Cable Cops Nods In Top Emmy Series Categories
HBO's 'Adams' Miniseries Earns 23 Nominations, Part Of TV's Best 85 Nods
By Linda Haugsted & Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 7/17/2008 11:09:00 AM
Cable networks copped 227 nominations for the 60th annual Emmy Awards, with basic-cable networks making a great showing in major categories such as best drama.
HBO's Tom Hanks-produced miniseries, John Adams, was the most-nominated program, earning 23 mentions, but AMC's Mad Men, as expected, was also a voter favorite with 16 nominations, including best drama series, best actor (Jon Hamm), and two nominations for writing for its creator Matt Weiner. The other cable double-digit nominees included HBO productions Recount with 11 nominations; and the imagined biopic Bernard and Doris with 10.
Also highly touted by voters were Sci-Fi Channel's Tin Man with nine nominations; A&E's The Andromeda Strain and FX's Damages each with seven and Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale with six nominations.
All told, HBO scored the most nominations among all networks with 85, including all the nominations in the category for best actor in miniseries or movie, and best supporting actor in that genre.
Cable is well-represented in the top series categories. The medium has half the contenders in the best drama series category. In addition to Mad Men, Showtime’s Dexter and FX’s Damages received nods, along with ABC’s Lost and Boston Legal and Fox’s House.
Among the best comedy nominations, HBO has a pair with Hollywoods buddy series Entourage and Larry David’s obstinate Curb Your Enthusiasm. NBC’s 30 Rock and The Office and CBS’s Two and a Half Men are also in comic contention.
As for the actors, cable counts four of the six:: Michael C. Hall for Showtime's Dexter; Hamm for Mad Men; Gabriel Byrne for his psychiatrist turn in HBO’s In Treatment; and Bryan Cranston for AMC’s Breaking Bad. Hugh Laurie and James Spader are also nominated for their roles on House and Boston Legal.
As for the ladies, Mary-Louise Parker for Showtime’s Weeds is cable's hope. Parker’s pot-selling portrayal of Nancy Botwin goes up against Christina Applegate in ABC’s Samantha Who?; America Ferrera for ABC’s Ugly Betty; Tina Fey for NBC’s 30 Rock; and Julia-Louis Dreyfus in CBS’s New Adventure of Oldl Christine.
Cable's video on demand programming and Web site content also broke through for Emmy nominations in categories such as "outstanding special class-short-format non-fiction programs." Nominees include such fare as Discovery.com's original production Deadliest Catch: The Real Dutch and History Channel's VOD Great Moments from the Campaign Trail.
The nominations count, in alphabetical order:: A&E, 9; ABC, 79; ABC.com, 1; AMC, 20; Animal Planet, 1; Biography, 1; Bravo, 11; Cartoon Network, 3; CBS, 51; Comedy Central, 8; comedycentral.com, 1; The CW, 2; Discovery Channel, 6; discoverychannel.com, 1; Disney Channel, 6; ESPN, 1; Fox, 28; FX, 11;; HBO, 85; History Channel, 4; History Channel VOD, 1; jaylenosgarage.com, 1; Lifetime, 1; MTV, 1; NBC, 50; NBC.com, 2; Nickelodeon, 2; PBS, 33; Sci-Fi Channel, 15; SciFiChannel.com, 1; Showtime, 21; Starz, 1; TLC, 1; TNT, 10, USA, 4; and Warner Bros. on demand, 1.
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