From friendly competition to a timely charity push, the Emmys are shaping up to be an interesting night

By Dan Heching, CNN

(CNN) — New content and episodes of fan-favorite shows are streaming on our small screens, but it’s also time to look back at the year of television that was.

The 77th Emmy Awards will be presented on Sunday, and while most eyes will be watching to see who goes home with television’s top prize, let’s not overlook the interesting subplots.

Here are some storylines to watch for at Sunday’s Emmy ceremony.

Friendly, but fierce, costar competition

The supporting actor and actress categories in drama are absolutely stacked this year – mostly from just a few shows. The supporting actor drama series race is distinctive in that it has three nominees from “Severance” – Trammell Tillman, Zach Cherry and John Turturro – competing against three from “The White Lotus,” namely Sam Rockwell, Walton Goggins and Jason Isaacs. The odd man out is James Marsden, who is nominated for “Paradise.”

The best supporting actress in drama category includes four nominees from “Lotus” – Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Aimee Lou Wood and Natasha Rothwell. Rothwell told CNN last month that the competition “couldn’t be more friendly.”

“I mean, I’m rooting for them always, even before I knew them through the show,” she said of her costars in contention. “I am just a fan of their work. And so it’s just a joy to be able to go to Hollywood prom with them and celebrate!”

At the Creative Emmy Awards last weekend, the guest actor in a comedy series race featured no less than five actors from “The Studio,” including Martin Scorsese, Ron Howard, Anthony Mackie and Dave Franco, who all played themselves in the Hollywood satire. They, along with Jon Bernthal of “The Bear,” lost out to Bryan Cranston, also of “The Studio,” who played an uproarious top media exec. The guest actress in a drama series had three nominees from “Severance,” with Merritt Wever winning the trophy.

Wordy speeches won’t come cheap

Comedian Nate Bargatze, who is a first-time host of the Emmys this year, told CNN’s Elizabeth Wagmeister he has an inspired plan to keep the show – and acceptance speeches – running on time. He plans to donate $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of America at the top of the show, but there’s a catch.

“As always, everyone gets 45 seconds to make their speech. For every second they go over, the kids will get $1,000 less. And the kids will be there. And see it. And feel it. So is thanking your second manager worth taking food from a child?” Bargatze said. “I don’t think so, but we’ll see what Hollywood thinks.”

“It’s a show, you gotta get moving,” Bargatze told CNN of his thinking behind the plot, later urging winners to recognize some of the people they need to thank on social media as opposed to on stage.

It does go both ways, though, since winners who end their thank you’s under the allotted time will cause money to be added back to the pot. “It is very serious. The amount of money I give to the Boys and Girls Club is totally up to all of Hollywood,” he said of the ultimate total the charity will receive.

A potentially historic win

While Katy Bates has already won two Emmys – one in 2012 for a guest role on “Two and a Half Men” and another in 2014 for her gonzo performance as Madame Delphine LaLaurie in “American Horror Story: Coven” – at 77, she could become the eldest performer to win the Emmy for best actress in a drama. Bates is nominated for her work “Matlock.” She was previously nominated in the same category in 2011 and 2012 for “Harry’s Law.”

Regardless of whether she wins on Sunday, what Bates really needs is a Grammy – with an Oscar (for 1990’s “Misery”) and a Tony Award (for “’night, Mother” in 1983) already secured, she’s only a G away from an EGOT.

Veteran first-timers

Although he’s a veteran A-list actor, most of Harrison Ford’s work has been in film.

Now, he’s an Emmy nominee for his work in “Shrinking,” and joins an impressive group of other first-time Emmy nominees that includes Javier Bardem, JK Simmons, Zoë Kravitz, Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Ike Barinholtz, Ruth Negga, Colin Farrell, Chloë Sevigny and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Beyoncé, the Emmy winner

Queen B’s “Beyoncé Bowl” football halftime show, which streamed on Netflix last Christmas, has already won an Emmy for outstanding costumes (and Bey herself became an Emmy winner because she was credited as a costume designer on the project).

This Sunday, that same performance is nominated for outstanding variety special (live). Among Beyoncé’s competitors is her husband Jay-Z, who is credited as a producer of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show.

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