2016 Emmy Contenders: Best Actor in a Drama Series

2016 Contenders
Kevin Spacey "House of Cards"
Bob Odenkirk "Better Call Saul"
Rami Malek "Mr. Robot"
Liev Schreiber "Ray Donovan"
Kyle Chandler "Bloodline"
Hugh Bonneville "Downton Abbey"
Terrence Howard "Empire"
Clive Owen "The Knick"
Paul Giamatti "Billions"
Damian Lewis "Billions"
Michael Sheen "Masters of Sex"
Bobby Cannavale "Vinyl"
James Spader "The Blacklist"
Aaron Paul "The Path"
Hugh Dancy "The Path"
Sam Heughan "Outlander"
Jeremy Piven "Mr. Selfridge"
Peter Capaldi "Doctor Who"
Matthew Rhys "The Americans"
Dominic West "The Affair"
Travis Fimmel "Vikings"
Wagner Moura "Narcos"
Aldis Hodge "Underground"
Charlie Cox "Marvel's Daredevil"
Justin Theroux "The Leftovers"
Freddie Highmore "Bates Motel"
Louis C.K. "Horace and Pete"
Steve Buscemi "Horace and Pete"
Ray Liotta "Shades of Blue"
Andrew Lincoln "The Walking Dead"
Mads Mikkelsen "Hannibal"
David Duchovny "The X-Files"
James Purefoy "Hap and Leonard"
Michael Kenneth Williams "Hap and Leonard"
Bill Sage "Hap and Leonard"
Jimmi Simpson "Hap and Leonard"
Nathan Fillion "Castle"
Josh Hartnett "Penny Dreadful"
Timothy Dalton "Penny Dreadful"
Peter Krause "The Catch"
Jamie Bell "Turn"
Scoot McNairy "Halt and Catch Fire"
Lee Pace "Halt and Catch Fire"
Titus Welliver "Bosch"
Aden Young "Rectify"

Commentary - While there are always going to be more contenders for Drama Actor than Drama Actress, which is a shame considering some of the great shows led by women on television, the overall quality looks to be a lot less this year, with stalwarts Jon Hamm and Jeff Daniels gone, and a lot of uncertainty of who can or should replace them. So we know Spacey and Odenkirk are back, and newcomer Rami Malek feels like a shoo-in for the top three slots. Bloodline's Season 2 is still not great, but Kyle Chandler is a favorite. Liev Schrieber is probably the one who can return, but might not. Billion and Vinyl looked promising with three Emmy-winning actors, but both received mixed responses. Some people loved them, but a lot didn't, and I don't know how that will influence Emmy voting. Clive Owen and Terrence Howard hope now that some of the competition is gone, they can take their spots, and Hugh Bonneville is poised to carry the wave of Downton Abbey nostalgia back into this race. Doctor Who finally submitted itself for the Emmys. They don't normally go for sci-fi television shows (and Game of Thrones pretty much gets those votes), but Doctor Who is a classic, they have never really gotten a chance to reward it, and Peter Capaldi might garner some support. Matthew Rhys, Michael Sheen, James Spader, Wager Moura, Justin Theroux, the Horace and Pete guys, Sam Heughan, Dominic West, Aldis Hodge, Freddie Highmore, and The Path duo are probably filling out the top twenty or so. The rest of guys? They probably need a miracle.