Emmy Predictions: Amid newcomers, will 'Thrones' slay again?

In the Way Too Much TV Era, it truly is an honor just to be nominated.

Imagine that you're working on a television series, one of the many actors, writers and others who give daily thanks for the rise of cable and streaming that has led to gazillions — at least — of shows and growing employment opportunities. Then, besides the possibility of at least your mom spotting you in the vast video sea, you learn that your peers watched and, hallelujah, decreed you Emmy worthy.

Who needs to win? Every nominee, of course, who would prefer to avoid being an also-ran smiling bravely for the cameras. There's also the producers of the Sept. 22 Emmy Awards ceremony and Fox , the network airing it, with an event to sell.

This image released by FX shows Billy Porter in a scene from "Pose." The program is nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding drama series. (JoJo WhildenFX via AP)

"Game of Thrones," ''Veep" and "When They See Us" look like front-runners but the outcome is anyone's guess. AP Television Writer Lynn Elber and Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy's offer theirs in the top categories.

DRAMA SERIES

ELBER:

This image released by HBO shows Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a scene from "Veep." The program iss nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series. Louis-Dreyfus is also nominated for best actress in a comedy series. (HBO via AP)

Should win: "Pose." An opulent, clear-eyed embrace of the late-20th-century LGBTQ ballroom scene deserves its due.

Will win: "Game of Thrones." A landmark show that brought cinematic sweep to TV gets a big farewell, finale naysayers be damned.

KENNEDY:

This image released by BBC America shows Sandra Oh in a scene from "Killing Eve:" Oh is nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. (Nick WallBBCAmerica via AP)

Should win: Agreed on "Pose," a loving look at a world that has never been celebrated on TV before, starring the largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series.

Will win: "Pose" is up against the behemoth "Game of Thrones," which triggered parodies and homages, memes and talk show publicity. Even the president tried to co-opt its tagline "Winter Is Coming." The Emmy is coming.

COMEDY SERIES

This image released by Amazon shows Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a scene from "Fleabag." The program is nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding comedy series. Waller-Bridge is also nominated for best actress in a comedy series. (Amazon via AP)

ELBER:

Should win: "Fleabag." Such shocking sexual abandon and emotional dysfunction is downright un-American. Three cheers for this British invasion!

Will win: "Veep." A three-for-three winner won't be defeated in its last hurrah, especially when politics are all the rage.

This image released by Netflix shows Asante Blackk as young Kevin Richardson in a scene from "When They See Us." The program is nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding limited series. (Atsushi NishijimaNetflix via AP)

KENNEDY:

Should win: The second season of "Fleabag" — with a woman resisting her feelings for a priest — and the debut of "Russian Doll" — in which a New Yorker keeps reliving the night of her 36th birthday — were deeply worthy of wins for writing and originality.

Will win: "Veep," the safe and more popular choice. But Emmy voters may learn to regret this predictable decision.

This combination photo shows, from left, Eugene Levy in a scene from "Schitt's Creek," Bill Hader in a scene from "Barry" and Michael Douglas in a scene from "The Kominsky Method." Levy, Hader and Douglas are nominated for an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. (Pop TVHBONetflix via AP)

ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES

ELBER:

Should win: Billy Porter, "Pose." The Tony-winning actor's performance, by turns brassy, tender and brave, anchors the sprawling drama.

Will win: Billy Porter. He found the TV role he deserved and gets the award he earned.

KENNEDY:

Should win: Yes, yes, yes. Porter is always the best thing in whatever he's in and he's truly fierce in "Pose." But did enough people watch?

Will win: Kit Harington, buffeted by the waves of "Game of Thrones" nostalgia, will give a knightly farewell to Jon Snow with a statuette.

ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES

ELBER:

Should win: Sandra Oh, "Killing Eve." A tour-de-force performance of vulnerability and, to her character's dismay, brutality.

Will win: Sandra Oh. Deserved, history-making recognition as she becomes the first actress of Asian descent to win a lead actress trophy. Also makes up for her five "Grey's Anatomy" supporting nods without wins. , no wins.

KENNEDY:

Should win: The mouse to Sandra Oh's cat — Jodie Comer. She has, criminally, not earned enough recognition for her special brand of killer.

Will win: Sandra Oh. Especially since there's no Claire Foy from "The Crown" to ruin her night.

ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES

ELBER:

Should win: Bill Hader, "Barry." His scarily winning portrayal of a hit man with a Hollywood dream was voted tops last year and remains deserving.

Will win: Michael Douglas, "The Kominsky Method." The movie star's inner comedian comes out and plays, wowing Emmy voters.

KENNEDY:

Should win: Hader already has his Emmy. Douglas won a Golden Globe for "The Kominsky Method." The Emmy should go to Anthony Anderson, the beating heart of "black-ish," who makes lovingly exasperated completely hysterical but has been overlooked too long.

Will win: The award clearly will go to Eugene Levy, who is a comedic treasure and rightfully should be showered with awards. His last Emmy was in 1983. It's time, people.

ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES

ELBER:

Should win: Catherine O'Hara, "Schitt's Creek." Consider it a lifetime achievement award, with her delectably self-absorbed, absurd Moira topping her inventive catalog of characters (and yes, I'm including the Christopher Guest films. Movies, TV — it's all the same now).

Will win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep." The queen of TV comedy ("Seinfeld," ''The New Adventures of Old Christine," this) will add a record-setting ninth Emmy to her haul, breaking a tie with Cloris Leachman for most-honored performer ever.

KENNEDY:

Should win: Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who in "Fleabag" needs only to look over her shoulder at us, lower her eyes and convey everything that's churning in her complex mind.

Will win: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Who is silly enough to vote against her?

LIMITED SERIES

ELBER:

Should win: "When They See Us." The superb cast, the unsparing writing, the dismaying currency of a 20-year-old case's implications for American justice and racial inequality demand an Emmy.

Will win: "When They See Us." "Chernobyl" is a deeply worthy competitor, but Emmy voters put domestic concerns first.

KENNEDY:

Should win: In many ways, this category represented the best of TV this season — "Chernobyl," ''Escape at Dannemora," ''Fosse/Verdon," ''When They See Us" and "Sharp Objects." Any is a worthy winner.

Will win: "When They See Us," perhaps the best of this exciting category. It had searing acting, harrowing circumstances and brilliant writing.

Online:

http://www.emmys.com

Lynn Elber is at lelber@ap.org and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/lynnelber . Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits .

TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.

“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.

“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.

The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”

Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.

Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.

The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.

The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.

In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)

U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)