By Abe Friedtanzer

There were a staggering 455 men on this particular ballot, the most in any category this year (and ever). It’s a wonder that five shows are still represented by eight nominees. The question is whether actors whose costars are nominated – like the boys from Succession or Critics Choice winner Billy Crudup – can distinguish themselves like Peter Dinklage managed to do last year with his fourth trophy for Game of Thrones. Or will having no internal competition propel someone else to the win?

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you’d like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…