Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official awards predictions for the upcoming Oscars and Emmys ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis; Awards Circuit Column, a weekly analysis dissecting the trends and contenders by television editor Michael Schneider (for Emmys) and Davis (for Oscars); Awards Circuit Podcast, a weekly interview series with talent and an expert roundtable discussion; and Awards Circuit Video analyzes various categories and contenders by Variety's leading awards pundits. Variety's unmatched coverage gives its readership unbeatable exposure in print and online, as well as provide inside reports on all the contenders in this year's awards season races.
To see all the latest predictions, of all the categories, in one place, visit THE EMMYS COLLECTIVEVisit each category, per the individual awards show from THE EMMYS HUBTo see old predictions and commentary, click the EMMY PREDICTIONS ARCHIVESFor film awards predictions go toTHE OSCARS HUB
UPDATED: June 22, 2022
2022 EMMYS PREDICTIONS:
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE
AWARDS PREDICTION COMMENTARY:
Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” submitted four episodes, which isn’t ideal. Still, the talking penis episode by Craig Gillespie (voiced by Jason Mantzoukas, who is submitted for outstanding character voice-over performance) could be enough to get him over the hump (no pun intended). Despite fantastic work on television series such as “United States of Tara,” Gillespie has never been nominated for an Emmy. So this could be his window to his first nom.
Assessing the rest of the field of contenders, two sure-fire bets for the directing race from a limited series or tv movie side of the Emmys during the final days of nomination voting – Mike White’s helming of the entirety of HBO’s “The White Lotus” and Danny Strong’s pivotal work on the last episode of Hulu’s “Dopesick.”
With 131 submissions, there will be six nominees (strange given there will only be five named for outstanding limited or anthology series and outstanding tv movie). Of course, that doesn’t mean we’ll get at least one from each side, but the field is stacked with talented names and filmmakers.
Taylor Sheridan’s one-two punch with Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone,” which he’ll be contending for a nom on the drama side, along with his work on Paramount+’s “1883,” could help him land at least one (or two) mentions on the morning.
HBO’s “Station Eleven” momentum has been picking up in the last few weeks, and I suspect there might be a surprise nom or two in the offing for the adaptation.
One of the lesser items to note is the likelihood that not many women nor directors of color are hotly in the mix. Brazilian Antonio Campos could squeak in for an episode of HBO’s “The Staircase” while his network counterpart Reinaldo Marcus Green could be in the discussion if enough voters gave time to “We Own the City.” For women, it looks as though Liz Hannah (“The Dropout”) and Courtney Hunt (“Under the Banner of Heaven”) are the best bets for representation in the lineup, with big names like Ava DuVernay (“Colin in Black and White”) also angling for a spot.
The past few years have given the likes of Michaela Coel (“I May Destroy You”), Barry Jenkins (“The Underground Railroad”) and Jessica Yu (“Fosse/Verdon”), with a multitude of others. So hopefully, we don’t see a shutout.
More names in the mix, and more voting days ahead.
Read more: Variety’s Awards Circuit Emmys Predictions Hub.
The nomination round of voting runs from June 16 to June 27. The official nominations for the 74th Emmy Awards will be announced Tuesday, July 12.
The list of programs and potential nominees listed below is incomplete and is subject to change. The complete television awards season calendar is linked here.
