The race for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards is on, as they say. (Do they say that? They should stop. It’s kind of…gross.) While the ceremony doesn’t go down until September, the nominations will be unveiled next week, on July 12. We’ll be sure to pick apart the snubs and surprises and WTF-inducing picks then. But in the meantime, here are the shows, performers, and artists most deserving of recognition, in our not-so-humble opinions.
It’s frankly criminal that Rhea Seehorn hasn’t already won an Emmy for Better Call Saul, let alone not even scored a nomination in all these years. AMC’s brilliant drama might’ve started out as the origin story for how Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) transformed into Saul Goodman. But the show simply wouldn’t work without Seehorn’s calculated, riveting performance as Kim Wexler. Her acting prowess further elevates BCS, especially as Kim begins (ahem) breaking bad too. In season six, Kim goes to the extreme in order to seek revenge on Howard (Patrick Fabian). With each cunning move, Seehorn adds more complexity to her character. And despite her shady plans, it’s easy to root for Kim’s success thanks to the actor’s inherent charisma. She may be up in the supporting category, but Seehorn’s a BCS lead in her own right. [Saloni Gajjar]
Adam Scott has been a small-screen workplace icon since sharpening his comedic chops on Party Down and Parks And Recreation. But Severance finally let the actor apply his more dramatic talents (think his performance on Big Little Lies) to the job. As the manager of Macrodata Refinement, Mark Scout becomes the reluctant leader of a rebellion against Lumon Industries. Scott’s nuanced approach to Severance’s conflicted protagonist, whose initial uncertainty grounds much of the first season, adds some essential complexity to the show’s more obvious symbolism. Plus, the actor’s natural relatability helps sell so much of the drama in one of the best new shows this year. [Alison Foreman]
HBO’s Succession hit the jackpot with its masterful ensemble, so it’s no wonder that a lot of the cast have been up for (and will certainly score more) Emmy nods. However, no one deserves acclaim for their work in season three more than Nicholas Braun, who skillfully morphs his Cousin Greg over nine episodes, striking the necessary comedic balance required to be a bumbling mess while adapting to the manipulators he calls family. As The A.V. Club notes in a recent interview with him, the actor’s potent performance fully sells a convincingly chilling line like, “Souls are boring,” a stark contrast to the demure Greg we’ve known and rooted for so far. Braun would be up against co-stars Matthew MacFayden and Kieran Culkin in this category, but what better ode to Succession than letting the cast compete with each other, right? [Saloni Gajjar]
Pamela Adlon carried FX’s comedy Better Things for its entire run, closing it out with a pitch-perfect fifth and final season. Loosely based on her own life, she plays Sam Fox, an actor and single mother to three daughters. As she has done expertly since season two, Adlon directed each of the 10 episodes this time around, using vivid imagery to tell a larger-than-life story. Yet even in simple moments—ones where Sam is cooking a scrumptious meal, or Max (Mikey Madison) is cleaning the house, or they’re all hosting a patio dinner—Adlon’s direction is pretty remarkable, honing in on the cast’s harmonious chemistry. It would be a shame if her work goes unrecognized yet again. [Saloni Gajjar]
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver has won this category six years in a row. Maybe it’s time for some new blood? And better yet, how about some new blood that has yet to even get a nomination? And even better yet, how about some new blood that’s very, very funny? Now in their fourth season as hosts on Showtime, Desus Nice and The Kid Mero have an uncanny comedic chemistry, an ability to riff on, say, dumb videos—and there are a lot of them—in incredibly quick and sharp ways, showing some real improv chops. (Mero losing it—and there is a lot of that, too—is incredibly infectious.) If bringing the funny is worth anything in this category (and it ought to be, right?), these guys should be shoo-ins. [Tim Lowery]