Emmy Predictions 2018 - Who Will Likely Be Nominated for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie?

From June 11 to June 25, 2018, voting is taking place for The 70th 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 Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie.

2017 Nominees:

        Carrie Coon for FX's Fargo
        Felicity Huffman for ABC's American Crime
        Nicole Kidman for HBO's Big Little Lies (WINNER)
        Jessica Lange for FX's Feud: Bette and Joan
        Susan Sarandon for FX's Feud: Bette and Joan
        Reese Witherspoon for HBO's Big Little Lies

A year ago, this was the most packed category of the nominations where even Oprah Winfrey was snubbed. This year definitely suffers from the loss of shows like Feud and Big Little Lies. This category had such a strong narrative with the two of those series facing off - even though Nicole Kidman basically won everything. This year this category seems lighter. But that also makes it seem like that some shows will get nominated here that may not be able to get in anywhere else despite some strong performances across the board. As such, it wouldn't be surprising if The Sinner, Howards End and Alias Grace get nominated here but snubbed elsewhere on the ballot. That seems very likely this year. Of course, it's also important to note that there is already a frontrunner for the winner of this category. Laura Dern may be impossible to beat thanks to The Tale and the likelihood of her getting multiple acting nominations this year. And yet, the rest of the ballot could be completely up for grabs which is very exciting.

So now, here's my thoughts on the actors most likely to be nominated for Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie:

1. Laura Dern for HBO's The Tale
2. Jessica Biel for USA's The Sinner
3. Elisabeth Moss for SundanceTV's Top of the Lake: China Girl
4. Sarah Paulson for FX's American Horror Story: Cult
5. Michelle Dockery for Netflix's Godless
6. Sarah Gadon for Netflix's Alias Grace

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

1. Hayley Atwell for Starz's Howards End
2. Regina King and Clare-Hope Ashitey for Netflix's Seven Seconds
3. Cristin Milioti and Rosemarie DeWitt for Netflix's Black Mirror
4. Anna Deavere Smith for HBO's Notes From the Field
5. Edie Falco for NBC's Law & Order: True Crime - The Menendez Murders
6. Carey Mulligan for Netflix's Collateral
7. Kelly Macdonald for PBS' The Child in Time
8. Catherine Zeta-Jones for Lifetime's Cocaine Godmother: The Griselda Blanco Story

Some considerable long-shots:

1. Anna Paquin and Juno Temple for Amazon's Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams
2. Riley Keough for HBO's Paterno
3. Maya Hawke, Kathryn Newton, Willa Fitzgerald and Annes Elwy for PBS' Little Women
4. Betsy Brandt, Marin Ireland and Jill Scott for Lifetime's Flint
5. Jennifer Ferrin for HBO's Mosaic
6. Natalie Dormer for Amazon's Picnic at Hanging Rock
7. Anna Friel, Carmen Ejogo and Louisa Krause for Starz's The Girlfriend Experience

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

1. Sarah Lancashire for Hulu's National Treasure: Kiri
2. Maya Rudolph for FOX's A Christmas Story Live
3. Pearl Mackie for BBC America's Twice Upon a Time (Doctor Who)
4. Jodi Balfour for Cinemax's Rellik
5. Alana Boden for Lifetime's I Am Elizabeth Smart
6. Lily Collins for Amazon's The Last Tycoon

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