The actors’ Emmy episode submissions: What we know so far

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

The Emmy nominations won’t be announced until July 14, but many acting contenders are already weighing which sample episodes they should submit to judges if they score a bid. Below is a compilation of what we know about their leanings so far, but the decisions are not final. This information has been gathered from the stars’ publicists, our interviews with contenders and various Internet sources. Nothing is final until specific episodes are submitted officially to Emmy jurors.

Among the drama contenders, ‘Mad Men’ might finally win an acting trophy (or two) thanks to Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss submitting ‘The Suitcase,’ which feels like a two-person play packed with drunken confessions. Speaking of boozing, two-time past Emmy champ William H. Macy gets big, grandstanding scenes in the season finale of ‘Shameless’ when he must atone for his drunken behavior.

In her showcase episode of ‘Sons of Anarchy,’ Katey Sagal appears tough and tender as she reunites with her father (Hal Holbrook), who suffers from dementia. Timothy Olyphant (‘Justified’) is considering one of two final episodes of a season filled with great action scenes, murders and a suicide.

Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler give heartfelt turns in the final episode of ‘Friday Night Lights.’ Denis O’Hare (‘True Blood’) literally pulls the spine out of a victim and displays it on TV. John Slattery (‘Mad Men’) loses his biggest client and finds out his mistress is pregnant. Monica Potter (‘Parenthood’) deals with an autistic son and a rebellious daughter. KaDee Strickland (‘Private Practice’) recovers from a brutal rape. And Sara Ramirez (‘Grey’s Anatomy’) has a near-death musical episode for the voters.

In the comedy races, Amy Poehler (‘Parks and Recreation’) gives a big, bawdy, physical performance while battling the flu. Laura Linney struggles with the news that she has cancer in the pilot episode of ‘The Big C.’ Ty Burrell (‘Modern Family’) switches roles with his wife, costar Jesse Tyler Ferguson climbs his office wall as Spider-Man and Neil Patrick Harris (‘How I Met Your Mother’) finally finds his real father (John Lithgow). The list:

DRAMA LEAD ACTOR
Jon Hamm (‘Mad Men’) -- ‘The Suitcase’
Peter Krause (‘Parenthood’) -- ‘If This Boat Is a Rockin’ ’ or ‘Do Not Sleep With Your Autistic Nephew’s Therapist’
Michael C. Hall (‘Dexter’) -- ‘My Bad’ or ‘Teenage Wasteland’
William H. Macy (‘Shameless’) -- ‘It’s Time to Kill the Turtle’ or ‘Father Frank, Full of Grace’
Timothy Olyphant (‘Justified’) -- ‘Reckoning’ or ‘Bloody Harlan’
Tom Selleck (‘Blue Bloods’) -- ‘Pilot’ or ‘The Blue Templar’

DRAMA LEAD ACTRESS
Connie Britton (‘Friday Night Lights’) -- ‘Always’
Kim Delaney (‘Army Wives’) -- ‘On Behalf of a Grateful Nation’ or ‘Soldier On’
Mireille Enos (‘The Killing’) -- ‘Pilot’ or ‘Missing’
Elisabeth Moss (‘Mad Men’) -- ‘The Suitcase’
Piper Perabo (‘Covert Affairs’) -- ‘Pilot’
Katey Sagal (‘Sons of Anarchy’) -- ‘SO’ or ‘Home’
Kyra Sedgwick (‘The Closer’) -- ‘War Zone’
Anna Torv (‘Fringe’) -- ‘Olivia’ or ‘Entrada’ or ‘Marionette’ or ‘Bloodline’

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Charles (‘The Good Wife’) -- ‘Double Jeopardy’ or ‘Two Courts’ or ‘Closing Arguments’
Michael Cudlitz (‘Southland’) -- ‘The Winds’
Alan Cumming (‘The Good Wife’) -- ‘Killer Song’ or ‘Silver Bullet’
John Noble (‘Fringe’) -- ‘Entrada’ or ‘The Firefly’ or ‘The Day We Died’
Denis O’Hare (‘True Blood’) -- ‘Everything Is Broken’
Michael Shannon (‘Boardwalk Empire’) -- ‘Paris Green’
John Slattery (‘Mad Men’) -- ‘Hands and Knees’

DRAMA SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Emilia Clarke (‘Game of Thrones’) -- ‘Fire and Blood’
Margo Martindale (‘Justified’) -- ‘Brother’s Keeper’
Monica Potter (‘Parenthood’) -- ‘The Booth Job’ or ‘A House Divided’
Sara Ramirez (‘Grey’s Anatomy’) -- ‘Song Beneath the Song’
Kiernan Shipka (‘Mad Men’) -- ‘Beautiful Girls’
KaDee Strickland (‘Private Practice’) -- ‘Did You Hear What Happened to Charlotte King?’

COMEDY LEAD ACTOR
Johnny Galecki (‘The Big Bang Theory’) -- ‘The Benefactor Factor’
Matt LeBlanc (‘Episodes’) -- ‘Episode 107’
Joel McHale (‘Community’) -- ‘Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking’ or ‘Critical Film Studies’
Jim Parsons (‘The Big Bang Theory’) -- ‘The Cruciferous Vegetable Amplification’ or ‘The Zazzy Substitution’

COMEDY LEAD ACTRESS
Toni Collette (‘United States of Tara’) -- ‘Wheels’ or ‘Electrifying & Magnanimous Return of Beaverlamp’
Patricia Heaton (‘The Middle’) -- ‘Mother’s Day II’ or ‘Taking Back the House’
Laura Linney (‘The Big C’) -- ‘Pilot’
Martha Plimpton (‘Raising Hope’) -- ‘Say Cheese’ or ‘Dream Hoarders’
Amy Poehler (‘Parks and Recreation’) -- ‘Flu Season’

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTOR
Aziz Ansari (‘Parks and Recreation’) -- ‘Indianapolis’ or ‘Soulmates’
Chris Colfer (‘Glee’) -- ‘Grilled Cheesus’ or ‘Never Been Kissed’ or ‘Born This Way’
Ty Burrell (‘Modern Family’) -- ‘Good Cop, Bad Dog’ or ‘See You Next Fall’
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (‘Modern Family’) -- ‘Halloween’
Neil Patrick Harris (‘How I Met Your Mother’) -- ‘Legendaddy’ or ‘Hopeless’
Kunal Nayyar (‘The Big Bang Theory’) -- ‘The Wildebeest Implementation’
Nick Offerman (‘Parks and Recreation’) -- ‘Ron and Tammy, Part 2’
Danny Pudi (‘Community’) -- ‘Critical Film Studies’
Adam Scott (‘Parks and Recreation’) -- ‘Media Blitz’ or ‘The Bubble’

COMEDY SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Wendie Malick (‘Hot in Cleveland’) -- ‘Good Luck Faking the Goiter’ or ‘The Sex That Got Away’
Amy Ryan (‘The Office’) -- ‘Garage Sale’
Merritt Wever (‘Nurse Jackie’) -- ‘Batting Practice’

RELATED:

Glee’ will enter these six episodes in Emmy race for best comedy

Family Guy’ will enter these five episodes in race for best comedy

‘Modern Family’ will enter these six episodes in race for best comedy

-- Tom O’Neil