Emmys!

Emmy nominations were announced at the crack of dawn this morning. Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show was nominated (*updated: 4 nominations) for best variety, music or comedy series, whereas Jay Leno's version was not. Not surprising is the nom for Glee, not only as best comedy series, but also for best actress (Lea Michele) and supporting actress (Jane Lynch). Modern Family and Nurse Jackie are added to the comedy line up alongside perennials The Office, 30 Rock and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Now in it's 35th year, Saturday Night Live has surpassed the record for most Emmy nominations with 126, a distinction previously held by ER's 124. (SNL's nomination was for Betty White's show.) It's nice to see Amy Poehler get a nomination for best actress in a comedy for Parks and Recreation, but why do I think the aforementioned Michele will beat her? The love for Glee has been fierce this year.

This blog's favorite heavy hitting dramas Breaking Bad and Mad Men were righteously nominated for best in their genre with leads Bryan Cranston and Jon Hamm given the nod for best actor. Aaron Paul got some love with a nomination in the best supporting actor category, an honor in itself, but he deserves a win for his incredible slow burn performance. John Slattery is in the same category as well as...Martin Short for Damages? Interesting.

Seeing Elisabeth Moss and Cristina Hendricks get recognized for Mad Men just makes me smile. Too bad there are no even draws or co-wins. Those ladies light up the screen. Nice to see Connie Britton get best actress nomination, but sad to see her show Friday Night Lights get a pass.

The deliciously stylish and riveting Mad Men might have to take a back seat to insanely brilliant Breaking Bad for the ultimate prize - Best Drama. Both seasons were powerful in story, performance and build up to season finales that left me reeling in different ways. (Mad Men's season finisher made me jump for joy, while Breaking Bad's left me dumbstruck and dazed.) But Cranston's show may end up bringing home the whole enchilada this year. It was explosive, surprising, meticulous in pace and character build, suspense and horror. Perhaps the best television drama I've ever seen. Also nominated for best drama are shows rarely covered on this site, Lost, Dexter, True Blood, The Good Wife mostly due to the fact they've never interested me; however, it's not to say they do not deserve a run at the Emmy. Each drama has a chance, and with Lost causing a major stir this year over their final series and finale, it's a worthy contender. Nevertheless, I predict Breaking Bad is going to run away with the top trophy.

This site doesn't usually get into reality TV, unless it's absolutely hilarious like The Housewives series or Kell on Earth. (I have a secret passion for TLC's Say Yes to the Dress), but I do get a kick out of seeing Kathy Griffin's My Life on the D List get another nomination. It's actually a pretty fun show, although I could have done without her trip to Wasilla and the tired preening over Levi Johnston as featured in one episode. That joke lived beyond its 30 second sell by date, and for me, those 30 seconds were mildly amusing at best. Lets move on from the Palin family tree, please. But still...good for her.

The 62nd Prime Time Emmy Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon and held on Sunday, August 29th at 8pm ET/5pm PT on NBC.

Here is a short list of nominees. For complete list, check out www.emmys.com/nominations.

Comedy Series
“Curb Your Enthusiasm”
“Glee”
“Modern Family”
“Nurse Jackie”
“The Office”
“30 Rock”

Lead Actress in a Comedy
Lea Michele, “Glee”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine”
Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie”
Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation”
Tina Fey, “30 Rock”
Toni Colette, “The United States of Tara”

Lead Actor in a Comedy
Jim Parsons,”Big Bang Theory”
Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”
Matthew Morrison, “Glee”
Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”
Steve Carell, “The Office”
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock

Variety, Music or Comedy Series
“The Colbert Report”
“The Daily Show”
“Real Time With Bill Maher”
“Saturday Night Live”
“The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien”

Lead Actor in a Drama
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Kyle Chandler, “Friday Night Lights”
Hugh Laurie, “House”
Matthew Fox, “Lost”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”

Lead Actress in a Drama
Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer”
Glenn Close, “Damages”
Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights”
Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife”
Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
January Jones, “Mad Men”

Drama
“Breaking Bad”
“Dexter”
“The Good Wife”
“Lost”
“Mad Men”
“True Blood”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Chris Colfer, “Glee”
Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother”
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Modern Family”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”
Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men”

Supporting Actor In a Drama
Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad”
Martin Short, “Damages”
Terry O’Quinn, “Lost”
Michael Emerson, “Lost”
John Slattery, “Mad Men”
Andre Braugher, “Men of a Certain Age”

Supporting Actress In a Comedy
Jane Lynch, “Glee”
Julie Bowen, “Modern Family”
Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family”
Kristen Wiig, “Saturday Night Live”
Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock”
Holland Taylor, “Two and a Half Men”

Supporting Actress in a Drama
Sharon Gless, “Burn Notice”
Rose Byrne, “Damages”
Archie Panjabi, “The Good Wife”
Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife”
Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men”
Elisabeth Moss, “Mad Men”