Six dramas enter, one remains. Which show will take home the top prize? For starters, the common consensus has been that the second season of “Homeland” wasn’t as good as the first, so its chances of winning aren’t great. The same goes for “Mad Men,” which hit a bit of a rough patch after earning less nominations categories than in previous years, and “Downton Abbey,” which at this point seems to get nominated just for the sake of getting nominated. The race is truly between “Breaking Bad” and “Game of Thrones.” The former is easily the strongest of the bunch — and will likely take the prize — but don’t be surprised if the latter comes along and sweeps voters off their feet. Of course, this year there’s a dark horse in the form of “House of Cards.” As a series created exclusively for Netflix that’s received a near-endless amount of buzz, “Cards” could possibly surprise viewers on Sunday night.
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, Sept. 19 print edition. Jeremy Pick is a staff writer. Email him at [email protected].