TVSquad

Over at the L.A. Times, Tom O'Neil has put together two teams to predict the Emmys. One consists of writers who cover TV, including our pal from AOL, Maggie Furlong. The other is filled with award nuts, like O'Neil. The teams found a lot of common ground, with overwhelming agreement on Mad Men for Best Drama and 30 Rock for Best Comedy. They also seem pretty set on Glenn Close (Damages) for Best Actress, Drama and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) for Best Actor, Comedy.

Those all sound like reasonably safe bets. Things get a little more interesting when you look at some of the other categories. Best Actor, Drama looks to be a three way race between Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), and James Spader (Boston Legal). All solid choices, to be sure, but the most surprising part of the category is that Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), who should win, only garnered one vote. Read on past the jump for more of the categories.

There also seems to be a split where Best Actress, Comedy is concerned. The panels slightly favor Tina Fey (30 Rock) over Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?). I find that somewhat shocking just based on how the Emmys generally work. Samantha Who? doesn't strike me as the kind of show, given both ratings and buzz, that the Emmys would embrace. History leads me to believe Tina Fey has it locked up.

The situation is slightly different with Best Supporting Actor, Comedy. Right now it's a dead heat between Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Jeremy Piven (Entourage). This one looks like an actual contest because the time is probably right for Neil Patrick Harris to win an Emmy. Much like 30 Rock, the show earns much more critical praise and media coverage than its ratings would suggest. And Jeremy Piven has history on his side. The Emmys do like to repeat themselves. My only real qualm with this one is that I think Harris is in the wrong category. The show may be about how Ted met the kid's mother, but Barney is the real star.

Speaking of the Emmys repeating... the overwhelming favorite for Best Reality Competition Program is The Amazing Race. Really? It's a fine show, and I have nothing against it, but is it really the best of the reality genre? Every year? Not once over the last six years did American Idol, Survivor, Dancing With The Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, or Project Runway maybe edge them out? I'll have to take solace in the fact that Tom Bergeron (Dancing With The Stars) is the odds on favorite to win Best Reality Host.

The category I am most curious to see play out is Best Supporting Actress, Comedy. The panels seem convinced that Amy Poehler (Saturday Night Live) is going to win. Is it the novelty of having SNL in the Comedy category for the first time? Perhaps I'm just desperate to see Pushing Daisies win something, and Kristin Chenoweth is very good, but I thought it would take a couple go-rounds before the voters actually handed an award to someone from SNL in one of the main categories. It will be interesting to see how this one shakes out.

What do you think? Have the experts completely missed on any of their picks? Do you continue to frustrated by how the award system works? Still trying to puzzle out how the people behind the awards never seemed to have UPN or WB, and don't seem to have CW now?