Hollywood is gearing up for the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday morning (AEST) and the small handful of Australian nominees may have a fighting chance.

Game of Thrones’ delayed seventh season meant it ineligible and major contenders were bizarrely overlooked – including the final seasons of Lena Dunham’s Girls and the Melbourne-relocated The Leftovers.

There has also been a major shake-up in the voting mechanism, allowing for more wildcard wins, and the rise of streaming services pushing Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale (shown on SBS in Australia) and Netflix dramas The Crown and Stranger Things.

With all this mayhem going on, could Aussies claim Emmy glory? We take a look at the hopefuls.

Nicole Kidman

Currently enjoying a purple patch with celebrated turns in Australian director Garth Davis’ Lion and opposite Colin Farrell in both Sofia Coppola’s The Beguiled and Yorgos Lanthimos’ creepy The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Kidman saved her best work for the small screen.

Magnificent in Kiwi director Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake: China Girl, it was her stellar work in David E. Kelley’s adaptation of Australian author Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies that really blew us away.

Favoured to win Best Limited Series, though facing stiff competition from Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Bette and Joan, Kidman plays a woman enduring horrific domestic violence from her controlling husband (Alexander Skarsgård).

Kidman is likely to take home Best Actress, Limited Series or Movie, with Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon splitting the Feud vote.

Geoffrey Rush

Last year’s best supporting actor, Aussie Ben Mendelsohn, will go without a gong this year. Photo: Getty

Also competing in the Limited Series or Movie category for Best Actor, Rush is nominated for his turn as physicist Albert Einstein in National Geographic miniseries Genius. 

In a sign of the times, Rush is facing stiff competition from Hollywood A-listers decamping to TV: Ewan McGregor (Fargo), Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock: The Lying Detective), Robert DeNiro (The Wizard of Lies) and Riz Ahmed (The Night Of).

With all the buzz around the latter, we feel it might be Ahmed’s turn.

Judy Davis

Another Aussie legend joins the fray, with Davis in contention for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her depiction of notorious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper in Feud.

Dual options Laura Dern and Shailene Woodley may cannibalise Big Little Lies’ chances, but Davis also faces that handicap with Feud co-star Jackie Hoffman also nominated as Joan Crawford’s wise-talking maid, Mamacita.

American Crime may be cancelled, but Regina King could take advantage of all this in-fighting to scoop the award.

Also look out for

Australian director Kate Dennis is up for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for her excellent work on The Handmaid’s Tale.

Aussie producer Bruna Papandrea will share the glory if Big Little Lies takes home the Outstanding Limited Series award.

Commiserations and congratulations

At the earlier Creative Arts Emmy ceremony, Ben Mendelsohn, last year’s surprise winner of Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Netflix’s Bloodline, was a shock loss to This Is Us star Gerald McRaney in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series category.

Australia scored an early win though for Lady Gaga costumer Perry Meek’s work on RuPaul’s Drag Race.