Buzzmeter

Last year, Bryan Cranston’s surprising career turn from wacky comedy (“Malcolm in the Middle”) to gritty drama (“Breaking Bad”) shocked TV academy voters into giving him the Emmy for lead actor in a drama series. Cranston is in the running again, but he’s got some stiff competition from the soulful Gabriel Byrne (above, with Aaron Shaw) from HBO’s “In Treatment” and Denis Leary in the resurgent “Rescue Me.” Cable’s got some strong acting, for sure. See what our pundits have to say at TheEnvelope.com/buzzmeter.