Robert Bianco

USA TODAY

Nominees for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards are due Thursday (emmys.com, 11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 PT), and the winners will be named Sept. 18 on ABC, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting. USA TODAY's TV critic and awards prognosticator looks at key races to watch.

Best drama

What to expect: HBO's Game of Thrones should dominate. If it doesn’t, that’s a surprise.

If he picked the Emmys: Bianco's dream ballot

What to look for: Does FX's The Americans finally get recognized? Can the usually ignored USA Network get some Emmy attention for Mr. Robot? Will CBS'The Good Wife return to Emmy contention for its final season? And speaking of series finales, what did voters think of PBS'Downton Abbey? By now, people may be used to Americans snubs, but if Mr. Robot doesn’t get nominated in series or acting categories, it will be seen as a sign that voters are out of touch. If Lifetime's dating-series drama UnREAL gets in, it will be one of those pleasant 'Oh, they get it' surprises.

Best comedy

What to expect: A battle between HBO's Veep and Amazon's Transparent for most nominations.

What to look for: Is this the year ABC's Modern Family gets left out? How will broadcast shows do overall: Can ABC's Black-ish, CBS'Mom or CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend break through voters' current bias toward cable and streaming series? Crazy, in particular, is one of those hip bellwethers: If it’s nominated, some will take it as a good sign.

Best movies and miniseries

What to expect: A nomination battle between FX projects Fargo and The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

What to look for: Do voters, who may have helped save ABC's American Crime last season, still love it? Did the star power of The Night Manager help the AMC series?

Diversity

What to expect: Despite falling interest in their shows, Viola Davis (ABC's How to Get Away with Murder) and Taraji P. Henson (Fox's Empire) should still garner nominations. Emmy watchers also expect nominations for Kerry Washington (ABC's Scandal) and Audra McDonald (HBO's Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill). If they don’t get them, that will be taken as a bad sign for the TV Academy.

What to look for: Does WGN America's Underground have any Emmy impact? Will ABC's Black-ish or Netflix's Aziz Ansari comedy, Master of None, get any recognition? Among the multiple nominations People vs. O.J. is expected to get, how many will go to African-American actors? And the same goes for History's Roots remake: If only the white actors with recognizable names get nominated, the Academy will face (deserved) criticism.



