The following article is an excerpt from the new edition of \u201cIndieWire\u2019s The Lead Up<\/a>,\u201d a weekly newsletter in which our\u00a0Awards<\/a>\u00a0Editor\u00a0Marcus Jones takes readers on the awards trail, interviewing key figures responsible for some of the most compelling stories of the season, and offering predictions on who will win.\u00a0Subscribe here<\/a><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0to receive the newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The crazy part of the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy race this year is just how many contenders have\u00a0already<\/em>\u00a0been nominated. There are eight nominee slots open, and about double the amount of options fit that already-been-nommed description, or fall into the smaller category of being a spinoff of a show that actually won the Drama Series Emmy (looking at you, \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d and \u201cThe Testaments\u201d).<\/p>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Every season is different, so this go-round I would say past nominees like \u201cBridgerton\u201d and \u201cThe Boys\u201d are trending upward, having firmly established themselves as mainstays in the craft categories, while shows like \u201cSlow Horses\u201d and \u201cSquid Game\u201d are trending downward, to the point where it\u2019s hard to remember when their most recent seasons aired.<\/p>\n As far as what series are leading the race, look no further than HBO<\/a>, which very well could break the record for most series nominations in a single season if\u00a0reigning champ \u201cThe Pitt\u201d<\/a>\u00a0counts toward five (technically, the Noah Wyle-led hospital drama is an HBO Max project). Given the track record of anything related to \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d the very well-received \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms\u201d is likely to be one of the new additions to the category, as is critical darling \u201cTask.\u201d<\/p>\n The two HBO contenders that have a bit more of an uphill battle are \u201cEuphoria,\u201d which always draws a big audience of Emmys<\/a> voters, but may have lost some of its shine in the four-year wait between seasons, and \u201cIndustry,\u201d which finally broke containment in Season 4, but may not have caught the eye of enough voters. \u201cThe Gilded Age\u201d is also still very much in the mix, but the former pair of shows could be lauded for being a bigger launchpad for new stars.<\/p>\n The most formidable challenger to \u201cThe Pitt<\/a>\u201d is once again a high concept science fiction series from Apple TV<\/a>, but this time it\u2019s from \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d creator Vince Gilligan. \u201cPluribus<\/a>\u201d had an even bigger audience than Apple TV\u2019s previous most watched drama \u201cSeverance,\u201d so it feels like at the very least it will finally win star Rhea Seehorn an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy, after she had been overlooked time and time again for her breakout performance on \u201cBetter Call Saul,\u201d another Gilligan production.<\/p>\n However, the equivalent of that award at\u00a0the Actor Awards<\/a>\u00a0went to \u201cThe Diplomat\u201d star Keri Russell, who has been consistently snubbed at the Emmys for an even longer period of time. If Netflix puts all its eggs into her basket, it may finally be her time, but \u201cEuphoria\u201d star Zendaya has twice overcome fellow nominees who had the same \u201cit\u2019s time\u201d narrative. Her popularity among voters is not to be underestimated.<\/p>\n In the other drama categories, \u201cThe Pitt\u201d remains strong, despite a perceived sophomore slump, The wider Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series race offers little competition to star\u00a0Noah Wyle<\/a>, who won just about every award he\u00a0could\u00a0<\/em>win for his performance in Season 1. Some of the strongest scenes in Season 2, set during a particularly hectic July 4, also belong to returning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Emmy winner Katherine LaNasa. This time, though, with \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d out of the way, she will definitely be nominated alongside some of her co-stars, like new cast member Sepideh Moafi.<\/p>\n The show\u2019s success in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category is trickier to predict, as the women got better material on \u201cThe Pitt.\u201d There is a shot in the dark that star Patrick Ball could still finally receive an Emmy nomination, and best two-time winner Billy Crudup (\u201cThe Morning Show\u201d). But prognosticators currently have their money on \u201cTask\u201d star Tom Pelphrey, who has steadily been building his resume year after year toward becoming the kind of actor that would convince you to watch any series just based on his involvement.<\/p>\n And \u201cEuphoria\u201d is a big wild card in the category. The rest of the season is still being finalized, so it is unclear if star Colman Domingo will submit for Supporting Actor, or the Guest Actor category he won for his role as Ali on the show in 2022. However, Jacob Elordi has always been a standout on the series as well, and is coming off of an Oscar nomination. And Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has the showiest performance so far among the new additions to the already divisive Season 3.<\/p>\n See IndieWire\u2019s full list of\u00a02026 Emmy predictions<\/a>, complete with frontrunners, contenders, and long shots on our website. As\u00a0a reminder, my email is\u00a0majones@indiewire.com<\/a>\u00a0if you\u2019d like to share any feedback.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"PARKS](\"https:\/\/www.indiewire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TCDPAAN_EC047.jpg?w=300&h=168&crop=1\")
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