While the analysts and experts are fussing about which esteemed actors will walk away with winged gold statues at the 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night at Los Angeles’ Nokia Theater, first-time host Jimmy Kimmel is anxiously awaiting the world’s reaction to the antics he has planned.

“We are gonna pull a prank on the world. On the world,” Kimmel, host of ABC’s late-night show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, which is itself up for an Emmy for the first time, emphasized to TVGuide. “It’s important to be watching because you can be a participant or a victim. It will be interactive. It’s at some point during the show, so you have to watch it. If watercoolers still exist, it will be watercooler talk afterward. It will be water bottle talk because it’ll be the biggest prank ever.”

Kimmel, who officially rolled out the red carpet on Wednesday morning with Don Mischer, the executive producer of the 64th Annual Emmys, and Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Chairman and CEO Bruce Rosenblum, is also teaming up with some big stars for filmed skits, including a confirmed one with Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who are both nominated in the respective categories of Best Actor in a Drama Series and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series and a rumored one with longtime onscreen rival Matt Damon.

Shoo-ins for wins are rumored to be, according to E! Online, Cranston and, in the Best Actress category, Claire Danes for Homeland, who is up against both veterans and relative newcomers — Kathy Bates (Harry’s Law), Glenn Close (Damages), Michelle Dockery (Downton Abbey), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men).

There are also some surprises this year in the comedy categories, with new HBO series Girls and Veep earning Best Actress nominations for Lena Dunham and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Don Cheadle and Louis C.K. lining up for Showtime’s House of Lies and FX’s Louie. Old hats Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), Jim Parsons (Big Bang Theory), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) fill out the categories, as well as Melissa McCarthy for Mike and Molly and Zooey Deschanel for New Girl.

But behind it all, Kimmel just wants to keep people on their toes — including the producers. “I pitched them a number of ideas and they’re letting me do some genuinely weird stuff on the show,” he told CNN. “I really appreciate it and I’m kind of surprised at how open they’ve been. There will be a couple of things that have never been done for sure that I think will surprise people in the best possible way.”

“Weird stuff” or not, Kimmel isn’t about to pull a Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes. He wants to keep people laughing and happy. “They’re not there to see you,” he said of the role as host as being to “add to the festivities …. It’s not your wedding, it’s not your bar mitzvah. It’s an important thing to know.”

Presenters at the 64th Annual Emmy Awards will include Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Steve Buscemi, Matthew Perry, James Van Der Beek, Seth MacFarlane, Aziz Ansari and many, many more.

Tune in to the 64th Annual Primetime Emmys at 7 p.m. EST on ABC.

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Read here for a full list of nominees:

Best Comedy Series

“The Big Bang Theory”

“Curb Your Enthusiasm”

“Girls”

“Modern Family”

“30 Rock”

“Veep”

Best Actress in a Comedy Series

Zooey Deschanel, “New Girl”

Lena Dunham, “Girls”

Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”

Tina Fey, “30 Rock”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Melissa McCarthy, “Mike and Molly”

Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”

Best Actor in a Comedy Series

Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”

Don Cheadle, “House of Lies”

Louis C.K., “Louie”

Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men”

Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”

Best Drama Series

“Boardwalk Empire”

“Breaking Bad”

“Downton Abbey”

“Game of Thrones”

“Homeland”

“Mad Men”

Best Actress in a Drama Series

Kathy Bates, “Harry’s Law”

Glenn Close, “Damages”

Claire Danes, “Homeland”

Michelle Dockery, “Downton Abbey”

Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”

Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”

Best Actor in a Drama Series

Hugh Bonneville, “Downton Abbey”

Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire”

Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”

Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”

Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”

Damian Lewis, “Homeland”

Best Miniseries or Movie

“American Horror Story”

“Game Change”

“Hatfields & McCoys”

“Hemingway and Gellhorn”

“Luther”

“Sherlock”

Best Actress Miniseries or Movie

Connie Britton, “American Horror Story”

Ashey Judd, “Missing”

Nicole Kidman, “Hemingway and Gellhorn”

Julianne Moore, “Game Change”

Emma Thompson, “The Song of Lunch”

Best Actor in a Miniseries or Movie

Kevin Costner, “Hattefield and McCoy”

Benedict Cumberbach, “Sherlock”

Idris Elba, “Luther”

Woody Harrelson, “Game Change”

Clive Owen, “Hemingway and Gellhorn”

Bill Paxton, “Hattefields and McCoys”

Outstanding Host: Reality-Competition Program

Tom Bergeron, “Dancing With the Stars”

Cat Deeley, “So You Think You Can Dance”

Phil Keoghan, “The Amazing Race”

Ryan Seacrest, “American Idol”

Betty White, “Betty White’s Off Their Rockers”

Reality-Competition Program

“The Amazing Race”‘

“Dancing with the Stars”

“Project Runway”

“So You Think You Can Dance”

“Top Chef”

“The Voice”

Variety Series

“The Colbert Report”

“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”

“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

“Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”

“Real Time With Bill Maher”

“Saturday Night Live”

For a full list of nominees, visit the Emmy’s website.

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