All the Emmys ‘The Last of Us’ is likely to win

Ever since The Last of Us debuted on HBO the hype train has been going full throttle, and rightfully so. With its artful direction, fantastic acting performances, and utterly heartbreaking-yet-beautiful writing, the show is bucking the trend when it comes to disappointing live-action adaptations of video games, all while earning legions of new fans for the series inspired by the Naughty Dog games.

While critical and cultural acclaim is all well and good, even the most successful Hollywood workers know the pinnacle of a television show’s success is winning awards, and no prize means more in the world of the small screen than the Emmys. Although we’re well away from finding out who’s been nominated for what, The Last of Us looks like it will break the chain of incredible sci-fi shows being completely ignored by televisions biggest prize (as fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Walking Dead, and countless other series’ can attest to).

The Emmys themselves are split into three different categories — the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards (which reward technical and behind-the-scenes achievements like hair and makeup), and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards. While we’re sure TLOU will garner several nominations across all three of these, especially in the Creative Arts section for categories like Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup and Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, in this article we’ll be focusing on the Primetime Emmy Awards we think it’ll be likely to win.

Which Emmys is The Last of Us likely to win?

Outstanding Drama Series

We’ll start with the biggie: Outstanding Drama Series. Previous winners include heavy hitters like Succession, The Sopranos, and Mad Men, and just as impressive is the list of nominated shows that didn’t win, such as Better Call Saul, Westworld, and House of Cards.

Although we’re still not done with the nomination period, The Last of Us will definitely have some tough competition in this category. It’s been a bumper year for television with shows like White Lotus and Andor generating extreme awards hype, as well as the final season of Better Call Saul and last year’s winner Succession to contend with. That’s not to mention some of the dark horse options, like Yellowjackets. It’s certainly anyone’s guess who’ll nab the award, but TLOU would be a worthy winner.

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

This prize is a little different as it’s awarded for specific episodes of the shows that are nominated. That makes sense as, over the course of a season, a television series will usually have multiple directors, which is also true of The Last of Us. While each episode has given us something special and with a few still left to go before season one wraps up, the front runner for this award is likely to be the heart-wrenching episode five, “Endure and Survive.”

Directed by Craig Mazin, this episode had everything you could want — back-breaking tension, a gauntlet of emotions, and an unbelievable action sequence that ended with fan favorite Jeffery Pierce being ripped apart by a bloater. The episode itself finished on one of the most shocking and sad notes in the entire series, which says a lot, considering how desperately haunting some of the other episodes have been.

Mazin not only directed the human characters in the episode beautifully, but the creepy way he managed to get a child clicker to maneuver through a car while she was chasing Ellie was pure nightmare fuel. It’s an outstanding episode that deserves to be nominated.

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

As was always bound to be the case with an adaptation of a beloved video game, many fans of The Last of Us were worried the show writers would massacre the gripping and emotionally resonant gameplay script in an attempt to make it more palatable to a television audience. Thankfully, they’ve been proven wrong over and over again, and the main proof of this is TLOU being hotly tipped to be nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series.

Another award that focuses on a single episode of a series, “Endure and Survive” is likely to be the one that gets that sweet nomination thanks to its incredible character development and traumatizing ending. With that said, the most recent episode, “When We Are in Need,” could also be nominated, and there’s even a chance both episodes make it into the shortlist. However, there’s no guarantees, as the competition will be tough.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Now we come to one of the biggest awards: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. There are some truly iconic names in the list of previous recipients, from three-time winner James Gandolfini to the ever-talented Bryan Cranston. Last year’s winner was Lee Jung-jae, who played Seong Gi-hun in Squid Game. He managed to beat out a highly competitive field that included Jeremy Strong and Bob Odenkirk, and this year’s competition for Pedro Pascal is shaping up to be just as tough.

With that said, Pascal currently has twice the chance of being nominated thanks to the recent release of the newest season of The Mandalorian, but there have been plenty of great leading men performances to give him some competition. Potential 2023 nominees include Strong, Brian Cox, and Odenkirk, all of whom have a huge shot at winning.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Let’s be frank: If Bella Ramsey isn’t nominated for her performance as Ellie, it should cause riots. If the teenager wins, she’ll become the youngest person ever to snag an Emmy, just three years after Zendaya took that accolade for her performance in Euphoria. Ramsey would also be joining an outstanding list of talented names to have won the award, including Olivia Coleman, Gillian Anderson, and Claire Danes.

While Ramsey is among the favorites to pick up the award, she’ll be facing stiff competition from a number of other wonderfully talented actresses. Elizabeth Moss, previously a winner for her role in The Handmaid’s Tale, is highly likely to be nominated again for her performance as June in the dystopian thriller. Ramsey will also probably be up against a familiar face to fans of The Last of Us, Melanie Lynskey, who played Kathleen in two episodes of the show and has every chance of being nominated for her performance in Yellowjackets. Even so, Ramsey is looking like the favorite right now.