Will Kit Harington win Best Supporting Actor? Our Game of Thrones Emmy predictions

This year’s Emmy nominations are in and the word is out: Game of Thrones has received a whopping 24 nods for Season 6, the same number it did last year for Season 6. (If you count Gay of Thrones‘ nomination for Outstanding Short-Form Variety Series, it got 25.) In 2015, the show won 12 Emmys for Season 5, the most any show had ever won in a single year. Will it repeat that performance for Season 6? Here are our predictions.

Our picks to win are in bold. We’re probably a little overly optimistic about how much Game of Thrones will win, but this is a fan site, so…

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Downton Abbey—”Episode 9″
• Game of Thrones—”The Door”
• Game of Thrones—”Battle of the Bastards”
• Homeland—“The Tradition Of Hospitality”
• Ray Donovan—“Exsuscito”
• The Knick—“This Is All We Are”

We don’t see a way director Miguel Sapochnik doesn’t walk away with an Emmy for his work on “Battle of the Bastards.” That episode was a directing tour-de-force, as he managed dozens of horses, tons of extras, and the elements to give us a pulse-pounding hour of TV. This one’s a shoo-in.

OUTSTANDING SOUND EDITING FOR A SERIES – 2016

• Black Sails
• Game of Thrones
• Gotham
• Marvel’s Daredevil
• Vikings

Game of Thrones won this award last year, and we don’t see why it shouldn’t win it again. There was lots of subtle sound editing work throughout Season 6, from all the tumult in “Battle of the Bastards” to Pycelle little fear-fart in “Oathbreaker.”

OUTSTANDING SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR) – 2016

• Better Call Saul—”Klick”
• Downton Abbey—”Episode 9″
• Game of Thrones—”Battle of the Bastards”
• House of Cards—”Chapter 52″
• Mr. Robot—”eps1.5_br4ve-trave1er.asf”
• Ray Donovan—”Exsuscito”

Once again, Game of Thrones won this award last year, and it should take it again.

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS – 2016

• Black Sails—”XX”
• Game of Thrones—”Battle of the Bastards”
• Penny Dreadful—”And They Were Enemies”
• The Man in High Castle—”The New World”
• Vikings—”The Last Ship”

The first chunk of this episode had Daenerys riding Drogon into battle and the rest had that ridiculously beautiful battle outside Winterfell. Enough said.

OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A NARRATIVE CONTEMPORARY OR FANTASY PROGRAM (ONE HOUR OR MORE) – 2016

• American Horror Story: Hotel
• Game of Thrones (“Blood of My Blood,” “The Broken Man,” “No One”)
• House of Cards (“Chapter 41,” “Chapter 47,” “Chapter 48”)
• Penny Dreadful (“Fresh Hell, Evil Spirits In Heavenly Places, And Hell Itself My Only Foe”)
• The Man in High Castle (“The New World”)

This is another category Game of Thrones won last year, and we’re betting on a repeat. The Riverrun set alone should be enough.

OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Downton Abbey
• Game of Thrones
• House of Cards
• Mr. Robot
• Orange is the New Black

Again, Game of Thrones won this category last year, when it introduced actors like Jonathan Pryce (the High Sparrow) and Faye Marsay (the Waif) into the show. In Season 6, casting czar Nina Gold gave us Max von Sydow (the Three-Eyed Raven), Ian McShane (Septon Ray), and Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont). How does that not deserve a win?

OUTSTANDING HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES – 2016

• Downton Abbey—”Episode 9″
• Game of Thrones—”The Door”
• Masters of Sex—”Matters of Gravity”
• Penny Dreadful—”Glorious Horrors”
• The Knick—”Williams and Walker”

The hairstyling on the Children of the Forest in “The Door” was great, but we’re betting that the Emmy goes to Downton Abbey. It won last year, and this is the final year it’ll be in contention. The Emmys tend to honor shows in their final seasons.

OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A PERIOD/FANTASY SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – 2016

• Game of Thrones—”The Winds of Winter”
• Outlander—”Not in Scotland Anymore”
• Roots—”Night One”
• The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story—”Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”

American Horror Story took this award last year, but with it not in the running, we’re really hoping that Game of Thrones nabs it for Cersei’s supervillain get-up, although Outlander could come out on top.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut on Better Call Saul

Ben Mendelsohn as Danny Rayburn on Bloodline

This is Kit Harington’s year. We can feel it.

