A FINAL FORECAST FOR 15 KEY CATEGORIES

SO MUCH FOR A NAIL-BITER YEAR AT THE EMMYS. HERE'S HOW THE MAJOR RACES ARE LIKELY TO SHAKE OUT

- BY GLENN WHIPP

CALL ME FOOLISH. Call me naive. But not too long ago, I truly believed that the big categories in this year's Emmys were going to come down to the wire. That when that final envelope was opened, we'd be on the edge of our seats... or at the very least not completely numbed to the inevitability of the winners.

It could still happen, of course. I'm ready for "The Pitt" to make me cry again should the throwback medical drama prevail for drama series. But I'm not holding my breath. This year's Emmys look like they'll be continuing the trend of rewarding a handful of shows — “The Studio,” “Severance” and “Adolescence” are the big three — at the expense of everyone else. Sure, other series will pick up a trophy here and there: Jean Smart will not be denied! But by and large, if you made even a cursory effort at keeping up with TV this year, you'll know the winners already. And one of them will be Stephen Colbert, who might have something interesting to say, given that the Emmys are airing on CBS, the network that unceremoniously canceled his show. So there's one reason to watch. And if you love the other heavy favorites, not to mention icons like Harrison Ford and Kathy Bates, maybe there's more. Here are my final predictions for the 77th Primetime Emmys.

COMEDY SERIES

“Abbott Elementary”

“The Bear”

“Hacks”

“Nobody Wants This”

“Only Murders in the Building”

“Shrinking”

“The Studio”

“What We Do in the Shadows”

“Hacks” won last year, riding the sentiment that “The Bear” was most definitely not a comedy. Guess what? “Hacks” wasn’t exactly a laugh riot this season, opening the door for “The Studio,” a show that is both funny and somehow affectionate in its clear-eyed look at the compromises baked into making movies (and occasionally art) in Hollywood.

COMEDY ACTRESS

Kristen Bell, “Nobody Wants This”

Uzo Aduba, “The Residence”

Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”