Brace yourselves, TV addicts: The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have announced the top 10 finalists for Emmy nominations in the Best Comedy Series and Best Drama Series categories. And before we get into snubs territory, it should be noted that fans of PopWatch favorites such as The Wire (left), Friday Night Lights, Mad Men, Flight of the Conchords, and Pushing Daisies have reason to celebrate. No, none of the shows have landed nominations (yet), but they’re still in the running for their initial Best Series nods.
The shorlists are as follows. Under consideration for Best Drama are: Boston Legal, Damages, Dexter, Friday Night Lights, Grey’s Anatomy, House, Lost, Mad Men, The Tudors, and The Wire. Still in the running for Best Comedy are: Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, Family Guy, Flight of the Conchords, The Office, Pushing Daisies, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men, Ugly Betty, and Weeds. (Click here to get the specific episodes for which each series is being considered.)
Good news aside, my first response to the lists was this: Where the frak is the nail-bitingly awesome Battlestar Galactica (right)? I call SciFiPhobia! And coming off a particularly strong season, shouldn’t Desperate Housewives have won a spot over Two and a Half Men and Family Guy? (Maybe the Emmy overlords feel the residents of Wisteria Lane aren’t done paying the price for the Applewhite Incident?)
Who else would make your list of snubs? And which finalists have you doing the happy dance? Holla!
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The list really isn’t too bad, but have to agree about Desperate Housewives. So glad to see Lost submitted The Constant though – that was one AMAZING hour of television. Henry Ian Cusick is seriously amazing.
The list is okay – I’m happy with Lost, The Office and 30 Rock. However, how can Two and a Half Men be nominated for an Emmy when I can’t even get through the intro? This show is in the same league as According to Jim, and that’s not a compliment. Also, I think Desperate Housewives has a lot of work to do in the writing department before it’s back to Emmy nominee shape. Yes, last season was better, but IMO still not that great.
Boston Legal? the Tudors? Damages? Those crappy shows are better than BSG? No way. And it’s sad to see that “In Treatment” was snubbed, it doesn’t bode well for Gabriel Bryne and the girl who played Sophie when it comes to the acting categories.
Add How I Met Your Mother to your snubbed list. Plus, I don’t know how they can ignore BSG. But I am happy for The Wire. Now if only it can get to the nomination list.
I’m mostly happy with this list. I’ve never been more excited about a show not being nominated yet than I am for the fact that “The Wire” is still in the running.
As far as the snubs: Slezak hit it right on the head. There HAS to be rooom for “Desperate Housewives” on there. I mean, how long as they going to have to pay for their crappy second season?
On the drama side, I sort of wish Katherine Heigl, in addition to taking her own name out of Emmy consideration, had the power to take her overrated show out of the running for Best Drama. Personally, I’d substitute HBO’s “Tell Me You Love Me” – not the easiest show to watch, but it had me and my girlfriend riveted.
Finally, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – “Boston Legal” is a comedy, not a drama.
Despite my obsessive love of BSG, I actually didn’t have any huge quarrels with the list — probably because I never, ever expected BSG to get a nomination. Yeah, there are a few shows I feel are overrated or just bad, but they’re the typical nominees. I was really pleased to see Conchords, The Wire, and FNL! Oh, and I’ve heard that the top ten lists for acting will be released later today.
Desperate Housewives had one of its best seasons this year, this is a loss.
I’m glad about House, but is Frozen really the best episode of the season? I’d got with Wilson’s Heart, the most touching episode of House ever.
I’m very happy about Damages and Lost but what I can not believe BSG and Army Wives are not on the list. WTF! Also how about My Boys in the comedy category? Last night’s episode was hilarious. Certainly better than any episode of Two and Half Men.
CLEAR EYES! FULL HEARTS! CAN’T (or wont) LOSE!!!! YAY FNL!!!
I hate FAMILY GUY!!!
“Boston Legal? the Tudors? Damages? Those crappy shows are better than BSG?”
Have you actually seen any of those shows? Damages is one of the best things on TV in years. Fanboys that insult things with no reasoning behind it purely due to bitterness give all the other (non-rude) fanboys out there a bad name.