2021 category winner: Scott Frank for “The Queen’s Gambit” (Netflix)
ALL AWARDS CONTENDERS AND RANKINGS:
Dopesick — “The People vs. Purdue Pharma” – Episode 108 — Rick and Randy’s criminal investigation now threatens Richard Sackler’s empire, activists take action against Purdue, and Finnix tries to heal his beloved community that’s been ravaged by addiction. Writer Director Danny Strong, shown. (Photo by: Gene Page/Hulu)
Courtesy of Hulu
| AND THE PREDICTED NOMINEES ARE: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RANK | SERIES | DIRECTOR(S) | EPISODE | NETWORK |
| 1 | “The White Lotus” | Mike White | Entire Series | HBO |
| 2 | “Dopesick” | Danny Strong | “The People vs. Purdue Pharma” | Hulu |
| 3 | “1883” | Taylor Sheridan | “1883” | Paramount+ |
| 4 | “Station Eleven” | Jeremy Podeswa | “Unbroken Circle” | HBO |
| 5 | “The Staircase” | Antonio Campos | “911” | HBO |
| 6 | “Pam and Tommy” | Craig Gillespie | “I Love You, Tommy” | Hulu |
| NEXT IN LINE | ||||
| 7 | “MAID” | John Wells | “Sky Blue” | Netflix |
| 8 | “The Dropout” | Michael Showalter | “Green Juice” | Hulu |
| 9 | “Under the Banner of Heaven” | Dustin Lance Black | “One Mighty and Strong” | FX |
| 10 | “The Girl from Plainville” | Liz Hannah | “Talking is Healing” | Hulu |
| OTHER TOP-TIER CONTENDERS | ||||
| 11 | “Pistol” | Danny Boyle | Entire series | FX |
| 12 | “1883” | Ben Richardson | “This is Not Your Heaven” | Paramount+ |
| 13 | “Under the Banner of Heaven” | Courtney Hunt | “Church and State” | FX |
| 14 | “Inventing Anna” | Tom Verica | “The Devil Wore Anna” | Netflix |
| 15 | “The Survivor” | Barry Levinson | Film | HBO |
| 16 | “We Own This City” | Reinaldo Marcus Green | Entire series | HBO |
| 17 | “Colin in Black and White” | Ava DuVernay | “Cornrows” | Netflix |
| 18 | “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” | Ramin Bahrani | “Reggie” | Apple TV+ |
| 19 | “Lisey’s Story” | Pablo Larraín | Entire series | Apple TV+ |
| 20 | “Station Eleven” | Hiro Murai | “Wheel of Fire” | HBO |
| ALSO IN CONTENTION | ||||
| 21 | “WeCrashed” | John Requa, Glenn Ficarra | “This is Where It Begins” | Apple TV+ |
| 22 | “The Fallout” | Megan Park | Film | HBO |
| 23 | “Women of the Movement” | Kasi Lemmons | “The Last Word” | ABC |
| 24 | “The Sky is Everywhere” | Josephine Decker | Film | Apple TV+ |
| 25 | “Impeachment: American Crime Story” | Ryan Murphy | “Man Handled” | FX |
| 26 | “Gaslit” | Matt Ross | Entire series | Starz |
| 27 | “Midnight Mass” | Mike Flanagan | Entire series | Netflix |
| 28 | “Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers” | Akiva Schaffer | Film | Disney+ |
| 29 | “Scenes from a Marriage” | Hagai Levi | “The Illiterates” | HBO |
| 30 | “Roar” | Quyen Tran | “The Woman Who Returned Her Husband” | Apple TV+ |
| UNRANKED CONTENDERS | ||||
| — | “1883” | Christina Alexandra Voros | “The Fangs of Freedom” | Paramount+ |
| — | “A Holiday in Harlem” | Keith Powell | Film | Hallmark Channel |
| — | “A Very British Scandal” | Anne Sewitsky | Entire series | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Adventures in Christmasing” | Troy Scott | Film | VH1 |
| — | “American Horror Stories: Double Feature” | Laura Belsey, John J. Gray | “Blue Moon” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories: Double Feature” | John Gray | “Gaslight” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories: Double Feature” | Tessa Blake | “Inside” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories: Double Feature” | Max Winkler | “Take Me to Your Leader” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories” | Sanaa Hamri | “Ba’al” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories” | Eduardo Sanchez | “Drive In” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories” | Manny Coto | “Feral” | FX |
