Emmy nominations: Fresh faces, same old slights

At first glance, the list of nominees for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Awards announced early Thursday suggest a long-overdue changing of the guard. But as with many things in Hollywood, the changes may be only skin deep.

Shows like “Boston Legal,” “Heroes,” “Ugly Betty” and “30 Rock” (pictured) joined Emmy veterans “The Sopranos” and “The Office” as top series nominees. Meanwhile, past winners “Desperate Housewives” and “24” were among the programs that found themselves on the outside looking in.

HBO once again led all networks with 86 Emmy nominations, and its movie adaptation of Dee Brown's book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee captured 17 of those, more than any other program this year.

Many categories sported two or three new nominees, and producers of first-year shows that in the past might have had no shot at nominations in the major categories were pleasantly surprised by wake-up calls from their agents Thursday morning.

That's because such Emmy stalwarts as “The West Wing,” “Will & Grace“ and “Arrested Development” finally went off the air, clearing space in the categories where they had squatted for years. (HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” was missing from the nominations because it was not eligible.)

The shows that took their place all had two things in common: critical buzz and high visibility. Thus NBC's "Heroes" was nominated for best drama but not its Peabody-winning "Friday Night Lights." ABC's "Boston Legal" was chosen over FX's "Nip/Tuck" and "Ugly Betty" represented ABC in the comedy category this year instead of "Desperate Housewives."

Popular favorites like the "CSIs" and "24," which have fallen out of favor with critics, were overlooked, as were "Friday Night Lights," HBO's "The Wire" (pictured) and SciFi's "Battlestar Galactica," which won overwhelming acclaim from critics but played to small crowds.

In May the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences voted to relax its May 31 cutoff for show eligibility. That means that the June 10 finale of “The Sopranos” could be submitted to Emmy judges. That episode, which was hailed in Hollywood even as it provoked harsh reactions from some viewers, raises the odds of "The Sopranos"  winning best drama from extremely likely to prohibitive.

Once again HBO was assured an easy path to Emmy gold in the movies category. The main competition to its “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” (produced by "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolf) is another HBO movie, "Longford," starring Jim Broadbent (pictured) as a controversial British reformer. If Emmy judges bother to watch both films, then “Longford,” a beautifully written (by Peter Morgan) and acted study of the conflict between individual conscience and social mores, will convert its paltry five nominations into wins.

AMC's Western “Broken Trail” was the critics' favorite miniseries last season, making it an instant favorite in this diminished category, which is down to just three nominees. Stephen Colbert joined Jon Stewart in the variety-comedy category, underscoring the advantage of half-hour cable shows that produce just four episodes per week. (Between the Emmys slight and having his ESPYs monologue whacked, Jimmy Kimmel is not having the best week ever.)

The nominations were announced at 5:40 a.m. California time by "Two and a Half Men" co-star Jon Cryer and Kyra Sedgwick of "The Closer," who appeared genuinely shocked to hear her name read among the nominees for best actress, even though Sedgwick had been nominated last year as well. (Cryer also got a nod as a supporting actor.)

Comments

[Darius]

Really glad to see Kevin Dillion score a nomination. All I can say is VICTORY!!!!! Johnny Drama is always hilarious. Rain Wilson getting a nom is great as well.

Lost should have gotten the nod over Boston Legal in the best drama category. It started out slow, but it is still riveting TV to watch.

[pamm Vlastas]

THE WIRE...most critically acclaimed show was really snubbed...makes it all seem like whipped cream....that's what gets nominated...

[WordNerd]

I was really hoping for a nomination for Connie Britton. She is acting her tail off in "Friday Night Lights." But I'm thrilled for Jenna Fischer. She's great.

[Aaron]

At times, I'm totally with Pamm.

at least regarding the drama category. Let's see if the valedictory season gets some post-Sopranos love.

[strlslvr]

I am totally bummed that Battlestar Galactica was shut out of nominations. James Callis as Baltar is one of the great performances on TV these days.

[Soonerthought]

Those philistines don't deserve Battlestar!

The Wire may have been overlooked, but Friday Night Lights was nominated for Best Directing in a Drama, and Battlestar Galactica was nominated for Best Writing AND Directing in a Drama.
Do those awards not count? They have a potential to win on Emmy night, don't they?