Having trouble deciding between Cicely Tyson (“How to Get Away with Murder”) and Allison Janney (“Masters of Sex”) as Best Drama Guest Actress? Can Jon Hamm (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”) really take down Bradley Whitford (“Transparent”) for Best Comedy Guest Actor? Worry not, Derbyites, as our editors have devoured all 24 guest acting episode submissions and listed the pros and cons for each rival. After reading our exclusive analyses, be sure to make/update your own predictions for these categories before the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony takes place Saturday, September 12.
Click here to see the updated list of all 2015 Emmy episode submissions
While some contenders only appeared in a single episode, many had to choose between handfuls of episodes to pick their absolute best entry to submit to Emmy judges for consideration. Which nominees made the right choices and which ones faltered? Below, see links to all 24 of our Emmy episode analyses.
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTOR
Can Mel Brooks’ advice on ‘The Comedians’ lead to fifth win?
Paul Giamatti is part of a divided jury on ‘Inside Amy Schumer’
Bill Hader reprises ‘Saturday Night Live’ characters as first-time host
Jon Hamm loses his cult following in ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’
Will third time be charm for Louis C.K. as ‘Saturday Night Live’ host?
Bradley Whitford changes perceptions in ‘Transparent’
BEST COMEDY GUEST ACTRESS
Pamela Adlon makes an honest woman out of ‘Louie’
Elizabeth Banks brings both laughs and tears to ‘Modern Family’ role
Christine Baranski shows softer side on ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Will Joan Cusack (‘Shameless’) finally win on fifth nomination?
Tina Fey goes to court in ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’
Will Gaby Hoffmann win for brave birth episode of ‘Girls’?
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
F. Murray Abraham makes a deal with the devil in ‘Homeland’
Alan Alda’s scene-stealing performance in ‘The Blacklist’
Will ‘Masters of Sex’ guest role win Beau Bridges a fourth award?
Will Reg E. Cathey win for new White House job on ‘House of Cards’?
Will Michael J. Fox finally win for ‘The Good Wife’?
Pablo Schreiber calls the shots in ‘Orange is the New Black’
BEST DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Khandi Alexander is locked away as Mama Pope in ‘Scandal’
Rachel Brosnahan’s life and death struggle on ‘House of Cards’
Will Allison Janney win again for ‘Masters of Sex’ guest role?
Can Margo Martindale bring ‘The Americans’ in from the cold?
Will ‘Game of Thrones’ scene-stealer Diana Rigg finally win?
Cicely Tyson (‘How to Get Away With Murder’) kills the competition
Make your own Emmys picks now to the right or at the bottom of this post. You could win one of our three prizes ($500, $300 and $200 Amazon gift certificates) as well as a place of honor on our leaderboard and a starring role in next year’s Top 24 Users (the two dozen folks who do the best predicting this year’s Emmys line-up).
Last year our Experts had an accuracy rate of 58.62% when it came to predicting the Emmy winners. That score tied them with both Gold Derby’s Editors and the Top 24 Users (those two dozen folks who did the best at predicting last year’s Emmys). Our Users scored 51.72% (Click on any of these groups to see what they got right and wrong last year.)
Which group will be victorious this year? Meet the guy who won our contest to predict the Emmys last year — and learn how he did it and how you can be our next Gold Derby superstar.
As some of our Users turn out to be our smartest prognosticators, it’s important that you give us your predictions. Your picks influence our Users racetrack odds, which also factor into our official combined odds.
