HBO’s potboiler miniseries “Mildred Pierce” and AMC’s stalwart “Mad Men” led the pack as nominations for the 63rd annual prime-time Emmy awards were announced Thursday morning in Los Angeles.
“Pierce,” based on the James M. Cain novel, racked up 21 nods, including nominations for Kate Winslet as best actress in the title role, as well as for Guy Pearce, Brian F. O Byrne, Mare Winningham and Oscar-winner Melissa Leo in supporting roles. “Mad Men” earned 19 nominations, including recognition for Elisabeth Moss and Jon Hamm in the top acting categories.
Overall, there were some surprises, some unfortunate omissions, some head-scratchers and a fairly respectable number of intelligent choices among the nominations. Among those wrongly left out in the cold were Sean Bean, star of HBO’s bloody great “Game of Thrones”(although Peter Dinklage rightly earned his nomination as best supporting actor in the category) and Michael Cudlitz of “Southland.”
Among the head-scratchers: 10 nominations for “The Kennedys,” the controversial and not-very-good miniseries dumped by the History Channel and picked up by Reelz Channel, as well as a pro forma nomination for Mariska Hargitay from the waning “Law & Order: SVU.”
As it has in recent years, cable continued to dominate in the sheer number of nominations, with HBO trouncing everyone with 104 nominations (including 18 for “Boardwalk Empire”), with AMC at 29 and Showtime at 21 ranking second and third.
Among broadcast outlets, CBS topped its rivals with 50 nominations, including 10 nominations for “The Good Wife” and five for “The Big Bang Theory.” “Modern Family” amassed 17 of ABC’s 40 nominations, including acting nods for Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ed O’Neill, Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, Julie Bowen and Sofia Vergara.
Laura Linney received a comedy nomination for her role as a woman facing stage 4 cancer in “The Big C,” and Tina Fey snagged her annual nod for her starring role in “30 Rock.”
Some encouraging news can be found further down the list. Mireille Enos was nominated as lead actress in AMC’s “The Killing.” Timothy Olyphant was recognized for FX’s “Justified,” as was character actress Margo Martindale as the deliciously evil Mags Bennett. Louis C.K. received a lead actor nomination in comedy for “Louie,” also on FX, and Martha Plimpton was nominated for best actress-comedy in “Raising Hope” on Fox. She’ll compete against Melissa McCarthy of “Mike & Molly,” Amy Poehler of “Parks & Recreation,” Edie Falco of Showtime’s “Nurse Jackie, Fey and Linney.
In a way, the fact that “30 Rock’s” nomination total was down this year – 13 compared to its high of 22 in 2009 – speaks to the improving health of TV sitcoms. “Modern Family” notwithstanding, the wealth is being spread a bit wider this year. It’s great to see Poehler and McCarthy recognized, but at the same time, Patricia Heaton is doing superb work in “The Middle” and “Community” was sadly MIA as well.
PBS didn’t fare too badly, with the popular “Downton Abbey” earning 11 nominations, while the History Channel’s unusually good (and graphic) “Gettysburg,” produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, snagged seven nominations.
“Two and a Half Men’s” Jon Cryer was nominated (for best supporting actor). Charlie Sheen was not.
The awards will be broadcast live from Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 18 on Fox, hosted by “Glee” star Jane Lynch.
Emmy nominees list. XX
Similar Posts:
- Elizabeth Banks: ‘I Don’t Think I Will Win Emmy’
- Movie Blog: Oscar Pool Cheat Sheet
- Bardem’s ‘Biutiful’ decision puts him in Oscar contention
- Today in history
- Justin Timberlake Going To Marine Ball