I’ll be honest: back in Seasons 1 and 2, I thought Harington was a bit of a weak link in the show, acting wise. But he’s developed as a performer since then, and in Season 6, he turned in fantastic work, particularly with all the physical stuff in “Battle of the Bastards.” This is the first time he’s shown up in this category, and I think voters are thinking along the same lines.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Dame Maggie Smith as Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey
• Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones
• Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones
• Maisie Williams as Arya Stark on Game of Thrones
• Maura Tierney as Helen Solloway on The Affair
• Constance Zimmer as Quinn King on UnREAL

It’s awesome that Maisie Williams finally got a nomination, but we think the Emmys will award Maggie Smith for her victory lap on Downton Abbey.

OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven on Game of Thrones
• Reg E. Cathey as Freddy on House of Cards
• Mahershala Ali as Remy Danton on House of Cards
• Paul Sparks as Thomas Yates on House of Cards
• Hank Azaria as Ed Cochran on Ray Donovan

Max von Sydow made a splash as the Three-Eyed Raven, but we’re betting that Reg E. Cathy will win another Emmy for his work on House of Cards, especially since his recurring role may now be over.

OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION FOR A DRAMA SERIES, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – 2016

• Game of Thrones
• Gotham
• Marvel’s Daredeveil
• Rush Hour
• The Blacklist

How does Game of Thrones not win after all the stunts in “Battle of the Bastards?”

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES – 2016

• Bates Motel—”A Danger to Himself and Others”
• Downton Abbey—”Episode 9″
• Game of Thrones—”Home”
• Gotham—”Azrael”
• Homeland—”The Tradition of Hospitality”
• House of Cards—”Chapter 45″
• The Man in High Castle—”The New World”

It’s interesting that Game of Thrones nominated this particular episode in this category. We see this award going to the pilot for Amazon’s new show.

OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Better Call Saul—”Rebecca”
• Better Call Saul—”Nailed”
• Game of Thrones—”Oathbreaker”
• Game of Thrones—”Battle of the Bastards”
• Narcos—”Descenso”

Game of Thrones took this award last year. Basically, we expect “Battle of the Bastards” to dominate the night.

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC) – 2016

• Game of Thrones—”Battle of the Bastards”
• Penny Dreadful—”Glorious Horros”
• The Knick—”Whiplash”
• Vikings—”Yol”
• Vinyl—”Pilot”

Remember when Jon was all covered in dirt and mud and blood and looked like a crazy wild savage? That should be enough for a win.

OUTSTANDING PROSTHETIC MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL – 2016

• All the Way
• American Horror Story: Hotel
• Game of Thrones (“The Door”)
• Penny Dreadful (“And Hell Itself My Only Foe”)
• The Walking Dead (“No Way Out”)

American Horror Story won in this category last year, but the makeup on the Children of the Forest was too good to pass up…right?

OUTSTANDING INTERACTIVE PROGRAM – 2016

• Conan
• Game Of Thrones Main Titles 360 Experience
• Saturday Night Live Interactive Experience
• Talking Dead Interactive Experience
• The Late Late Show with James Corden

Talk shows tend to do well in this category.

OUTSTANDING SHORT FORM VARIETY SERIES – 2016

• Epic Rap Battles Of History
• Gay of Thrones
• Honest Trailers
• Making a Scene with James Franco
• Park Bench with Steve Buscemi

It would incredibly awesome if Gay of Thrones took this, but we’re not sure it’s popular enough.

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Downton Abbey—”Episode 8″
• Game of Thrones—“Battle of the Bastards”
• Mr. Robot—”eps1.0_hellofriend.mov (Pilot)”
• The Americans—”Persona Non Grata”
• The Good Wife—”End”
• UnREAL—”Return”

David Benioff and Dan Weiss won in this category last year for “Mother’s Mercy.” Honestly, I think that “The Winds of Winter” may have been the better-written Season 6 episode, but “Battle of the Bastards” was terrific and deserves a statue.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES – 2016

• Game of Thrones
• Homeland
• House of Cards
• Mr. Robot
• The Americans

And the biggee. Game of Thrones won last year, and we think it’ll win this year. The Emmys tend to get into a groove when it comes to this category, so we wouldn’t be surprised if the show took this award every year between now and when it ends.