Emmy Awards Predictions Part Deux: Drama

Let's get dramatic, folks.

Yesterday I laid out my predictions for potential winners (and those who should win) in the comedy category. Today, it's a whole different animal: the drama. I will admit that my knowledge in this category is slightly less comprehensive because I only watch three out of the seven shows listed for best drama series. However, that makes me about as qualified as those in the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, so here goes...

BEST DRAMA SERIES: "Big Love," "Breaking Bad," "Damages," "Dexter," "House," "Lost," "Mad Men"

Who Will Probably Win: The Academy's love for "Mad Men" only rivals its love for "30 Rock," but I'm not complaining. This AMC drama surprised a lot of folks in its first year, when it emerged as an awards dark horse, but the critically-loved show is a shoo-in for another win.

Who Should Win: Having just rewatched some of Season 2 of "Mad Men," I continue to be blown away by the show. It deserves all the accolades it gets.

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Simon Baker, "The Mentalist," Gabriel Byrne, "In Treatment," Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad," Michael C. Hall, "Dexter," Jon Hamm, "Mad Men," Hugh Laurie, "House"

Who Will Probably Win: This is a hard category to call because all the nominees are well-deserving in some aspect, but this might be Hugh Laurie's year to finally get his hands on an Emmy. Unless Bryan Cranston does a repeat win for "Breaking Bad."

Who Should Win: Any of them, really.

BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Glenn Close, "Damages," Sally Field, "Brothers & Sisters," Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU," Holly Hunter, "Saving Grace," Elisabeth Moss, "Mad Men," Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"

Who Will Probably Win: With plenty of ex-movie stars to choose from on the list (TV awards often skew towards former movie stars... don't ask why, it's scientific), Glenn Close is probably the odds-on favorite to win for "Damages."

Who Should Win: The youngest of the nominees, Elisabeth Moss deserves a win for "Mad Men." The 27-year-old actress dazzled as Peggy Olson, climbing the corporate ladder one step at a time even as she's dealing with the aftermath of her unexpected pregnancy.

Most egregious oversight: Connie Britton as Principal Tami Taylor from "Friday Night Lights."

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES: Christian Clemenson, "Boston Legal," Michael Emerson, "Lost," William Hurt, "Damages," Aaron Paul, "Breaking Bad," William Shatner, "Boston Legal," John Slattery, "Mad Men"

Who Will Probably Win: I'm still confused why "Boston Legal" got so many nominations this year. Wasn't that show cancelled? In keeping with my ex-movie star theory, this year's Emmy will probably go to one of the Williams -- Shatner or Hurt.

Who Should Win: John Slattery is the consummate supporting actor and will get his due eventually, but it's almost shocking that Michael Emerson has never won an award for his creepy and complicated Benjamin Linus on "Lost."

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES: Rose Byrne, "Damages," Hope Davis, "In Treatment," Cherry Jones, "24," Sandra Oh, "Grey’s Anatomy," Dianne Wiest, "In Treatment," Chandra Wilson, "Grey’s Anatomy"

Who Will Probably Win: Chandra Wilson for "Grey's Anatomy," but who knows -- maybe Dianne West will repeat for her somewhat surprise win last year for "In Treatment."

Who Should Win: January Jones for "Mad Men," but, wait, she wasn't nominated. Yet another egregious oversight from our friends in the Academy.

Come back tomorrow for the final installment of this short series of predictions and rantings -- the variety/reality categories! And, don't forget, we will be hosting a post-Emmy Awards live chat on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Green Bay Press-Gazette site. We'll make sure to link it here, too.

Feel free to add your predictions in the comments, by the way.

-- Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com