USA: Nominations for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards are announced in Los Angeles

Record ID: 342847

  • Title: USA: Nominations for the 61st annual Primetime Emmy Awards are announced in Los Angeles
  • Date: 17th July 2009
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (JULY 16, 2009) (REUTERS) CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES JOHN SHAFFNER ANNOUNCING BEST COMEDY SERIES NOMINATIONS
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2009 13:00
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  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA9I8EGADSTDE2VSTGCLMLAHBB3
  • Story Text: The Tina Fey comedy "30 Rock" and 1960s period drama "Mad Men" led the Primetime Emmy nominations on Thursday in a broad field full of fresh faces competing for U.S. television's highest honors.
    NBC's "30 Rock" had a leading 22 nominations, including best TV comedy and best actress for Fey, who took the acting Emmy in 2007. "Mad Men" on cable channel AMC had 16 nominations, including best drama. Both shows won the Emmy in those categories last year.
    Joining "Mad Men" in the best drama series category are FX's legal program "Damages," "Breaking Bad" on AMC, serial killer drama "Dexter" of Showtime, Fox medical series "House" and ABC's "Lost."
    Along with "30 Rock," comedy series nominations included HBO's "Entourage," NBC's "The Office," "Weeds" from Showtime and "How I Met Your Mother" on CBS.
    In the race for best actor in a drama, Bryan Cranston will hope to repeat his surprise win last year for his role as a chemistry teacher turned drug dealer in "Breaking Bad." Jon Hamm of "Mad Men," cranky doctor Hugh Laurie of "House," Michael C. Hall for "Dexter" and Gabriel Byrne from "In Treatment," and Simon Baker of the new CBS crime show "The Mentalist," also are in the running.
    Glenn Close, who plays a hard-bitten lawyer in "Damages," detective Kyra Sedgwick in "The Closer," Mariska Hargitay of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," Sally Field of ABC's "Brothers and Sisters," Holly Hunter from TNT's "Saving Grace," and Elisabeth Moss of "Mad Men" will compete in the best drama actress category.
    Nominated for the lead actor in a comedy series were Jim Parsons of "The Big Bang Theory," last year's winner Alec Baldwin of "30 Rock," Charlie Sheen of the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men," Steve Carell of the NBC hit "The Office," and Tony Shalhoub of cable channel USA's "Monk."
    Joining Fey in the In the lead actress category for comedy series is Julia Louis-Dreyfus of the CBS show "The New Adventures of Old Christine," Mary Louise Parker of "Weeds," Christina Applegate of the recently canceled ABC show "Samantha Who?" and Sarah Silverman of Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program."
    More nominees were added to the leading categories for the first time this year in a bow to growth of strong dramas and comedies on U.S. television, particularly on cable TV.
    Among the networks, cable channel HBO led the field with 99 primetime Emmy nominations, while Showtime had 29 and AMC pulled in 23. Broadcast network NBC earned 67 nominations, followed by ABC with 55, CBS with 49 and Fox with 42.
    The nominations were announced by supporting actress in a drama series nominee Chandra Wilson of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," actor and nominee Jim Parsons, and Chairman Of The Board Of The Academy Of Television Arts And Sciences John Shaffner.
    The 61st Primetime Emmys will be handed out in Los Angeles on September 20 in a live broadcast ceremony.
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