Variety Awards Circuit section is the home for all awards news and related content throughout the year, featuring the following: the official predictions for the upcoming Oscars, Emmys, Grammys and Tony Awards ceremonies, curated by Variety senior awards editor Clayton Davis. The prediction pages reflect the current standings in the race and do not reflect personal preferences for any individual contender. As other formal (and informal) polls suggest, competitions are fluid and subject to change based on buzz and events. Predictions are updated every Thursday.
Visit the prediction pages for the respective ceremonies via the links below:
OSCARS | EMMYS | GRAMMYS | TONYS
2023 Emmy Predictions:
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Weekly Commentary (Updated June 22, 2023): The opening of Emmy voting reveals 140 names on the list of candidates for the guest comedy actor category. Six will ultimately be nominated.
Eight hosts of “Saturday Night Live” were submitted including Oscar nominees Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Brendan Gleeson (“The Banshees of Inisherin”). However, the top contenders for recognition look like Pedro Pascal, who has multiple Emmy bids across many categories and the dynamic duo of Steve Martin and Martin Short for their co-hosting gig.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Primetime Emmy predictions in the major categories.
Funny enough, another Oscar winner, Guillermo del Toro (of the animated feature “Pinocchio”) is up for guest acting on his episode of HBO’s “Barry” along with Fred Armisen, Nate Corddry and Patrick Fischler.
Interestingly, some of “The Daily Show” submitted guest hosts that filled in after Trevor Noah’s departure. Under the title “The Daily Show” solely, John Leguizamo, Kal Penn and Marlon Wayans are on the ballot. Hasan Minhaj and Al Franken were submitted. However, three guest bids during Noah’s tenure are listed under “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” — Lewis Black, Michael Kosta and Roy Wood Jr.
Kat Cunning from HBO’s “Rap Shit” is a nonbinary and was submitted in this category alongside their co-star Jean Elie.
Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Creative Arts predictions in all categories.
Nomination voting is now open to the 20,000+ members of the Television Academy. The first round of voting ends on June 26 at 10 p.m. PT. The official nominees will be announced on Tuesday, July 12. The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment, are (tentatively scheduled pending the outcome of the WGA strike) on Monday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Fox. The two-night Creative Arts Emmys are scheduled for Sept. 9 and Sept. 10.
And the Predicted Nominees Are:
- Pedro Pascal — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Nathan Lane — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Dave Chappelle — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Brad Pitt — “Dave” (FX)
- Leslie Odom Jr. — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- John Leguizamo — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
Next in Line
- Adrien Brody — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Luke Kirby — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
- Steve Martin & Martin Short — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Michael B. Jordan — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Other Top-Tier Possibilities
- Austin Butler — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- James Caverly — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Oliver Platt — “The Bear” (FX)
- Sam Richardson — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Martin Short — “Schmigadoon!” (Apple TV+)
- Jon Bernthal — “The Bear” (FX)
- Kal Penn — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
- Marlon Wayans — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
- Nick Kroll — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Guillermo del Toro — “Barry” (HBO)
All Eligible Titles (Alphabetized by Network)**
- Zack Fox — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Leslie Odom Jr. — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Larry Owens — “Abbott Elementary” (ABC)
- Nelson Franklin — “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
- Kyle MacLachlan — “Lucky Hank” (AMC)
- Adam Scott — “Loot” (Apple TV+)
- Joe Manganiello — “Mythic Quest” (Apple TV+)
- Martin Short — “Schmigadoon!” (Apple TV+)
- Neil Flynn — “Shrinking” (Apple TV+)
- Nonso Anozie — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Maximilian Osinski — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Sam Richardson — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Matteo Van Der Grijn — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Maximillian Osinski — “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
- Merrick McCartha — “House of Payne” (BET)
- Cedric the Entertainer — “Johnson” (Bounce TV)
- Phil Morris — “Act Your Age” (Bounce TV)
- Mathew Baynton — “Ghosts” (CBS)
- Matt Walsh — “Ghosts” (CBS)
- Craig T. Nelson — “Young Sheldon” (CBS)
- John Leguizamo — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
- Kal Penn — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
- Marlon Wayans — “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
- Lewis Black — “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
- Michael Kosta — “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
- Roy Wood Jr. — “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
- Charlie Cox — “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (Disney+)
- Mark Ruffalo — “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (Disney+)
- Benedict Wong — “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” (Disney+)
- Jason MacDonald — “Welcome to Flatch” (Fox)
- Chris Bauer — “Sprung” (Freevee)
- Camden Garcia — “Sprung” (Freevee)
- Brandon Loeser — “Jury Duty” (Freevee)
- Eric Berryman — “Atlanta” (FX)
- Katt Williams — “Atlanta” (FX)
- Jon Bernthal — “The Bear” (FX)
- Joel McHale — “The Bear” (FX)
- Oliver Platt — “The Bear” (FX)
- Van Epperson – “Dave” (FX)
- Brad Pitt — “Dave” (FX)
- Marc Maron — “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
- Zahn McClarnon — “Reservation Dogs” (FX)
