2022 Emmy Predictions: Best Drama Series

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Television Academy

The upcoming 74th Primetime Emmys will be the third in a row where there will be no chance of back-to-back Best Drama Series victories, since reigning champ “The Crown” will not release new episodes during the eligibility window of June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022. However, the prize could likely still go to a series that has already won it, since “Succession” is back in the running two years after triumphing for its second season.

The only two 2021 drama nominees that are eligible again this year are “Bridgerton” and “This Is Us,” the latter of which is set to conclude in May after six seasons. Three of their five other recent competitors – “The Boys,” “The Mandalorian,” and 2017 winner “The Handmaid’s Tale” – did not return in time. The remaining two – “Lovecraft Country” and “Pose” – ended their respective runs in October 2020 and June 2021.

Like “Succession,” several more previously nominated shows are seeking Emmy Awards bids this year following brief hiatuses, including “Better Call Saul,” “Killing Eve,” “Ozark,” and “Stranger Things.” “Law & Order,” which returned for a 21st season this year after wrapping its 20th in 2010, has an outside shot at a 12th series nomination and second win. It first triumphed here for its seventh season in 1997.

Aside from these past contenders, there are several new shows in the mix, including “Severance,” “Squid Game,” and “Yellowjackets.”

Scroll through our photo gallery of 2022 Emmy predictions for Best Drama Series.