custody and charged with DUI in June.
The 67th annual Emmys with host And Samberg will air live from Los Angeles on Sept. 20 (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) on Fox.