| — | “American Horror Stories” | Liz Friedlander | “Game Over” | FX |
| — | “Anatomy of a Scandal” | SJ Clarkson | Entire series | Netflix |
| — | “Angela Black” | Craig Viveiros | Film | |
| — | “Angelyne” | Lucky Tcherniak | “Gods and Fairies” | Peacock |
| — | “Annie Live!” | Lear deBessonet | Entire special | NBC |
| — | “Bingo Hell” | Gigi Saul Guerro | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Birds of Paradise” | Sarah Adina Smith | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Black as Night” | Maritte Lee Go | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Book of Love” | Analeine Cal Y Mayor | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Bottle Monster” | Marjorie DeHey | “Movie” | |
| — | “Brand New Cherry Flavor” | Matt Sobel | “Tadpole Smoothie” | |
| — | “Candy” | Michael Uppendahl | “Friday the 13th” | Hulu |
| — | “Candy” | Ben Semanoff | “Overkill” | Hulu |
| — | “Clickbait” | Ben Young | “The Sister” | |
| — | “Come From Away” | Christopher Ashley | Film | Apple TV+ |
| — | “Conversations with Friends” | Lenny Abrahamson | “Episode 5” | Hulu |
| — | “Crush” | Sammi Cohen | Film | Hulu |
| — | “DMZ” | Ernest Dickerson | “Home” | HBO |
| — | “Dr. Death” | Maggie Kiley | “Diplos” | Peacock |
| — | “Dr. Death” | So Yong Kim | “Occam’s Razor” | Peacock |
| — | “Dr. Death” | Jennifer Morrison | “An Occurrence at Randall Kirby’s Sink” | Peacock |
| — | “Fallen Angels Murder Club: Friends to Die For” | Rhonda Baraka | Film | Lifetime |
| — | “Fistful of Vengeance” | Roel Reiné | Film | Netflix |
| — | “For You, Paige” | Emily Maltby, Maria Goulamhoussen | Film | TikTok |
| — | “Fresh” | Mimi Cave | Film | Hulu |
| — | “Gone Mom: The Disappearance of Jennifer Dulos” | Gail Harvey | Film | |
| — | “Impeachment: American Crime Story” | Rachel Morrison | “Stand By Your Man” | FX |
| — | “Joe vs. Carole” | Justin Tipping | “Survival of the Fittest” | Peacock |
| — | “Jolt” | Tanya Wexler | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Landscapers” | Will Sharpe | Entire series | HBO |
| — | “Love Life” | Sam Boyd | “Mia Hines” | HBO |
| — | “Madres” | Ryan Zaragoza | “Madres” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail” | Steve Buscemi | “Over the Mountain” | |
| — | “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail” | David Blake McClure | “White Savior” | |
| — | “Modern Love” | Andrew Rannells | “How Do You Remember Me?” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Modern Love” | John Carney | “On a Serpentine Road, With the Top Down” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Modern Love” | Celine Held, Logan George | “Am I …? Maybe This Quiz Will Tell Me” | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “Moon Knight” | Mohamed Diab | “Asylum” | Disney+ |
| — | “Moon Knight” | Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead | “The Tomb” | Disney+ |
| — | “Pam and Tommy” | Lake Bell | “The Master Beta” | Hulu |
| — | “Pam and Tommy” | Hannah Fidell | “Pamela in Wonderland” | Hulu |
| — | “Pam and Tommy” | Gwyneth Horder-Payton | “Seattle” | Hulu |
| — | “Psych 3: This Is Gus” | Steve Franks | Film | Peacock |
| — | “Ray Donovan: The Movie” | David Hollander | Film | Showtime |
| — | “Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune” | Emily Moss Wilson | Film | |
| — | “Reno 911!: The Hunt for QAnon” | Robert Ben Garant | Film | |
| — | “Roar” | Liz Flahive | “The Woman Who Was Fed By a Duck” | Apple TV+ |
| — | “Safe Room” | Boris Kodjoe | Film | |
| — | “Station Eleven” | Helen Shaver | “Who’s There?” | HBO |
| — | “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber” | Zetna Fuentes | “Same Last Name” | Showtime |