How I Met Your Mother should have crushed Two and a Half Men.
FNL!!!
any chance they will also reveal the top 10 acting noms?
I agree with the other comments that that HIMYM should still be considered. Also what about The Big Bang Theory..it is consistently funny, more so than Two and a Half Men or Family Guy
while im glad the brilliance of pushing daisies was recognized, i think big bang theory & how i met your mother should have beat out two & a half men (which has been on the air for so long that all the good story lines were taken). big bang theory is a new original comedy that never fails to make me laugh. how i met your mother is hilarious, & it draws you into the story so you get involved with the characters
LOST better be nominated… I don’t understand how Two and a Half Men and Grey’s Anatomy continue to be recognized… they are not that hot just case they have high ratings… Good thing they realized that with Desperate Housewives.
Also, how can they pick Family Guy on the short list over The Simpsons and South Park???? The Emmys sometimes are so dense.
while im glad the brilliance of pushing daisies was recognized, i think big bang theory & how i met your mother should have beat out two & a half men (which has been on the air for so long that all the good story lines were taken). big bang theory is a new original comedy that never fails to make me laugh. how i met your mother is hilarious, & it draws you into the story so you get involved with the characters
Two omissions = IN TREATMENT shuld be among the dramas and HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER is missing from the comedy list.
Happy about FNL, Mad Men, and Flight of the Conchords, sad about How I met your mother.
The biggest snubs were Big Love, In Treatment, and Battlestar Galactica in Drama series, although I’m not surprised they were left out. The ugly business over the fundamentalist Mormon compound down in Texas that was plastered all over the news stirred up a lot of anti-Mormon feelings-and I think it really hurt Big Love’s chances for any Emmy nods. Which is too bad.
I suspect that HBO didn’t campaign heavily for either Big Love or In Treatment because John Adams is primed to sweep the movie/miniseries categories. I also think HBO’s pushing The Wire into the Emmy race ahead of Big Love and In Treatment since this was The Wire’s last season and most critics feel The Wire has not received it’s due from the Emmys, primarily because of HBO’s higher-profile series, The Sopranos.
I’m really happy for 30 Rock, Lost, House, The Office and Pushing Daisies, even though their nominations are not suprising at all. Seeing Flight of the Conchords, however, caused me to give a little squeal of joy. I also agree that How I Met Your Mother needs more love. Even the weaker episodes of HIMYM are funnier than most sitcoms, including Two and a Half Men.
Uh…yeah, Battlestar should have WON this in seasons 1 and 2. But let’s be honest–this latest season was not good by even SciFi standards (acting was great, but the story was convoluted and meandering, and many of the episodes were worthless in terms of the story arc). Only the final episode (and ONLY the final episode) is worthy of any mention, and one great episode does not a Best Drama award make. Lost is the clear winner in this category, even over The Wire (I can’t believe I’m saying that, but Lost was the best in show this year on all fronts).
Why is Family Guy allowed to be considered for Best Comedy when The Simpsons never was? When it first started almost 20 brilliant years ago, it was ruled that they be relegated to Animated category. Di the rules change??
So lovin’ Tudors and FNL!!! They have to be up for actors and acresses. Two really great shows!!
actresses even!
Glad I’m not the only one appalled by “Family Guy” being on this list. It is crass, unfunny and rips off far better shows.
I also agree that “How I Met Your Mother” is snubbed way too much. I was hoping Jason Segel’s success with “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” would bring it more to the forefront. It’s a shame, because it’s one of the most consistently funny shows on TV.
Where the hell is Big Love?
My two favorite (and most sob inducing) were The Constant and the finale of Mad Men – The Wheel. I think The Wheel was much stronger than the pilot. I am just glad Mad Men is on the list and will keep fingers crossed for Jon Hamm and John Slattery to get noms.
Thrilled to see Mad Men and Friday Night Lights in the list. Can’t see why Grey’s Anatomy belongs there this season.
I’m ecstatic for Pushing Daisies and Friday Night Lights to be on this short list, but I agree, WHERE THE FRAK IS BSG?