Emmy Predictions 2026 - Who Will Likely Be Nominated for Guest Actor in a Drama Series?

From June 11 to 22, 2026, voting is taking place for The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. As such, it's fun to look at which actors and shows have the best chances of actually being nominated this year. So, these are my predictions for which performers will be nominated for Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Performers most likely to be nominated:

1. Colman Domingo for HBO's Euphoria
2. Jonathan Pryce for Apple TV's Slow Horses
3. Jeff Kober for HBO Max's The Pitt
4. Giancarlo Esposito for Prime Video's The Boys
5. Jeff Hiller for Apple TV's Pluribus
6. Samba Schutte for Apple TV's Pluribus

Serious threats that could break through:

1. Eric Dane and Sam Trammell for HBO's Euphoria
2. Ernest Harden Jr., Luke Tennie and Kevin Brief for HBO Max's The Pitt
3. Bradley Whitford for Netflix's The Diplomat
4. Nathan Lane and Bill Camp for HBO's The Gilded Age
5. Jeremy Irons for Apple TV's The Morning Show
6. Seth Rogen, Paul Reiser, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kumail Nanjiani, John Noble, P.J. Byrne, Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki, Cameron Crovetti, Will Forte and Christopher Mintz-Plasse for Prime Video's The Boys
7. Robert Bailey Jr. for Apple TV's Pluribus
8. Bill Pullman and Ed Begley Jr. for Netflix's The Boroughs

Some considerable long-shots:

1. Macaulay Culkin, Michael Emerson, Kumail Nanjiani and Ron Perlman for Prime Video's Fallout
2. Neil Patrick Harris, Eric Stonestreet and David Dastmalchian for Showtime's Dexter: Resurrection
3. Jonathan Bailey for Netflix's Bridgerton
4. Kal Penn, Charlie Heaton and Sagar Radia for HBO's Industry
5. Alistair Petrie and Noah Jupe for Prime Video's The Night Manager
6. Will Arnett for Paramount+'s The Madison
7. Randall Park for AMC's The Audacity
8. Paul Giamatti for Paramount+'s Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Colorful oddities that still have an outside chance:

1. Bobby Cannavale for Netflix's Man on Fire
2. David Hornsby for Prime Video's Scarpetta
3. Riley Green for CBS' Marshals
4. Kelsey Grammer for NBC's The Hunting Party
5. Jon Jon Briones, Vincent D'Onofrio, John Carroll Lynch and Ben Platt for FX's The Beauty
6. A Martinez and Titus Welliver for AMC's Dark Winds
7. Paul Wesley for Paramount+'s Star Trek: Strange New World

The nominations for The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced on Tuesday, July 8. The winners will be awarded in a ceremony broadcast on NBC on Monday, September 14.