This 18th Emmy podcast I am joined by former and current Emmy Experts Peter Cioth and Chris Pepper to break down the newly revealed nomination ballots to discuss the writing, directing and guest acting categories. 

This podcast runs 1h 45m.

Opening music: the theme from 'The Crown'

Closing music: "Alla luce del giorno" by Ennio Morricone used in the opening sequence of 'Master of None' season two, episode one

In our first Emmy podcast of the 2016-2017 Emmy season, Chris Pepper and I focus on the Limited Series and TV Movie categories.

Starting with Supporting Actress and Actor, we debate if American Horror Story can still muster nominations for Emmy winners Kathy Bates and Sarah Paulson or will Ryan Murphy's new venture, Feud: Bette and Joan, gobble up those spots for Judy Davis and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Category placement is still up in the air for many performances right now so we could see a different lineup in the coming months. 

Lead Actor is next with debate about Ewan McGregor in a double role for Fargo making it in or possibly getting the Patrick Wilson treatment. And, are both Riz Ahmed and John Turturro (The Night Of) getting in?

We hit the top categories, Limited Series and TV Movie, which feel much more locked than they should be at the moment. 

We end on the most competitive Emmy category in many years, Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie. Jam packed with Oscar winners and nominees, this category has 10 legitimate contenders vying for six spots. Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Jessica Lange, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer, Carrie Coon, Felicity Huffman, Regina King, Oprah Winfrey, and Viola Davis will battle it out here. There will be snubs. 

Intro music: Opening theme to Feud: Bette and Joan by Mac Quayle

Outro music: Opening theme to Big Little Lies: "Cold Little Heart," by Michael Kiwanuka

The 2016 Emmy Nominations were yesterday and on this 16th Emmy Podcast, Chris and I break down the good, the bad and the ugly in what was, overall, a pretty good set of nominees. We talk about the breakthrough for The Americans and Mr. Robot, why Horace and Pete failed and how the Television Academy treated the final seasons of The Good Wife and Downton Abbey. We also talk about the diversity of nominees in terms of people of color, a bit of trivia and what our favorite nominations of the day were.

Don't worry, this isn't a 2 hour listen, it's only about 45 minutes.

As promised, part two of our final Emmy predictions find their way into Emmy Podcast #15 (check out Emmy Podcast #14 here) where we talk exclusively about the incredibly competitive Limited Series acting categories, most especially just how many acting nominations can The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story get and will Fargo and/or American Crime be left in its wake? Plus, will Hotel be the nail in American Horror Story's nomination coffin or will Lady Gaga nudge her way in? American Crime, which earned 10 nominations last year, could find itself on the outside of the behemoth of The People v. O.J. Simpson this year, or we could see it reap nominations in multiple acting categories. Same with Fargo; a strong second season could see a good fight and it appears Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie is going to be ground zero for that battle.

Next we tackle the Guest categories in Drama and Comedy and wonder if The Good Wife's final salvo will see a boatload of nominations here. It seems like these categories could see a lot of previous winner name-checking (Allison Janney, Margo Martindale) but there's also a lot of room for some surprises (like Octavia Spencer or Vanessa Williams).

Finally, Chris, Jonathan and myself all give up our Emmy wishes for nomination morning that include BoJack Horseman, Rectify, You're the Worst, Allison Wright (The Americans), Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby (UnREAL), T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley), Connor Jessup and Joey Pollari (American Crime) and more.

In part one of two final Emmy prediction podcasts before the nominations are announced on July 14th, I am joined by AwardsWatch Emmy Experts Chris and Jonathan to go over Drama and Comedy Series and their respective Lead and Supporting categories as well as Limited Series, TV Movie, Variety Talk, Variety Sketch, Variety Special and Special Class Program. With so many categories and Limited Series alone being one of the best and most competitive in decades, we're going to save that (and the Writing, Directing and Guest predictions) for the next one. 

We delve deep into why I think The Americans will break big this year with multiple acting nominations as well as the big one, Drama Series. Also, is Homeland still back on track and can anything upset Game of Thrones from repeating?

In Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Jonathan offers his reasons for predicting Rachel Bloom from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to score the CW's first major nomination, while I think Ilana Glazer has a good shot for Broad City and Chris makes the case for the return of Lena Dunham (Girls).