| — | “Swimming With Sharks” | Tucker Gates | “Chapter 4” | |
| — | “Switched Before Birth” | Elisabeth Rohm | Film | |
| — | “The Dropout” | Francesca Gregorini | “Iron Sisters” | Hulu |
| — | “The Essex Serpent” | Clio Barnard | Entire series | Apple TV+ |
| — | “The First Lady” | Susanne Bier | Entire series | Showtime |
| — | “The Girl Before” | Lisa Brühlmann | Entire series | HBO |
| — | “The Girl from Plainville” | Daniel Minahan | “Blank Spaces” | Hulu |
| — | “The Hot Zone: Anthrax” | Daniel Percival | “RMR-1029” | National Geographic |
| — | “The Housewives of the North Pole” | Ron Oliver | Film | |
| — | “The Kings of Napa” | Matthew A. Cherry | “Pilot” | |
| — | “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” | Debbie Allen | “Robyn” | Apple TV+ |
| — | “The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” | Guillermo Navarro | “Nina” | Apple TV+ |
| — | “The Manor” | Axelle Carolyn | Entire series | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “The Nine Kittens of Christmas” | David Winning | Film | |
| — | “The Offer” | Adam Arkin | “It’s Who We Are” | Paramount+ |
| — | “The Offer” | Dexter Fletcher | “A Seat at the Table” | Paramount+ |
| — | “The Premise” | Jake Schreier | “Butt Plug” | FX |
| — | “The Premise” | Darya Zhuk | “The Commenter” | FX |
| — | “The Premise” | B.J. Novak | “Moment of Silence” | FX |
| — | “The Pursuit of Love” | Emily Mortimer | Film | Amazon Prime Video |
| — | “The Shrink Next Door” | Jesse Peretz | “The Verdict” | Apple TV+ |
| — | “The Thing About Pam” | Scott Winant | “She’s a Good Friend” | NBC |
| — | “The Thing About Pam” | Adam Kane | “She’s a Killer” | NBC |
| — | “The Valet” | Richard Wong | Film | |
| — | “The Voyeurs” | Michael Mohan | Film | |
| — | “The Waltons: Homecoming” | Lev L. Spiro | Film | The CW |
| — | “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window” | Michael Mohan | Film | Netflix |
| — | “Time” | Lewis Arnold | Film | |
| — | “True Story” | Stephen Williams | “Chapter 1: The King of Comedy” | Netflix |
| — | “Two Sentence Horror Stories” | Kailey Spear, Sam Spear | “Crush” | |
| — | “Two Sentence Horror Stories” | Vera Miao | “Plant Life” | |
| — | “Two Sentence Horror Stories” | Chase Joynt | “Toxic” | |
| — | “Under the Banner of Heaven” | Thomas Schlamme | “Blood Atonement” | FX |
| — | “Under the Banner of Heaven” | Isabel Sandoval | “Revelation” | FX |
| — | “WeCrashed” | Tinge Krishnan | “Fortitude” | Apple TV+ |
| — | “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?” | Hugh Laurie | Film | |
| — | “Women of the Movement” | Julie Dash | “Manhunt” | ABC |
| — | “Women of the Movement” | Gina Prince-Bythewood | “Mother and Son” | ABC |
| — | “Women of the Movement” | Tina Mabry | “Only Skin” | ABC |
| — | “Zoey’s Extraordinary Christmas” | Richard Shepard | Film | The Roku Channel |
2022 Primetime Emmy Awards Predictions
2022 Creative Arts Emmys Predictions
About the Primetime Emmy Awards (Emmys)
The Primetime Emmy Awards, better known as the Emmys, are given out by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Since 1949, the awards have recognized excellence in American primetime television programming. They are divided into three classes – Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (honors artisan achievements), and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards (recognizes significant engineering and technological contributions). The typical eligibility period is between June 1 and May 31 of any given year. The Television Academy comprises over 25,000 members, representing 30 professional peer groups, including performers, directors, producers, art directors and various artisans and executives.
- The 74th Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, Sept. 12, and air on NBC.