Streaming columnist NICK OVERALL puts a finger to the wind and predicts some of the likely winners of this year’s Emmy awards.

‘Tis the season of virtue-signalling speeches and outrageous snubbing.

I refer to television’s night of nights, the Emmys, where the best shows face off for what has become streaming’s most coveted awards. 

This year’s awards night, in Los Angeles on September 15, is stacked with some seriously great shows. Here are some highlights, predictions and snubs.

It’s Shogun that leads the pack, racking up a whopping 25 nominations.

This drama series set in feudal Japan generated all sorts of hype when it dropped in February, with many people comparing it to the height of Game of Thrones.

Visually stunning, finely acted and featuring action scenes that rival what’s on the big screen, Shogun brought blockbuster television to a whole new level.

It’s got some fierce competition to slash through though. Shogun will be competing against the final season of The Crown on Netflix, The Morning Show on Apple TV Plus and Amazon Prime Video’s post-apocalyptic thriller Fallout to name a few.

My money is on Shogun to take out a very deserved win though.

Best limited series is also a heated category this year.

The frontrunner has to be Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, a British black comedy about a man relentlessly stalked by a woman after he offers her a free cup of tea.

This true story was at times hilarious, at other times harrowing, but brutally honest throughout.

Jessica Gunning, the woman who plays the stalker at the centre of the show, is up for best supporting actress in a limited series and is undeniably the deserving winner.

Terrifying and unpredictable, Gunning instilled unease effortlessly whenever she was on screen.

The show has scored a total of 11 nominations in total. It’s up against Fargo and Ripley for the best limited series gong, two exceptional shows, but I have a feeling Reindeer will still clinch the victory.

The Bear on Disney Plus has broken a record, earning the most award nominations for a comedy series in a single year with 23. It’s interesting that this sizzling drama about life in a kitchen is up for the “comedy” category. There are certainly funny moments, but The Bear is far more suited to drama. Still, the third season is sure to sweep and rightly so. Jeremy Allen White, the show’s grief-stricken and sleep-deprived chef, is also tipped to pick up best actor in a comedy series.

Gary Oldman is borderline unrecognizable in Slow Horses, a British spy thriller in which the 66-year-old is nominated for best actor. He and Hiroyuki Sanada from Shogun are the frontrunners for this category but it would be great to see Walton Goggins take out the prize for his performance in Fallout.

Goggins plays Cooper Howard, a ghoul who stalks a nuclear wasteland. On top of an impressive commitment to his make-up every day, which somehow managed to remove his nose, Goggins delivered acting that was impossible to look away from. 

It is refreshing to see the Emmys slowly acknowledging more offbeat series like this and a nod for Goggins would cement that. It’s a travesty though to see New Zealand actor Antony Starr is still yet to get a look in for his performance of Homelander in Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys.

Dominic West is also nominated for his portrayal of Prince Charles in the final season of The Crown, a role the 54-year-old says he’s “relieved is over”.

“I read all the reviews and spent two days in bed,” he confessed in an interview with Deadline after the final season aired.

The final set of episodes did release a split reaction, especially the show’s handling of the death of Princess Diana. 

Australian actress Elizabeth Debicki is up for best supporting actress in a drama series for her portrayal of the princess and she, too, has a fair crack at the prize. These nominations are just two of 18 the royal drama racked up, including for Imelda Staunton who played Queen Elizabeth II. No easy task, but Staunton did so with grace and deep commitment. It would be a well deserved win.

Taking out the award for biggest snub of the year is The Curse, a limited series on Paramount Plus starring Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder as a cashed up couple trying to gentrify their New Mexico neighborhood. Excruciating in the best way possible, this cringe comedy was like nothing else. I don’t exaggerate when I say its final episode might be the most bizarre yet fascinating 70 minutes of television I’ve ever seen. Too bizarre for the awards panel, I’d wager.