Yidio Emmy Spotlight: Outstanding Actor in a Drama

In the Yidio Emmys Spotlight, we take a look at the key races at this year's Primetime Emmy Awards. Today we look at the Outstanding Actor in a Drama category, which includes a few actors who are glad not to face a reigning champ of the category for a third straight year.

Past Winners

Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" has had a veritable monopoly on this category for the past three years, winning the Emmy in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

No such luck this year, but only because the show was not eligible due to timing of the episode airings. Michael C. Hall, John Hamm and Hugh Laurie have all been nominated the past three years as well.

The Nominees

Jon Hamm - Don Draper - "Mad Men"

Hugh Laurie - Dr. Gregory House - "House"

Michael C. Hall - Dexter Morgan - "Dexter

Kyle Chandler - Coach Eric Taylor - "Friday Night Lights"

Steve Buscemi - Nucky Thompson - "Boardwalk Empire"

Timothy Olyphant - Raylan Givens - "Justified"

Prospects

I can't say that I envy the new blood competing in this year's Outstanding Actor In A Drama category. The best hope they'll have will be that the established favorites cancel each other out.

Unfortunately, for as long as it's on the air, the smart money never bets against "Mad Men." Jon Hamm's Don Draper is an enigmatic head-man who can sometimes be an insufferable egomaniac, but he's sometimes been so shrouded in questions about his past that we're drawn to him anyway. Also, the interesting thing I've always found about "Mad Men" has been how the show is as much about the fallout from Draper's action for the people around him as about the man himself.

Interestingly enough, the same could be said Hugh Laurie's Dr. Gregory House. Both men are institutions in this category, so much so that if a year passed in which neither were nominated, it would become the head-turning story of the whole night and practically put an asterisk next to that year's eventual winner's name.

"Sure, he won, but what if some people hadn't screwed up and he'd had Hamm or Laurie to compete against?"

The same goes for Michael C. Hall. More is revealed of Dexter Morgan eveyr season, and it continually tests Hall to keep building on what he's established - to be everything the character has been, and then some.

So, interesting question: what if those three mainstays were to "cancel each other out" among voters, and leave the award up for grabs to the three upstarts?

There's Kyle Chandler as Coach Eric Taylor of "Friday Night Lights." While he's been a big part of what's made the show so compelling, but unfortunately, it's been a show that's had a devout fan following but has never really been worth of a "yes" answer to this question: pitted against other shows, is it more award-worthy in any area than "Mad Men" or "House," including the individual categories?

Steve Buscemi has a puncher's chance for his work as Nucky Thompson on "Boardwalk Empire." Granted, he's once more mostly just being "Steve Buscemi," but he's Steve Buscemi on a talked-about freshman drama.

There's also Timothy Olyphant's work on "Justified." Olyphant is an underrated dramatic talent, and his work on the show proves that he's maybe had to wait too long to really get this kind of spotlight.

Prediction

All that being said . . . I'm picking Hamm. He's the lead horse on television's best drama, and the biggest reason it's so compelling. He's taking a repeat award.