Emmy Predictions 2017: Who Will Likely Get Nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series?

From June 12 to June 26, voting is taking place for The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. To add to the excitement of the past year in television, I'm providing analysis on which shows and performers are likely to get nominated this year. Next up is Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

2016 Nominees:

        Anthony Anderson for ABC's black-ish
        Aziz Ansari for Netflix's Master of None
        Will Forte for FOX's The Last Man on Earth
        William H. Macy for Showtime's Shameless
        Thomas Middleditch for HBO's Silicon Valley
        Jeffrey Tambor for Amazon's Transparent (WINNER)

All six nominees from last year are once again eligible. But more importantly, there seems to be one newcomer who seems like a lock in this race as well (Atlanta's Donald Glover). So, the race is bound to shake up in some way this year. Who gets pushed out? Has the buzz died down on Will Forte? Is name recognition no longer enough for William H. Macy? Was Thomas Middleditch's nomination just a one-time thing? All of those seem like possibilities in this race. One of them is likely out. But if more go, who else has a shot at getting in? Will the voters recognize quality work or go for the actors with long track records at the Emmys? This race is much more interesting the more one thinks about it.

So now, here's my thoughts on the performers must likely to be nominated for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

1. Jeffrey Tambor for Amazon's Transparent
2. Donald Glover for FX's Atlanta
3. Anthony Anderson for ABC's black-ish
4. Aziz Ansari for Netflix's Master of None
5. Thomas Middleditch for HBO's Silicon Valley
6. Ted Danson for NBC's The Good Place

And now, for some serious threats that could break into the list:

1. William H. Macy for Showtime's Shameless
2. Hank Azaria for IFC's Brockmire
3. Will Forte for FOX's The Last Man on Earth
4. Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki for CBS' The Big Bang Theory
5. Kevin Bacon for Amazon's I Love Dick
6. Neil Patrick Harris for Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events
7. Nick Nolte for Epix's Graves
8. Zach Galifianakis for FX's Baskets
9. Timothy Olyphant for Netflix's Santa Clarita Diet
10. Bill Hader for IFC's Documentary Now!
11. Fred Armisen for IFC's Portlandia
12. Gael Garcia Bernal for Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle
13. Rob Delaney for Amazon's Catastrophe
14. Tommy Dewey for Hulu's Casual
15. Patrick Stewart for Starz's Blunt Talk
16. John Ross Bowie for ABC's Speechless

Some considerable long-shots:

1. Kevin James for CBS' Kevin Can Wait
2. Matt LeBlanc for CBS' Man With a Plan
3. Dwayne Johnson for HBO's Ballers
4. Thomas Haden Church for HBO's Divorce
5. Ashton Kutcher for Netflix's The Ranch
6. Chris Geere for FXX's You're the Worst
7. Andy Samberg for FOX's Brooklyn Nine-Nine
8. Andy Daly for Comedy Central's Review
9. Billy Eichner for Hulu's Difficult People
10. Paul Rust for Netflix's Love
11. Eugene Levy for Pop's Schitt's Creek
12. Greg Poehler for Audience's You Me Her
13. Randall Park for ABC's Fresh Off the Boat
14. Judd Hirsch and Jermaine Fowler for CBS' Superior Donuts
15. Ben Feldman for NBC's Superstore

And now, just some colorful oddities who still have an outside chance:

1. Bruce Campbell for Starz's Ash vs. Evil Dead
2. John C. McGinley for IFC's Stan Against Evil
3. Wyatt Cenac for TBS' People of Earth
4. Jason Jones for TBS' The Detour
5. Danny McBride for HBO's Vice Principals
6. Jessie T. Usher and RonReaco Lee for Starz's Survivor's Remorse
7. Nicholas D'Agosto for NBC's Trial & Error
8. Sam Richardson and Tim Robinson for Comedy Central's Detroiters
9. Ben Sinclair for HBO's High Maintenance
10. Samuel Barnett for BBC America's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
11. Pete Holmes for HBO's Crashing

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my choices? Let me know in the comments below!