2017 Emmy Award Odds Drama Programs
–The 2017 Emmy Awards will be held on September 17, 2017
–Stephen Colbert will host the Emmy Awards broadcast.
–Nominations were announced on July 13, 2017.
Drama is a strange category for the Emmy Awards as it represents how the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) is stuck in the past as the digital broadcasting revolution tries to drag it into the future. Drama is likely one of the most time honored and dates back to the beginning of television as a medium. The first awards were given in 1951 as ‘Pulitzer Prize Playhouse’ was named ‘Best Drama’. Acting awards soon followed (Donald O’Connor, Danny Thomas and Phil Silvers won the first three ‘Best Drama Actor’ Emmys) and they continue to this day. The categorization of shows was a bit dubious in the early days which is how ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show’, ‘Father Knows Best’ and ‘McHale’s Navy’ somehow qualified as dramas. Since the mid-1960’s, however, it’s all been serious dramatic productions.
At the same time, the drama categories are where it first became evident that things had changed in the TV industry. In 1989, the HBO classic ‘The Sopranos’ led all shows with 11 nominations. In the end, the show likely deserved more award victories it took home with the biggest being ‘Best Drama Actress’ for Edie Falco. Somehow James Gandolfini *didn’t* win for his iconic portrayal of Tony Soprano (he would win three during the run of the series) and ‘The Practice’ got the nod for ‘Best Drama Series’. HBO would get the last laugh on the rest of the broadcast television industry–thanks to their excellent programming combined with their ability to stay relevant throughout the digital revolution they now dominate the Emmy Awards. This year HBO received 110 Emmy Nominations which is excellent but hardly a surprise. After all, they’ve been the network with the most nominations for 17 straight years now. Their toughest challenge is coming not from one of the legacy analog era networks but from Netflix with Hulu starting to make a move as well. Interesting to note that among all of the HBO nominations you won’t find any for ‘Game of Thrones’. The ‘most popular show in the world’ did not qualify for this year’s show due to an outdated eligibility rule.
TELEVISION FACES AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE–SO DOES THE EMMY AWARDS
The Emmy Awards have been a staple of American television since the late 1940’s and they continue to soldier on even as the entire broadcasting medium is being transformed. The broadcast industry’s long standing revenue model is being obliterated. The legacy ‘analog era’ networks are not really equipped to completely reinvent themselves and look more and more like dinosaurs in today’s on demand avalanche of content. They have increasingly started to chase the ‘lowest common denominator’ which might keep the lights on but is a long term losing strategy. So as TV programming gets better and better the industry as it has long been known is heading for extinction. There’s a good chance that the Emmy Awards might follow the broadcast networks into obsolescence. Last year’s show was the lowest rated in history with the 2015 show the *second* lowest rated in history. More significantly, at what point does streaming visual entertainment cease to be ‘television’. At some point more people will watch shows like ‘Game of Thrones’ on their computer, tablet or mobile device. When that happens can they still be called a ‘television show’?
Obviously you won’t be hear any talk about the impending doom of analog era television broadcasting when you watch the Emmy Award broadcast hosted by Steven Colbert on September 17, 2017. Even so, it’s impossible not to notice that the quality of programming is better than at any point in history–and it’s not the television broadcasting industry that’s doing it:
69TH PRIMETIME DRAMA EMMY AWARDS 2017 BETTING ODDS
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Stranger Things: -150
The Handmaid’s Tale: +175
Westworld: +1150
The Crown: +1150
This Is Us: +1150
Better Call Saul: +4000
House of Cards: +4000
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA ACTRESS
Elisabeth Moss: -450
Claire Foy: +250
Viola Davis: +1500
Robin Wright: +3000
Keri Russell: +3000
Evan Rachel Wood: +3000
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA ACTOR
Bob Odenkirk: -150
Sterling K. Brown: +175
Anthony Hopkins: +1000
Liev Schreiber: +1500
Milo Ventimiglia +1500
Kevin Spacey: +2500
Matthew Rhys: +2500
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Thandie Newton: +100
Chrissy Metz: +250
Millie Bobby Brown: +250
Ann Dowd: +1250
Uzo Aduba: +1500
Samira Wiley: +1500
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
John Lithgow: -700
Jeffrey Wright: +900
Ron Cephas Jones: +900
Jonathan Banks: +1500
David Harbour: +1500
Michael Kelly: +3000
Mandy Patinkin: +3000
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA GUEST ACTRESS
Alexis Bledel: +200
Shannon Purser: +350
Allison Wright: +400
Laverne Cox: +450
Ann Dowd: +450
Cicely Tyson: +650
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA GUEST ACTOR
Gerald McRaney: -350
Denis O’Hare: +450
Ben Mendelsohn: +600
BD Wong: +1750
Hank Azaria: +1750
Brian Tyree Henry: +1750
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA DIRECTING
Offred(Pilot)/The Handmaid’s Tale: +100
The Bicameral Mind/Westworld: +500
The Vanishing of Will Byers/Stranger Things: +500
Hyde Park Corner/The Crown: +500
Witness/Better Call Saul: +500
The Bridge/The Handmaid’s Tale: +2100
America First/Homeland: +2100
TO WIN THE EMMY AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING DRAMA WRITING
Offred(Pilot)/The Handmaid’s Tale: -120
The Bicameral Mind/Westworld: +750
The Vanishing of Will Byers/Stranger Things: +750
Assassins/The Crown: +750
Chicanery/Better Call Saul: +750
The Soviet Division/The Americans: +750