The Primetime Emmy Awards are this Sunday on CBS, hosted by Stephen Colbert, though you wouldn’t really know it. While the Emmys always lack the industry cachet of the Oscars and fail to produce timeline fodder like the Grammys or even the VMAs, this year’s celebration of TV excellence seems especially under the radar. Chalk it up to a combination of bizarre nominees (the ongoing recognition of House of Cards is criminal negligence), the absence of Game of Thrones, and the crushing inevitably of “topical” “jokes” about Russia and the White House.
Still, there are still reasons to be intrigued by the 2017 Emmys, particularly if you take all of the above as a given. I’ve finally come to accept that the Emmys don’t care about your faves, your feelings, or your predictions. The best way to approach TV’s most glamorous affair is as a series of interwoven storylines—some will carry through the entire telecast, some will disappear midway, and hopefully a few we’ll be talking about the next day. So you know, just like a TV show. Here are the six to keep in mind this year.