The 2012 Emmy Awards air Sunday at 8pm on ABC during all of your other programming (set those DV-Rs!), so is the show worth watching?  Will there be any upsets?  Or will it just be worth it to sit there smugly as Bryan Cranston wins again for Breaking Bad, turning to your friends, significant other or Siri and saying “I totally called that.”  Hit the jump to see my predictions for who will win and whoshould win Sunday night based on Vegas odds, rumors, secret handshakes, the predictability of Emmy voters, with maybe an upset or two thrown in to keep things interesting.

Before the 2012 Emmy Nominations are officially announced (July 19th), I wanted to jump in and highlight some of what I believe to be some of the best underrated performances on television this year.  Putting aside some of the perennial winners, the following discussion for each of the major categories is likely to mention plenty of names who won’t get Emmy mentions this year, but certainly should (and others who may get a nod, but likely won’t win).  Hit the jump for the (spoiler-free!) list that is not meant to be exhaustive (after all, I do watch an unhealthy amount of TV but I’m not caught up on everything), but hopefully brings at least a few of those dark horses to light with the recognition they deserve.

More casting news for you today.  Here it is at a glance:

• Richard Dreyfuss has joined the indie pic, Squatters, along with Lolita Davidovich, Nancy Travis, Evan Ross, Luke Grimes and Andrew Howard.
• Helena Bonham Carter and Kathy Bates have joined Amelie director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s The Young and Prodigious Spivet.
• Max Greenfield of Fox’s New Girl has joined the Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler comedy, They Came Together, directed by David Wain.

Hit the jump for more.

Upfronts are next week, which means every broadcast network has a day set aside to announce new series and renewal decisions.  Fox is getting an early start with a series order for the comedy pilot The New Girl (formerly titled Chicks and Dicks).  Zooey Deschanel stars as “a quirky teacher who moves in with three guys — the cynic, the player and the man-child — after being dumped.”  Jake M. Johnson, Max Greenfield, and Damon Wayans Jr. play the three guys; Hannah Simone also stars.  Wayans Jr. currently stars in the ABC sitcom Happy Endings, which is on the bubble.  If ABC renews the series, Fox will have to recast Wayans’ role.  No Strings Attached writer Liz Meriwether created the series.  Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard) directed the single-camera pilot.

[Update: A new report suggests Fox is near a deal to pick up the J.J. Abrams-produced drama Alcatraz.  Details after the break.]

[Update 2: Click here for more Fox scheduling news, including the cancellation of Breaking In, Traffic Light, The Chicago Code, and Human Target]

Hit the jump for more on the shape of Fox in the coming television year.