We discuss the 3rd season of Orange is the New Black being lighter in tone and can it still make it into Drama Series or will it just be Uzo Aduba repeating? Horace and Pete, Billions, Better Call Saul and Mr. Robot all find their way into the discussion and Jonathan and I defend dropping Modern Family in Comedy Series in favor of Mom. We wonder if black-ish will be the breakout we think it's going to be (hint, it totally is) hope that Samantha Bee can break the boys club of Variety Talk Series with Full Frontal. 

This podcast runs 2h 15m (without intro/outro music) so get a snack. Or maybe a drink. 

The submission ballots for the 2016 Emmys are in and voting has begun. This podcast I have brought back Vox.com culture editor Todd VanDerWerff and AwardsWatch Emmy Experts Jonathan Boehle to break down some of the submission list, concentrating on the Guest, Writing and Directing categories since those give us actual episodes before the nominations are announced.

We also talk a bit about how/if the new rules enacted this (and last) year will affect the upcoming batch of nominees and dig a bit deeper into categories like Lead Actor in a Drama Series as well as venture into the issue of race and awards. After two years of #OscarsSoWhite, are the Emmys much farther ahead on this? Will the Emmy success of black-ish, Roots and The People vs O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story be the story of the day come nominations next month?

All this and much more on this issue of the AwardsWatch Emmy Podcast.

In our last Emmy Podcast, Vox.com's Todd VanDerWerff and I broke down the TV Movie and Limited Series predictions and got a little bit into the Drama and Comedy but here, on this 12th Emmy Podcast I am joined by fellow Emmy Expert Federico Artico for a deeper dive.

We discuss how open the Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category is with three of last year's nominees out of the running, the rise of black-ish and possibly Mom in Comedy Series and if Silicon Valley can break through in the acting categories. Plus, can anyone possibly beat Veep's Julia Louis-Dreyfus?

In drama we talk about if Mr. Robot can really get nominated or if it will end up like Orphan Black and we discuss who we think is winning Drama Series this year. Will Game of Thrones continue to reign or will this election year see one (or possibly two) White House-based shows win the top prize. 

Plus, The Americans. Always, The Americans. 

In our first Emmy podcast for the 2015/2016 television season, I am joined by Vox.com's Culture Editor Todd VanDerWerff for a deep dive into this year's Emmy predictions. 

With TV Movies, Miniseries and Limited Series dominating the attention and airwaves for the last couple of years (this year in particular) the majority of our conversation circulates around these categories. American Crime, American Horror Story Hotel, The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, Fargo, Roots, Show Me a Hero...all worthy contenders vying for spots. 

We end with the state of Drama and Comedy Series and how streaming has become the norm for nominations and could it keep going? Will Hulu join Netflix and Amazon to continue pushing out network and cable? 

Will the Emmys FINALLY embrace The Americans outside of Margo Martindale? The Leftovers? What about Better Call Saul - was the first season nom haul just Breaking Bad runoff or will its second season earn them on its own?

Find out, on the AwardsWatch Emmy Podcast. 

In this final Emmy predictions podcast before the nominations are revealed on Thursday by So You Think You Can Dance's Cat Deeley and Orange is the New Black's Uzo Abuda (an Emmy winner in Guest last year), Awardswatch Emmy Experts Chris Pepper and Peter Cioth join me, Erik Anderson, to continue on from last week's podcast (with Vox.com's Todd VanDerWerff) to dig into the TV Movie/Limited Series, Variety and Reality categories.

Not satisfied there, we go back into the Drama and Comedy categories for some deeper analysis. 

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter at @awards_watch and head over to our Emmy Predictions pages for full predictions on all major categories in Drama, Comedy, TV Movie/Limited Series, Variety and Reality.

In the first Emmy prediction podcast of the 2014/2015 season (I know, I know...), Awardswatch Emmy Experts Chris Pepper and Jonathan Boehle and myself, Erik Anderson, are honored to have AW alum and Vox.com Culture Editor Todd VanDerWerff join us as we deconstruct the Emmy submission ballots released last week and figure out if Orange is the New Black will suffer or benefit from its category switch from Comedy to Drama. We also take a look at the Guest categories in both Drama and Comedy and see how the 50% rule will affect those categories.

Later on we talk about the rise and fall of Netflix from last year to this year and how its Emmy season could end up and discuss the campaign games of HBO, Showtime and FX as well as if Mad Men will go out with a bang or a whimper. Todd makes his case for FX's The Americans to have a breakthrough year and I commit that Amazon's Transparent will be an Emmy nomination juggernaut. 

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter at @awards_watch and head over to our Emmy Predictions pages for full predictions on everything from Variety Series, Reality Host and TV Movie/Limited Series acting categories.