59th Annual Emmy Award Nominations Announced

Nominations for the 59th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced this morning. The awards will be presented on September 16 in Los Angeles, with a live television broadcast on Fox.

As usual, the list of acting nominees included dozen of performers with significant stage experience. HBO’s The Sopranos, which concluded its run last month, earned nods for James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, AIda Turturro and Tim Daly. The ABC series Desperate Housewives led to nods for star Felicity Huffman and guest stars Dixie Carter and Laurie Metcalf, while ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy earned nods for stars T.R. Knight, Sandra Oh, Chandra Wilson, and guest Kate Burton.

NBC’s comedy 30 Rock earned nods for stars Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and guest Elaine Stritch, while its drama Law & Order: SVU earned nods for star Mariska Hargitay, and guests Marcia Gay Harden, and Leslie Caron. USA’s Monk earned nods for star Tony Shalhoub and guest Stanley Tucci, while its highly-rated miniseries The Starter Wife earned nods for stars Debra Messing, Judy Davis, and Joe Mantegna.

Mary-Louis Parker scored two nominations, for the series Weeds and the cable film The Robber Bride. Other notable nominees included MIchael Emerson (Lost), Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Judith Light (Ugly Betty), William H. Macy (Nightmares and Dreamscapes), Sir Ian McKellen (Extras), Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect), Anna Paquin (Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer), Jean Smart (24), Eli Wallach (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), and Vanessa Williams (Ugly Betty).

In the non-acting categories, The 60th Annual Tony Awards was nominated for Outstanding Special Class Program; The Kennedy Center Honors was nominated as Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, and Avenue Q writers Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, along with collaborator Debra Fordham, were nominated for Outstanding Original Music for the song “Everything Comes Down to Poo” for the NBC series Scrubs.

For a complete list of nominees visit www.emmys.org.