- Anthony Atamanuik — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Nick Kroll — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Randy Sklar — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
- Fred Armisen — “Barry” (HBO)
- Nate Corddry — “Barry” (HBO)
- Guillermo del Toro — “Barry” (HBO)
- Patrick Fischler — “Barry” (HBO)
- Colman Domingo — “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- Kel Mitchell — “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- Omarion — “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- Sam Richardson — “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- Leonard Robinson — “A Black Lady Sketch Show” (HBO)
- Brian Cox — “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
- Kumail Nanjiani — “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)
- Jimmy Fowlie — “The Other Two” (HBO)
- Luke Gage — “The Other Two” (HBO)
- Saul Williams — “Random Acts of Flyness” (HBO)
- Kat Cunning — “Rap Shit” (HBO)
- Jean Elie — “Rap Shit” (HBO)
- Joshua James Benard — “The Rehearsal” (HBO)
- K. Todd Freeman — “The Rehearsal” (HBO)
- Rob Huebel — “The Sex Lives of College Girls” (HBO)
- John Reynolds — “The Sex Lives of College Girls” (HBO)
- Jack Black — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Ronny Chieng — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Josh Gad — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Richard Kind — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Johnny Knoxville — “History of the World Part II” (Hulu)
- Neil Patrick Harris — “How I Met Your Father” (Hulu)
- James Caverly — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Nathan Lane — “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
- Colton Dunn — “Grand Crew” (NBC)
- Charles Parnell — “Grand Crew” (NBC)
- Austin Butler — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Dave Chappelle — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Brendan Gleeson — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Michael B. Jordan — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Steve Martin & Martin Short — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Pedro Pascal — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
- Paul Walter Hauser — “Cobra Kai” (Netflix)
- Garret Dillahunt — “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
- Jean-Christophe Bouvet — “Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
- Jeremy O. Harris — “Emily in Paris” (Netflix)
- Tom Arnold — “FUBAR” (Netflix)
- Adam Pally — “FUBAR” (Netflix)
- Bernard “Bun B” Freeman — “Mo” (Netflix)
- Tobe Nwigwe — “Mo” (Netflix)
- Sendhil Ramamurthy — “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix)
- Tommy Chong — “That ’90s Show” (Netflix)
- Topher Grace — “That ’90s Show” (Netflix)
- Don Stark — “That ’90s Show” (Netflix)
- Wilmer Valderrama — “That ’90s Show” (Netflix)
- Dewayne Perkins — “The Upshaws” (Netflix)
- Fred Armisen — “Wednesday” (Netflix)
- Luis Guzmán — “Wednesday” (Netflix)
- Will Blagrove — “Inside Amy Schumer” (Paramount+)
- Jesse Williams — “Inside Amy Schumer” (Paramount+)
- Justin Tranter — “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” (Paramount+)
- Kadeem Hardison — “The Amber Ruffin Show” (Peacock)
- Christopher Chen — “American Auto” (Peacock)
- Ben Feldman — “American Auto” (Peacock)
- Joshua Malina — “American Auto” (Peacock)
- Andy Richter — “American Auto” (Peacock)
- Eric Stonestreet — “American Auto” (Peacock)
- Bobby Cannavale — “Bupkis” (Peacock)
- Brad Garrett — “Bupkis” (Peacock)
- Ray Romano — “Bupkis” (Peacock)
- Pete Holmes — “Night Court” (Peacock)
- Tim Blake Nelson — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Adrien Brody — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- David Castaneda — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Brandon Michael Hall — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Simon Helberg — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Lil Rel Howery — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Nick Nolte — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Ron Perlman — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Colton Ryan — “Poker Face” (Peacock)
- Parvesh Cheena — “The Resort” (Peacock)
- Luis Guzmán — “The Resort” (Peacock)
- Michael Hitchcock — “The Resort” (Peacock)
- Ben Sinclair — “The Resort” (Peacock)
- Lil Rel Howery — “Harlem” (Prime Video)
- Juan Carlos Cantu — “The Consultant” (Prime Video)
- Nick Offerman — “A League of Their Own” (Prime Video)
- Hank Azaria — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
- Luke Kirby — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
- Milo Ventimiglia — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
- Roy Wood Jr. — “Flatbush Misdemeanors” (Showtime)
- Joe Taslim — “Blindspotting” (Starz)
- James Marsden — “Party Down” (Starz)
- Terry O’Quinn — “Resident Alien” (Syfy)
** This official list and/or category submission is not yet complete or confirmed and is subject to change.
2022 category winner: Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas in “Only Murders in the Building” (Hulu)
Emmy Awards Predictions Categories
DRAMA SERIES | COMEDY SERIES | LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES | TV MOVIE | LEAD ACTOR (DRAMA) | LEAD ACTOR (COMEDY) | LEAD ACTOR (LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | LEAD ACTRESS (DRAMA) | LEAD ACTRESS (COMEDY) | LEAD ACTRESS (LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | SUPPORTING ACTOR (DRAMA) | SUPPORTING ACTOR (COMEDY) | SUPPORTING ACTOR (LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | SUPPORTING ACTRESS (DRAMA) | SUPPORTING ACTRESS (COMEDY) | SUPPORTING ACTRESS (LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | TALK SERIES | SCRIPTED VARIETY | GAME SHOW | DIRECTING (DRAMA, COMEDY, LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | WRITING (DRAMA, COMEDY, LIMITED/TV MOVIE) | REALITY (COMPETITION, STRUCTURED, UNSTRUCTURED, HOST)
Creative Arts and Other Emmy Categories
GUEST ACTOR (DRAMA) | GUEST ACTRESS (DRAMA) | GUEST ACTOR (COMEDY) | GUEST ACTRESS (COMEDY) | VOICE-OVER | SHORT FORM | DOCUMENTARY | MUSIC | ANIMATED | OTHER CATEGORIES
About the Primetime Emmy Awards
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, artisans, and executives.