HBO
Cabler HBO has once again blown the competition out of the water, with 93 nominations in total at the 57th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. Dominated by their original movies–The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Warm Springs— the closest runner-up is CBS with 59 nominations (see story).
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, a quirky and poignant look at the legendary comedic actor, garnered 16 nominations, including best made for TV movie, lead actor for Geoffrey Rush as Peter Sellers and supporting actress for Charlize Theron, as Sellers second wife, actress Britt Eckland.
But Warm Springs will give Peter Sellers some friendly competition. Also raking in 16 nominations, the story chronicles the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt before he became president, centering on his paralysis from polio and his treatment at the Warm Springs rehab facility. Stars Kenneth Branagh, as FDR, and Cynthia Nixon, as Eleanor Roosevelt, are both up for lead actor/actress, as is Kathy Bates for supporting actress, as Roosevelt’s devoted therapist.
The other HBO original movie to make the list was Lackawanna Blues, an inspiring story of an extraordinary woman (nominated S. Epatha Merkerson) who built a community and circumvented segregation in her own determined way, which got seven nods, including one for best made for TV movie. The original miniseries Empire Falls, about a small town with a big story, got 10 nominations, including one for best miniseries. All in all, the TV movie category looks like a win/win situation for the folks over at HBO.
Also scoring points under HBO’s original series banner, we have Entourage, a show about young Hollywood and its minions. Co-star Jeremy Piven–who plays the over-the-top, high-strung agent Ari and coined the phrase, “Let’s hug it out, Bitch”–has received a nomination for supporting actor. Also on the list is Deadwood, the gritty, foul-mouthed original series about the gritty, foul-mouthed Old West, received an impressive 11 nominations, including best drama. Star Ian McShane, as nefarious salon owner Al Swearengen (get it? Swearengen?) also received a nod for lead actor in a drama. Six Feet Under, the drama about a family-run funeral business which just concluded its final run with a very moving series finale, got five nominations, including one for Frances Conroy as the Fisher matriarch. And finally the weird and wild Carnivale, about a Depression-era traveling circus and the heaven and hell repercussions it wreaks, took eight nods but mostly in the technical arena.
Showtime
With its 17 nominations in total, Showtime has its own stellar competition, but beating HBO might be tough. Hank Azaria, star of the cabler’s dramedy series Huff, was nominated for lead actor in a drama, playing a psychiatrist who lacks balance and clarity in his own life while trying to help others. Azaria’s co-star s Oliver Platt and Blythe Danner also got a nods in the supporting actor categories, as Huff’s lawyer and mother, respectively. Even Penn and Teller’s reality program Bulls**t! got a nod in the reality show category.
Showtime also scored with its original movies: Reefer Madness, a musical spoof on the dreaded 1950s marijuana smear campaigns, and Our Fathers, about the Roman Catholic Church’s sex scandals and cover-ups.
Other Cablers
TNT put a feather in its, er, cap with the original movie The Wool Cap, earning four nominations, including best made for TV movie. The story about a mute building superintendent who befriends a young girl, abandoned by her mother, also earned a nod for start William H. Macy.
USA Network also got major kudos for its supernatural miniseries The 4400. Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy got a nod for best reality program, while A&E’s original movie Faith of My Fathers, the story of John McCain’s experience as a Vietnam War POW, got four nominations. The SciFi Channel should have gotten a few more nominations but managed to eek out four as well, mostly in the technical categories.
And thank goodness for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which got another nod for outstanding variety, music or comedy series.
Can HBO out do the competition? We’re going to have to wait and find out. The 57th Annual Prime-Time Emmys air live on CBS from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles Sunday, Sept. 18.
