Hoping to see a well deserved Emmy in their hands

The 67th annual Emmy awards will be airing this upcoming weekend and I usually don't watch, mainly due to the lack of shows that I actually enjoy being nominated. However, there are several people and series that fall into my particular TV wheelhouse who are up for top honors this time around, so I'll be tuning in.

While the Emmys do tend to get predictable with their wins(can Modern Family give it a rest?) and prone to giving overlooked shows a grand sweep once their run is completed(Mad Men will be taking home some goodies there), the chance of an unexpected win is not that far gone.

So, these are my personal picks for who should win, not who will. Maybe my wish will come true for one or all of these fine folks that night but I shouldn't be greedy about this:

VIOLA DAVIS as ANNALISE KEATING in HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER:  In the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama category, she's up against the likes of Tatiana Malsany playing a whole slew of characters in Orphan Black and Elizabeth Moss signing off on Mad Men, along with Claire Danes, Robin Wright and Taraji P. Henson. Pretty strong competition there.

Yet, Viola Davis stands head and shoulders over them all with her powerhouse performance in this debut season of HTGAWM. The depth and nuance she gives to seemingly ruthless attorney/law professor Annalise Keating is the steadfast spine of this show.

Praise is also due to the writers of the show for making her character such a multifaceted personality, the kind that we rarely see on a regular network series. Even just the simple act of taking off her make-up becomes more of a emotional event as this warrior woman slips off her armor to show her actual brave heart:

DAVID OYELOWO FOR NIGHTINGALE: This one man performance in this made for HBO film is truly the one that I would be surprised to see not win. Oyelowo holds your attention from minute one and doesn't let go until the very end, not an easy thing for any actor to do.

 Nothing against the other gentlemen in The Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series/Movie, including Mark Rylance in Wolf Hall and Richard Jenkins in Olive Kitteridge, but this was an exceptionally good film that showcased the psychological breakdown of a man suffering from PTSD who also has a dark family secret to keep as well.

If you haven't seen Nightingale, take the time to do so as Oyelowo's artistry is on fine display here and perhaps even better than any Broadway version of this story would be:

MAYIM BIALIK as AMY FARRAH FOWLER in THE BIG BANG THEORY: She's been nominated four times already for her role as the equally brainy yet more willing to be social soul mate of Sheldon Cooper and it's about time that she got an award here.

Amy is more than just "the girlfriend" here, her awkward attempts at bonding with Penny and Bernadette over the years have made her just as endearingly odd as Sheldon is with his buddies, only Amy has shown her true emotional strengths more readily to her companions than he has.

This is a very crowded category, with SNL's Kate McKinnon, Alison Janney from Mom and even online shows like Transparent, Veep and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt having a spot here(and yes, Modern Family, too-take a year off, will you?). Yet, I really do believe that it's Bialik's turn to bask in the spotlight that Amy has earned:

PETER DINKLAGE and EMILIA CLARKE for GAME OF THRONES: The meeting between these two pivotal characters is an event that took all of the show's viewers by surprise(especially since this hasn't happened in the books yet) and it became the highlight of the season.

I really thought Dinklage would win last year, given that whole "Tyrion vs. Tywin" arc that left only one of them standing, but his chances are pretty good this time around. Granted, going up against Alan Cummings(The Good Wife) and Jim Carter(Downton Abbey) doesn't make it easy yet Dinklage looks to be the strongest contender in the Supporting Actor section there.

Clarke not only has to compete with solid Supporting Actress talents such as Christina Hendricks(Mad Men), Uzo Aduba(Orange is the New Black) and Joanna Froggett(Downton Abbey), she's also up against fellow GOT player Lena Headley, whose character had quite the memorable walk of shame this year. If she does lose to Headley, I'm fine with that but it would be nice to see the khaleesi grab hold of that victory as she heads towards the Iron Throne:

Well, if just one of my hoped-for favorites wins, that will be enough for me. At least in the Creative Arts Emmys, there is a winner that I and other Jane Austen fans are most pleased with and that is Emma Approved getting the Outstanding Original Interactive Program award(you know, Best Webseries is a much shorter name,guys!). May all of the soon-to-be Emmy winners enjoy as much imminent success as the gang at Pemberley Digital have so far: