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‘Rango’ Wins 4 Visual Effects Awards; ‘Hugo’, ‘Apes’, ‘Transformers’, Take 2 Each

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday February 7, 2012 @ 11:15pm PSTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Fox Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Game of Thrones, Hugo, Rango, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Visual Effects Society

Paramount’s Rango dominated this evening’s 10th Annual Visual Effects Society Awards with four wins in animated feature categories — Visual Effects, Animated Character, Created Environment and Virtual Cinematography. Hugo, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes and Transformers: Dark Of The Moon took a pair of awards each in the feature categories. Boardwalk Empire and Game Of Thrones won two apiece in the TV categories. Stan Lee was honored with the VES Lifetime Achievement Award and visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull received the Georges Méliès Award. Ceremonies recognizing visual effects wizardry in 23 categories took place at the Beverly Hilton. The awards presentation will air at 7PM Pacific/10PM Eastern on ReelzChannel Sunday, February 19th. Complete list of winners follows:

Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Rise of the Planet of the Apes: Dan Lemmon, Joe Letteri, Cyndi Ochs, Kurt Williams

Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature Motion Picture
Hugo: Ben Grossmann, Alex Henning, Rob Legato, Karen Murphy

Visual Effects in an Animated Feature Motion Picture
Rango: Tim Alexander, Hal Hickel, Jacqui Lopez, Katie Lynch

Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie, or Special
Inside the Human Body: Phil Dobree, Sophie Orde, Dan Upton

Visual Effects in a Broadcast Series
Terra Nova – Occupation & Resistance: Kevin Blank, Colin Brady, Adica Manis, Jason Zimmerman

Supporting Visual Effects in a Broadcast Program
Game of Thrones – Winter is Coming: Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor, Angela Barson, Ed Bruce, Adam McInnes
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Bobby Cannavale Joins HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’ As New Regular In Season 3

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Friday February 3, 2012 @ 2:30pm PSTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Bobby Cannavale, HBO
Nellie Andreeva

A new man will be threatening Nucky Thompson’s reign on the upcoming third season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Bobby Cannavale has joined the cast of the mob drama as a series regular. He will play Gyp Rosetti, a charming but ruthless gangster who challenges Nucky (Steve Buscemi). The cast of Boardwalk Empire, created by Terence Winter and executive produced by Winter, Martin Scorsese, Tim Van Patten, Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson, is a regular short following the demise of Michael Pitt’s character in the second season finale. The series repeated as a double SAG Award winner this past weekend in the best drama ensemble and best actor (Buscemi) categories. Read More »

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SAG Awards TV: The Equivalent Of A Rerun

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday January 29, 2012 @ 9:25pm PSTTags: Alec Baldwin, Betty White, Boardwalk Empire, Jessica Lange, Modern Family, SAG Awards, Steve Buscemi
Nellie Andreeva

SAG Awards Live Blog, SAG Awards Winners List
… Read More »

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‘Adventures Of Tintin’, ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Lead VES Award Nominations

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 9, 2012 @ 12:15am PSTTags: Boardwalk Empire, The Adventures of Tintin, VES Awards, Visual Effects Society

Los Angeles, January 9, 2012 – The Visual Effects Society (VES) today announced the nominees for its 10th Annual VES Awards ceremony recognizing outstanding visual effects artistry in 23 categories of film, animation, television, commercials, special venues and video games. Nominees were chosen Saturday, January 7 by distinguished panels of VES members who viewed submissions at the FotoKem screening facilities in Burbank and New York, FotoKem’s Spy in San Francisco, and other facilities in London, Sydney, Vancouver and Wellington, NZ. As previously announced, Stan Lee will be honored with the VES 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award and Douglas Trumbull with the Georges Méliès Award. The 10th Annual VES Awards will take place on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel and will air exclusively on ReelzChannel. The nominees for the 10th Annual VES Awards are as follows:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture
Captain America: The First Avenger
Charlie Noble
Mark Soper
Christopher Townsend
Edson Williams
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Tim Burke
Emma Norton
John Richardson
David Vickery
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Gary Brozenich
David Conley
Charlie Gibson
Ben Snow
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Dan Lemmon
Joe Letteri
Cyndi Ochs
Kurt Williams
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Scott Benza
Wayne Billheimer
Matthew Butler
Scott Farrar

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‘Boardwalk Empire’s Shocking Finale Hits Season High, ‘Luck’ So-So In Preview

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday December 13, 2011 @ 11:46am PSTTags: Boardwalk Empire, HBO, Luck
Nellie Andreeva

Boardwalk Empire’s second season ended on a high note. The finale, featuring the shocking death of a major character (I won’t reveal more for the sake of procrastinating DVR viewers), averaged a season high 3 million viewers at … Read More »

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Is Time Warner Cable Really, Finally, Close To A Deal To Offer HBO Go?

By DAVID LIEBERMAN, Executive Editor | Thursday November 17, 2011 @ 6:35am PSTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Bored to Death, Cablevision, HBO, HBO GO, HBO Real Time With Bill Maher, Hung, Rob Marcus, Time Warner Cable

It’s stange that a former corporate cousin of HBO — Time Warner Cable — remains the biggest pay TV company that still doesn’t offer subscribers the opportunity to access the HBO Go digital streaming service. But that will … Read More »

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UTA Says It Fired ‘Boardwalk Empire’ Actor

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Friday October 21, 2011 @ 4:48pm PDTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Hollywood agencies, Michael Pitt, UTA, WME

UPDATE: I received a phone call earlier this week that UTA on Tuesday fired actor Michael Pitt who plays Jimmy Darmody on the HBO series. “If you decide to post about someone (probably WME) signing Michael Pitt, who is … Read More »

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‘Boardwalk Empire’ Season Premiere Down

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Tuesday September 27, 2011 @ 10:24am PDTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Cable Ratings, HBO
Nellie Andreeva

HBO’s Prohibition-era drama Boardwalk Empire opened its second season with 2.9 million viewers. That was down 40% from Boardwalk Empire‘s series debut last September, when it posted HBO’s largest series premiere audience in six years. There was a mitigating factor: … Read More »

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EMMY ANALYSIS: Broadcast TV’s Big Awards Comeback

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Sunday September 18, 2011 @ 8:57pm PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Friday Night Lights, HBO, Jason Katims, Jim Parsons, Julianna Margulies, Kyle Chandler, Mad Men, Melissa McCarthy, Mildred Pierce, Modern Family, The Good Wife, The Kennedys
Nellie Andreeva

Emmys Live-Blog; Backstage At The Emmys; Emmys By The Numbers; Red Carpet Executive Arrivals

The broadcast networks staged a major comeback on a wild night at the Emmys, which started and ended with wins that were widely predicted but saw some real curve balls in between. Broadcast’s dominating performance was led by the five Emmys for ABC’s heavy comedy favorite Modern Family, which won every category it was nominated in, sweeping the first four trophy presentations of the night — for best supporting actor/actress and best writing/directing in a comedy series — and making the final award of the night, for best comedy series, a foregone conclusion. Modern Family won that too for a second straight year, and its sweep shut out rival Glee, leaving Emmy host Fox empty-handed. Broadcast shows also claimed the lead actor/actress in a comedy series categories, which provided two of the major upsets of the night. Melissa McCarthy of CBS’ Mike & Molly won for lead comedy actress despite most pundits having her as their fifth or sixth pick in the category and Golden Globe winner Laura Linney considered a strong front-runner for The Big C. Fellow CBS leading man Jim Parsons denied Steve Carell an Emmy for his iconic role on The Office. (The Office and fellow 30 Rock were left out completely tonight.) McCarthy’s and Parsons’ wins also meant a comeback for the multi-camera genre, which had its first double lead actor/actress win in a long time.

Broadcast’s big night continued with Julianna Margulies winning as best actress in a drama series for CBS’ The Good Wife. The Eye network scored again in the reality competition series, where The Amazing Race won for the eighth time in nine years in the category. Additionally, Friday Night Lights, which originated on NBC and continued to air second runs on the broadcast network, scored two big wins for its final season. One went to star Kyle Chandler for lead actor in a drama series and another to showrunner Jason Katims for writing. Add to that the strong showing of pubcaster PBS, whose Masterpiece Theatre mini-series Downton Abbey won four major awards: best TV movie/miniseries, best supporting actress, Maggie Smith, and best writing and directing for a TV movie/miniseries. Read More »

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Backstage At The Emmys: Martin Scorsese, Kate Winslet, Melissa McCarthy And More

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 18, 2011 @ 5:09pm PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Bertram van Munster, Boardwalk Empire, Downton Abbey, Emmy Winners, Eric Stonestreet, Game of Thrones, Guy Pearce, Jeffrey Richman, Jim Parsons, Julian Fellowes, Julie Bowen, Justified, Kate Winslet, Mad Men, Margo Martindale, Martin Scorsese, Matthew Weiner, Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly, Mildred Pierce, Modern Family, Rebecca Eaton, Sarah Hyland, Sofia Vergara, Steve Levitan, The Amazing Race, The Big Bang Theory, Ty Burrell

Emmys Live-Blog; Emmys By The Numbers; Emmy Analysis: Broadcast TV’s Big Awards Comeback; Red Carpet Executive Arrivals

Deadline’s Diane Haithman and Ray Richmond were backstage at the Primetime Emmy Awards tonight to hear what the winners had to say.

Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell came backstage together after winning the awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. The Modern Family stars were asked first about being part of a show that is breaking ground for gays. Burrell said, “I don’t know, in terms of America, it feels very, very good to be on a show that seems like it’s slowly changing a lot of minds. Eric [Stonestreet] and Jesse [Tyler Ferguson] deserve all of the credit for that, and our amazing showrunners. It’s a great thing to just peripherally go to events and just basically start to talk about those characters like any other characters, relating to their life — it’s pretty cool.” Bowen joked, “As a straight woman, and part of a straight couple on the show, I feel marginalized.” On a more serious note, she added: “It’s absurd that it’s even an issue, but where it’s an issue, I’m glad that we are part of helping change minds.” Using the word “straight” in a different context, Burrell praised Bowen: “It’s even greater credit to what Julie does that the straight-person wins an Emmy, I don’t think that happens very often. In a couple there’s usually a straight-man and a wilder character. It’s due to her resourcefulness as an actor.” On going back to the set with an Emmy when other cast members were also nominated, Burrell said: “Eric won last year, and Ed [O'Neill] actually just said something really sweet right before the award, ‘whoever wins deserves it.’ I feel like we’re trying to enjoy this moment more than anything — we know this doesn’t last forever; we’re having a lot of fun.” Bowen said about her surprise win, “I kinda thought it was a lock on Betty White. If I didn’t have a dog in this fight, and I had two, I would have voted for Betty White. Claire is not necessarily fall-down funny every time.” She credits the writers for having found ways to make her character have many dimensions and “not just be the mom.” …

Later, Steve Levitan and Jeffrey Richman, winners for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, were asked how it feels for Modern Family to be sweeping the awards so far, with wins in every category they’ve been eligible for. Levitan: “We’re beyond thrilled with the way things have gone, obviously. It’s an embarrassment of riches, and from the bottom of our hearts we feel that Ty Burrell and Julie Bowen deserved to win. (Outstanding Director in a Comedy Series winner) Michael Alan Spiller, not so much. To tell you the truth, it’s a little surreal.” They were then asked what they did to ramp up the stories and quality of Modern Family in Season 2. Levitan: “We feel like we know the characters a little bit better this year. There was such dedication this year to keeping the quality up. We all live in fear of the quality dipping so we work extra hard to make sure that doesn’t happen. … I’ll also tell you that our kids are the unsung heroes of the show. What they do on this show is amazing. We ask them to do such complicated turns and they nail it constantly. They’re playing at the same level as the adults and that’s a rare thing.” … Read More »

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EMMYS: Drama Series Handicap

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 18, 2011 @ 10:25am PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, The Good Wife

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s 2011 Emmy coverage. Here’s his scorecard assessing the Outstanding Drama Series race.

Mad Men (AMC)
Lionsgate TV
Why It Was Nominated: Because it’s television’s reigning gold standard, that’s why, with 19 total nominations this year (more than any other series and second among all shows behind the HBO mini Mildred Pierce, which tallied 21). Matt Weiner 1960s ad agency hour has won three times in a row here and by winning a fourth would tie Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and The West Wing for the most Outstanding Drama Emmys. In its fourth season, critics and fans seem to be in agreement that Mad Men remains at the top of its game. So if it’s still about quality, just hand the Emmy over.
Why It Has To Win: Mad Men is on a roll, one that shows no signs of derailing with wins this year from the Television Critics Association and the inaugural Critics Choice Award. “They did some of their best work this season,” one producer says, “and the level that Weiner is operating at sort of leaves a lot of us in awe. It’s astoundingly good.” This show appears to be that rarest of exceptions: One that started out hot and has grown only hotter year after year as well as backlash-proof.
Why It Can’t Possibly Win: There are a couple of monkey wrenches that could squelch this year’s anticipated Mad Men coronation. One is the fact that, unlike its first three years in Emmy contention, the show had no fresh episodes this summer during voting time — pushed to next spring by Weiner’s protracted contract negotiations. The other is those very negotiations themselves that found the headstrong Men creator-showrunner all over the media with the sometimes acrimonious back-and-forth. “There will be some who don’t vote for the show out of jealousy directed at Weiner,” a voting writer believes. “But it’s hard to know how much that will matter.” Read More »

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EMMYS: Drama Series Director Handicap

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday September 18, 2011 @ 7:49am PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones, Martin Scorsese, Neil Jordan, Patty Jenkins, The Borgias, The Killing

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s 2011 Emmy coverage. Here’s his scorecard assessing the Outstanding Drama Series Director race.

Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)
“Pilot”
Why He Was Nominated: What, are you kidding? Had Martin Scorsese not been nominated for having directed the pilot of HBO’s Prohibition-themed mob epic Boardwalk Empire, the embarrassment would have been never-ending. The legendary director has eight Oscar nominations (and a lone win in 2007 for The Departed) to his credit along with three Emmy noms (including three this year). Most important, he’s Martin Scorsese. That’s really all you need to know.
Why He Has To Win: For so many reasons. Start with the fact that, of Scorsese’s five previous Emmy noms, he won none. There’s an oversight that the TV Academy seemingly needs to correct. He’s coming off of a DGA Award triumph for Boardwalk. He’s a universally revered filmmaker and human being. And the competition, while it includes a fellow Oscar winner, isn’t overwhelming. Of course, even if it were, it wouldn’t matter. As one series director told me, “There are a lot of things I can imagine, but Martin Scorsese losing here isn’t one of them.”
Why He Can’t Possibly Win: This would only be possible had Scorsese’s name inadvertently been omitted from the voting ballot. There is a slight possibility that the Boardwalk vote could be split given the fact there are a pair of nominees, but probably not. The fact the series premiere happened a year ago also could lose him a few votes. But not many. Read More »

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Emmy Countdown: Writers Honor Their Own At TV Academy Bash

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday September 16, 2011 @ 2:38pm PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Boardwalk Empire, Elisabeth Moss, Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Matt Weiner, Modern Family, Writers
Pete Hammond

Thursday night’s lively Emmy-nominee cocktail reception for the writers branch at the Television Academy was the 20th nightly peer group gathering taking place there during the past month, “an incredible pre-Emmy marathon,” said writers branch co-governor Margaret Nagle, who gave special mention to the Academy’s Barbara Chase for organizing each of the events.

The Academy transformed the interior lobby of the Goldenson Theatre into something that looked like a New Orleans bordello — “What better setting than to celebrate writing, the world’s true oldest profession,” said one wag –  and there was an elaborate setup outside as well in the plaza area for nominated and non-nominated writers to network and talk business.

Midway through, guests and nominees were shepherded inside the massive 600-seat theater for a breezy clip reel showcasing all the noms from the five writing categories and then the presentation of nominee certificates presided over by the evening’s host, The Office‘s Kate Flannery. The event made everyone feel like a winner before Sunday night, when the majority of them will become “losers.” Read More »

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ANALYSIS: Newcomer ‘Boardwalk Empire’, Comeback Kid ‘Futurama’, Justin Timberlake & Jeff Probst Rule The Creative Emmys

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Saturday September 10, 2011 @ 9:40pm PDTTags: 2011 Creative Arts Emmys, Boardwalk Empire, Deadliest Catch, Downton Abbey, Futurama, Gwenyth Paltrow, HBO, Jeff Probst, Justin Timberlake, Mildred Pierce, Paul McCrane, ReelzChannel, The Kennedys
Nellie Andreeva

2011 Creative Emmys Winners, 2011 Creative Emmys By The Numbers
The top of the standings at the Creative Emmy Awards tonight looked familiar: HBO leading the network pack with most wins, 15, and an HBO program scoring the … Read More »

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Hammond On Emmy’s Hottest Races: Drama — ‘Mad Men’, Bad Men And A Good Wife

By PETE HAMMOND | Friday August 19, 2011 @ 11:47am PDTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Jon Hamm, Mad Men, Martin Scorsese, The Good Wife
Pete Hammond

With peer group voting now going in full force for the Primetime Emmys and most ballots in key marquee categories like Drama and Comedy due Aug. 26  (others that will be presented on the Creative Arts Ceremony on Sept. … Read More »

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TCA: Ken Burns Thinks ‘Boardwalk’ Will Be “Huge Hit”: “Americans Love To Watch People Who Get To Kill People Who Piss Them Off”

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday July 31, 2011 @ 6:50pm PDTTags: Boardwalk Empire, Ken Burns, PBS, TCA, Television Critics Association

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s coverage of TCA.

The panel session closing out PBS’ two-day rollout at TCA — for Ken Burns’ latest historical overview, Prohibition — was notably both preceded by a beer-and-wine dinner and followed by a cocktail party. The elfin but always eloquent Burns admitted during the session that he got into the spirit of the TCA event by having his first drink in “quite some time.” But he suffered no effects from his alcohol when asked his thoughts on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire that deals fictitiously with the same subject matter as his documentary that’s scheduled to premiere on Oct. 2, 3 and 4. And it turns out he’s a fan of the drama that’s produced in part by Martin Scorsese. “(HBO) has another huge hit on their hands in the mode of The Sopranos,” Burns said, “and they’re not that dissimilar. Americans always love to watch people who get to kill people who piss them off…and women who take their clothes off at the drop of a hat. They’ve done their homework. (The show) is very complex and nuanced…We’re always amazed when we’ve done films that fit into the zeitgeist of the moment.” Read More »

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EMMYS: Comedy and Drama Series Have Become Primetime’s Great Divide

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday July 14, 2011 @ 2:12pm PDTTags: 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, 30 Rock, Boardwalk Empire, Dexter, Emmy Comedy Series, Emmy Nominations, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, Glee, Mad Men, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, The Big Bang Theory, The Good Wife, The Office

Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline’s Emmy coverage.

Nominations released this morning for the 63rd Primetime Emmys continued to demonstrate the intriguing trend of broadcast dominating comedy series and cable the drama side, to the point of near-exclusivity. No cable series broke through in the Outstanding Comedy race. The last time that happened was 2005, which coincidentally was also the most recent year that all four major nets, NBC, ABC, CBS and Fox, each landed at least one best comedy series nom apiece, as they did this time. (That last fact is sure to please the Big 4, which just signed a new eight-year, $66 million deal with the TV Academy to carry the Primetime Emmy Awards through 2018.) Last year, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie both cracked the list, while in ’09 the group included HBO’s Entourage and Flight of the Conchords as well as Showtime’s Weeds. This time, however, it was a broadcast sweep with NBC’s 30 Rock and The Office, first-timers Parks and Recreation and The Big Bang Theory as well as Fox’s Glee and ABC’s defending champ Modern Family.

In the Outstanding Drama Series race, meanwhile, the superiority was almost equally absolute on the cable/satellite side, with HBO freshmen Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones and Emmy maiden Friday Night Lights from DirecTV joining AMC’s three-time champ Mad Men and Showtime’s annual nominee Dexter to give non-broadcast hours five of the six slots. Only CBS’ The Good Wife prevented a clean sweep. It’s the first time that broadcast has claimed just a single nominee in any major Emmy series category. (Last year, The Good Wife was joined in the category by departing ABC series Lost.) Read More »

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EMMY ANALYSIS: New Drama Series, Overlooked Comedies, ‘Friday Night Lights’, Jimmy Fallon And ‘SYTYCD’ Make A Splash

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Thursday July 14, 2011 @ 8:34am PDTTags: Boardwalk Empire, CBS, Emmy Nominations, Friday Night Lights, Game of Thrones, HBO, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Mad Men, Mildred Pierce, Modern Family, Parks and Recreation, So You Think You Can Dance
Nellie Andreeva

63rd Primetime Emmy Nominations
HBO’s new dramas Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones made a big showing in their first Emmy races, Friday Night Lights received a great sendoff for its final season, Modern Family solidified its position as the undisputed comedy king, The Big Bang Theory and Parks and Recreation landed first best series noms, and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon and So You Think You Can Dance broke into the major categories at the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards. On the heels of its Golden Globe and SAG wins, Prohibition-era extravaganza Boardwalk Empire netted an impressive tally of 18 Emmy nominations — including best drama series, best actor (Steve Buscemi) and best director (Martin Scorsese) — second only to the drama series that has dominated awards races for the past four years, AMC’s Mad Men, which had 19 noms. HBO led the network pack with 104 nominations, followed by CBS, which was the most nominated broadcast network with 50 noms, NBC with 46, PBS with 43, and this year’s host of the Primetime Emmy ceremony, Fox, with 42. HBO’s miniseries Mildred Pierce was the most nominated program overall with 21 mentions, including one in the newly consolidated best movie/miniseries category.

In its final Emmy hurrah, high school football drama Friday Night Lights earned its first best series nomination for its final season on DirecTV, along with the second consecutive best actor and best actress noms for stars Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton. In the best drama series category, Boardwalk Empire, Game of Thrones and FNL joined returning nominees Mad Men, Dexter and The Good Wife, which was once again the sole representative of broadcast TV in the top drama series category. Game of Thrones took a spot occupied by another genre series last year, HBO’s vampire drama True Blood, while notable omissions in the best drama series field include AMC’s high-profile new entries The Walking Dead and The Killing as well as FX’s Justified, all considered strong Emmy contenders, though the last two landed acting noms for stars Mireille Enos and Timothy Olyphant, respectively, and standout supporting players Michelle Forbes (The Killing), with her co-star Joel Kinnaman overlooked, and Margo Martindale, Walton Goggins and Jeremy Davies (Justified). Left out in the cold were Showtime’s drama Shameless and HBO’s Treme, as the TV Academy continues to show little love for Treme co-creator David Simon.

Following its complete dominance of the awards races following its best comedy series win at last year’s Emmy Awards, ABC’s Modern Family was once again the top comedy dog with 17 nominations, including best comedy series as well as acting nominations for the entire adult cast of the show, all of whom submitted themselves as supporting: last year’s winner Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen and Ed O’Neill, who was surprisingly left off last year’s nominee list. With no new comedy series making a big splash this past season on broadcast or cable, Emmy voters took a second look at series that had been passed over for best series recognition in the past. Both NBC’s Parks and Recreation and CBS’ The Big Bang Theory landed their first best comedy series nominations this year for their third and fourth season, respectively, but NBC’s offbeat sophomore Community and its cast were once again overlooked. Both Parks & Rec and Big Bang already had had lead actor nominations for stars Amy Poehler and Jim Parsons, who won for best comedy actor last year. Both are back in Emmy contention this year. However, Poehler’s co-star Nick Offerman was snubbed, while in another Emmy gain for Big Bang, Parsons is facing fellow star Johnny Galecki, who earned his first Emmy nomination. Joining Modern Family, Parks and Recreation and Big Bang in the best comedy series category are last year’s nominees Glee, The Office and 30 Rock.

It wasn’t a strong year for new broadcast series, so it is not surprising that none broke the best series categories. But three actresses from freshman sitcoms — Melissa McCarthy of CBS’ Mike & Molly, Martha Plimpton of Fox’s Raising Hope as well as Laura Linney of Showtime’s The Big C, which just started airing its second season — made the cut for best actress in a comedy series, where they will compete against returning nominees Tina Fey of 30 Rock, Poehler and last year’s winner Edie Falco of Nurse Jackie, though Showtime’s medical dramedy failed to repeat as best series nominee. Read More »

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EMMYS: 2011 Drama Series Overview

By NELLIE ANDREEVA AND MICHAEL AUSIELLO | Friday June 24, 2011 @ 11:39am PDTTags: 2011 Emmy Contenders, Big Love, Blue Bloods, Boardwalk Empire, Covert Affairs, Dexter, Emmy Outstanding Drama Series, Friday Night Lights, Fringe, Game of Thrones, Grey's Anatomy, House, Justified, Mad Men, Men of a Certain Age, Parenthood, Shameless, Sons of Anarchy, Southland, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, The Closer, The Good Wife, The Killing, The Walking Dead, White Collar

This year’s Emmy race for Outstanding Drama Series will continue cable’s dominance in this most prestigious category. Cable claimed 10 of the 13 nomination spots over the past two years, and 13 of 19 since 2008. By contrast, cable earned a mere nine nods combined in the seven years between 2001 and 2007 when the networks still ruled. The shift from broadcast is so extreme in 2011 that CBS’ The Good Wife is considered the only network series with a solid shot to earn its second nomination in as many years. (Though not in that league, NBC/DirecTV’s Friday Night Lights, NBC’s Parenthood, and CBS’ Blue Bloods deserve consideration while ABC has entered a rebuilding phase.) The sad reality is that the broadcast networks, which just signed a new eight-year deal with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to carry the Emmys, are facing a possible first-ever shutout from the top drama series category. That’s because of the continuing strength and ambition of programming on cable — in particular, HBO in a return to form, and AMC still on a roll.

HBO’s Prohibition-era hourlong Boardwalk Empire drew the most critical attention this Emmy season because of its pedigreed producer team, headed by the legendary Martin Scorsese and creator/showrunner Terence Winter, a Sopranos alum. How interesting that the pay channel’s expensive serial will compete against another period drama from that other Sopranos alum Matt Weiner. AMC’s first acclaimed original series, Mad Men, has won this category three years running and is bidding this year to be the first series to win four in a row since NBC’s The West Wing (2000- 2003). Though the frontrunner, Mad Men could be hurt by a long hiatus.

AMC has seized the mantle from HBO as TV’s preeminent quality-drama purveyor with a pair of newcomers that could crack the series field this year: the zombie-themed hour The Walking Dead, and the dark murder mystery The Killing. Even though two-time category nominee Breaking Bad is not eligible for 2011, AMC could still land three nods, becoming the first network in 10 years to do so in this category, after NBC scored the hat trick in 2001 with The West Wing, ER, and Law & Order. No cable network has ever managed the feat to date.

And then there’s Showtime, whose Dexter is in the running for its fourth consecutive Outstanding Drama nomination, along with first-season Shameless. FX is pushing its increasingly buzzed-about Western, Justified and, to a lesser extent, Sons Of Anarchy. TNT wants attention for The Closer, Men Of A Certain Age, and Southland. USA is pressing Covert Affairs and White Collar. Here’s our assessment of the chances for this year’s drama series in alphabetical order: Read More »

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