Delayed by four months due to Hollywood strikes, television's Emmy Awards will finally take place on Monday, with the final season of HBO's "Succession" expected to dominate the top drama prizes.

Here are five things to look out for at the small screen's equivalent of the Oscars:

– Roy v Roy v Roy –

"Succession" charted the back-stabbing dynastic squabbles of the ultra-wealthy Roy family, and so it is only fitting that the Emmys is pitting its stars against each another one last time.

A record three of the six nominees for best actor in a drama are from the same show, with Golden Globe winner Kieran Culkin — who plays bratty heir Roman Roy — tipped to prevail over co-stars Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox.

The show has a whopping 27 nominations, and is the frontrunner for six awards including best drama, which it has won twice previously.

Sarah Snook is expected to win best actress honors for her role as the only female Roy heir, while Matthew Macfadyen — her husband on the show — should seal the fictional family's grip on the Emmys with the best supporting actor prize.

– Prestige dramas –

In a solid year for TV drama, perhaps the two shows that will feel most aggrieved to come up against the "Succession" swansong are "The Last of Us" and "The White Lotus."

Arguably the best video game adaptation ever to grace the small screen, "The Last of Us" has already scooped eight Emmys in technical categories awarded ahead of the main gala, from best prosthetic makeup to best guest actor for Nick Offerman's memorable turn in its beloved third episode.

But it may well leave the main gala on Monday empty-handed, unless its stars Pedro Pascal or Bella Ramsey can spring a surprise.

Meanwhile "The White Lotus," a stylish satire on wealth and hypocrisy, was forced to switch from the limited series categories to drama, after returning for a second season set in Sicily.

The sole returning star from the first season, Emmy winner Jennifer Coolidge, is a clear frontrunner for best actress.

– Vintage comedy –

"The Bear" is the hot favorite for the comedy prizes — but not for the season you're thinking of.

Just before the Emmys' strike-enforced delay, Television Academy voters cast their ballots last summer for the show's intense first season, which took viewers behind the scenes of a dysfunctional Chicago restaurant kitchen way back in June 2022. 

Since then, "The Bear" has released an even more critically acclaimed and ambitious second season, which Emmy voters will get their say on at the next ceremony, taking place this September.

Confusing? Yes, but don't expect frontrunners like Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach or Ayo Edebiri to care if they win big.

"The Bear" is up against "Ted Lasso," a prolific former Emmy winner that signed off with an underwhelming, (probably) final season.

– Limited series –

The always competitive limited series categories, for shows that run only a single season, is likely to spread the awards love around a bit more.

Netflix's "Beef" and "Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" led the limited series category with 13 nods apiece. 

Both are tipped by pundits to be rewarded, with Ali Wong a popular choice as a road-rage driver in "Beef," and Evan Peters too terrifying to ignore as notorious serial killer Dahmer.

Other standouts in this section are Hollywood A-lister Jessica Chastain in country music biopic "George and Tammy," and Paul Walter Hauser in "Black Bird," another dark true crime series.

– Awards limbo –

The Emmys have been locked in a downward spiral with TV audiences for years.

Last year's telecast was watched by just 5.9 million — lower even than the 2020 "pandEmmys" lockdown edition that was broadcast from an empty theater and featured stars accepting their awards at home from delivery men dressed in tuxedo-themed hazmat suits.

The Emmys' struggles are not unique among awards shows, although events like the Oscars have recovered audiences since the pandemic.

The gala's delay to January is unlikely to help — aside from inevitable confusion about honoring shows that premiered 18 months earlier, the move puts the Emmys smack in the middle of Hollywood's film awards season, starving the show of considerable publicity. (Andrew MARSZAL)

amz/hg/sst

© Agence France-Presse