Who will win? A TV critic's cheat sheet for the Emmys

Predicting who will take home Emmys will never be as popular as playing fantasy football or diving into the office Oscar pool, but this year's ceremonies should be of interest to anyone with even a casual gambling habit. With past winners "Game of Thrones" and "The Handmaid's Tale" competing against each other for the first time and "Veep" on hiatus, many of the races are harder than ever to handicap. Here are seven to keep an eye on:

Nominees: "The Americans," "The Crown," "Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Stranger Things," "This Is Us," "Westworld."

Over the past decade, only "Homeland" has triumphed without a return to the winner's circle. That pattern bodes well for 2017 champ "Handmaid," although it didn't have to compete last year against two-time champ "GOT."

Nominees: "Atlanta," "Barry," "Black-ish," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "GLOW," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Silicon Valley," "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."

"Atlanta" deserves to be recognized — as TV's best drama. Despite the show being in the wrong category, Donald Glover and company will come out on top, even though a "Maisel" or "GLOW" win would be more appropriate.

Nominees: Pamela Adlon, "Better Things"; Rachel Brosnahan, "Maisel"; Allison Janney, "Mom"; Issa Rae, "Insecure"; Tracee Ellis Ross, "Black-ish"; Lily Tomlin, "Grace and Frankie."

With "Veep" 's Julia-Louis Dreyfus taking the season off, voters have a chance to honor their other fave, Janney. Or maybe they'll go for Ross, who has fallen short three years in a row. But Brosnahan's fast-and-furious performance was just too rich to ignore.

Nominees: Jason Bateman, "Ozark"; Sterling K. Brown, "This Is Us"; Ed Harris, "Westworld"; Matthew Rhys, "The Americans"; Jeffrey Wright, "Westworld"; Milo Ventimiglia, "This Is Us."

If anyone deserves an Emmy for "The Americans," it's Keri Russell, but she faces long odds against Elisabeth Moss and Sandra Oh ("Killing Eve"). The show's best chances in its final season lie with Rhys.

Nominees: Louie Anderson, "Baskets"; Alec Baldwin, "SNL"; Tituss Burgess, "Kimmy"; Brian Tyree Henry, "Atlanta"; Tony Shalhoub, "Maisel"; Kenan Thompson, "SNL"; Henry ­Winkler, "Barry."

Anderson and Baldwin have already won in this category and either could do it again. But the Fonz has never taken home an Emmy — and he's never been cooler.

Nominees: Zazie Beetz, "Atlanta"; Alex Borstein, "Maisel"; Aidy Bryant, "SNL"; Betty Gilpin, "GLOW"; Leslie Jones, "SNL"; Kate McKinnon, "SNL"; Laurie Metcalf, "Roseanne"; Megan Mullally, "Will and Grace."

McKinnon could become the fifth person to win in this category three times in a row, joining Doris Roberts, Rhea Perlman, Valerie Harper — and Metcalf. Borstein will likely get in her way.

Nominees: "The Amazing Race," "American Ninja Warrior," "Project Runway," "RuPaul's Drag Race," "Top Chef," "The Voice."

Only three shows — "Voice," "Amazing" and "Chef" — have taken this prize since the category was created in 2003. Don't be surprised if RuPaul crashes the party.