1 of 13 Jon Hamm courtesy AMC, Glenn Close by Larry Riley/FX, Alec Baldwin by Nicole Rivelli/NBC
00-2008EmmyPicks-Start1
Predicting who'll win the Emmys is always a crapshoot. You never know if new blood will triumph or if the prize will go again to old favorites. With that in mind, here's my wish list for how the Emmys ought to go. - Matt Roush
2 of 13 Craig Blankenhorn/AMC
01-2008EmmyPicks-Madmen3
Drama Series Bathed in dark period glamour, Mad Men was the stylish breakthrough of last season, a gorgeous yet unsettling look at 1960s mores that feels like an Emmy shoo-in. Dark horses: the thrillingly resurgent Lost and the legal thriller Damages.
3 of 13 Hugh Laurie by Timothy White/Fox, Jon Hamm by Frank Ockenfels/AMC
02-2008EmmyPicks-laurie-hamm1
Lead Actor, Drama An incredibly tough category. House's Hugh Laurie is seriously overdue. Mad Men's broodingly handsome Jon Hamm brought movie-star charisma to a challenging role and should win, but don't count out Dexter's devilish Michael C. Hall.
4 of 13 Larry Riley/FX
03-2008EmmyPicks-glenn-close1
Lead Actress, DramaA slam dunk. Glenn Close's chilling work as Damages' savagely cunning anti-heroine towers over the competition.
5 of 13 John Slattery by Frank Ockenfels/AMC, Ted Danson by Nigel Perry/Sony Pictures TV
04-2008EmmyPicks-slattery-danson1
Supporting Actor, Drama I'm torn between Damages' amoral mogul Ted Danson and Mad Men's hedonistic boss John Slattery. Both could be upstaged by Lost's enigmatic Michael Emerson.
6 of 13 Bob D'Amico/ABC
05-2008EmmyPicks-chandra-wilson1
Supporting Actress, Drama She's the heart and feisty soul of Grey's Anatomy, and it's Chandra Wilson's turn to win.
7 of 13 Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC
06-2008EmmyPicks-30-rock1
Comedy Series With the dazzling Pushing Daisies passed over, look for a well-deserved repeat win from 30 Rock, which maintained its wacky satiric brilliance.
8 of 13 Nicole Rivelli/NBC
07-2008EmmyPicks-alec-baldwin1
Lead Actor, Comedy Denied a win last year, 30 Rock's uproariously bizarre Alec Baldwin is at the top of his game and can't possibly go home empty-handed.
9 of 13 Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Warwick Saint/CBS, Tina Fey by Mary Ellen Mathews/NBC
08-2008EmmyPicks-dreyfius-fey1
Lead Actress, Comedy 30 Rock's screwball heroine (and co-creator) Tina Fey is the favorite, but I'm rooting for The New Adventures of Old Christine's outrageously neurotic Julia Louis-Dreyfus to win her second Emmy for this underappreciated show.
10 of 13 Cliff Lipson/CBS
09-2008EmmyPicks-neil-patrick-harris1
Supporting Actor, Comedy In its best season yet, How I Met Your Mother gave the inspired Neil Patrick Harris his best material to date (his shattered bromance with Ted, his crush on Robin). A win would be legendary.
11 of 13 Dana Edelson/NBC
10-2008EmmyPicks-amy-poehler1
Supporting Actress, Comedy No slight to the fine series actresses in this category, but Saturday Night Live's Amy Poehler is genius, and not just for doing Hillary better than Hillary.
12 of 13 Cliff Lipson/CBS
11-2008EmmyPicks-amazingrace1
Reality-Competition Program Will the epic Battle of the Davids give American Idol its first win Probably not as long as The Amazing Race stays in the running. Nothing has its scale, visual splendor or degree of difficulty.
13 of 13 Bob D'Amico/ABC
12-2008EmmyPicks-tom-bergeron1
Reality Host Survivor's Jeff Probst smartly presided over some wild tribal councils last year, but Dancing with the Stars' Tom Bergeron gets my vote for staying light on his feet on live TV regardless of who stumbles around him. He's a master showman.