Updated August 23, 2023By Daniel Feliciano
While the Emmy Awards for 2023 have been postponed due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes until January 2024, the nominees and contestants still remain the same.
One of the clearest categories in the thinking of many is the Best Drama Series, with Succession expected to take home the award, but there are other contenders and previous winners in the mix too. They’re expected to clean up and there’s a reason why.
We’ll take a look at the nominees and provide you with our best entertainment betting picks to see if we can earn you some extra cash from the ceremony.
Sbs Succession Favorite To Win Best Drama Series At Emmy Awards 2023 1
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Emmy Awards 2023 information
Monday, January 15th 2024
Location TBA
Original date September 18th 2023 postponed due to SAG-AFTRA strike
Candidates valid from June 1 2022 – May 21 2023
Best Drama Series nominees
Succession – (-1200)
The White Lotus – (+550)
Better Call Saul – (+1400)
The Last of Us – (+1600)
The Crown – (+2000)
Andor – (+4000)
House of the Dragon – (+6600)
Yellow Jackets – (+6600)
Succession to be successful again in Best Drama Series?
There’s a reason Succession is the heavy favorite to be the winner of the Emmy Award in this category once again, and that’s because it’s popularity far supersedes that of it’s rivals.
The show’s finale aired earlier this year and attracted some of the highest ratings of the year, but was also one of those shows which was rarely loved by everyone who watched it as they brought it to an end.
Succession also recently had its final run in the form of a fourth season and it was equally fulfilling. It’s been a hit for HBO since its inception five years ago with every season reaching new heights of insanity and suspense.
But they have got stiff competition this year undoubtedly too. The White Lotus and The Last of Us were extremely well-received for HBO, and Better Call Saul wrapped up on a high note last year.
The Breaking Bad spin-off has been running for years and has generated a huge fan base. The White Lotus on the other hand is a debuting show and while it was excellent, it’s highly unlikely to have the same level of backing in conversations against shows that have been running for several seasons.
Succession’s perfect send-off would be to clean up at the Emmy Awards for their final season and it seems far more likely that they do than they don’t, with the favorites in the vast majority of categories they’re involved in.
The odds are usually a quite clear indicator of how the awards will go, understandably, and if Succession doesn’t take the award home for this category it would genuinely be one of the biggest shocks in Emmy award history.
Successionto win Best Drama Series
-1200
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Split vote for Best Actor category?
Kieran Culkin – Succession – (-220)
Jeremy Strong – Succession – (+500)
Bob Odenkirk – Better Call Saul – (+550)
Pedro Pascal – The Last of Us – (+400)
Jeff Bridges – The Old Man – (+1400)
Brian Cox – Succession – (+3300)
With reigning champ Lee Jung-jae of Squid Game not in the running this year, the Best Drama Actor Emmy could realistically go to any one of the six men currently vying for it.
Most are expecting Jeremy Strong to pull off a second win for HBO’s Succession after triumphing in 2020, but he is running second in the race behind his TV brother Kieran Culkin.
Culkin is new to this category but did receive supporting nominations for Succession in 2020 and 2022 and he is only the fourth man to earn recognition in both drama categories for a single role, after Michael Tucker (L. A. Law), Jeffrey Wright (Westworld), and Kit Harington (Game of Thrones).
He and Strong are joined in this lineup by their on-screen father, Brian Cox, who also has two previous bids for the series under his belt. This triple nomination for the same show could potentially see them all miss out though.
Rounding out the group are category newcomer Jeff Bridges (The Old Man), debutant nominee Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), and perennial nominee Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul).
With the popularity of those shows and the fact that Succession’s fans could potentially see their votes split among the three different nominees from the show, there could be an upset.
But the favorite is Culkin and with good reason as his performance was exceptional in a major season finale. He’s the pick here.
If you do think that there is potential in the shock, then the man to go with is Bob Odenkirk after his fantastic performance in Better Call Saul. He was a huge reason for the success of the Breaking Bad spin-off and deserves his flowers with an award to go in the trophy cabinet.
Kieran CulkinBest Drama Actor
-220
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About the Author
Daniel Feliciano
A soccer and MMA fanatic who believes the eye test far outweighs statistics, apart from when it comes to betting. With experience writing for several years, Daniel is an avid sports fan but also enjoys obstacle courses, music and views from a height.
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