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'Grey's Anatomy,' '24' lead the Emmy race July 6, 2006 BY MIKE DUFFY FREE PRESS TV CRITIC Put a rare smiley face on Jack Bauer. The high-velocity Fox suspense thriller “24,” starring Kiefer Sutherland as the world’s hardest working counter-terrorism commando, joined the hot hospital doctors of ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” to lead series nominees for the 58th annual Primetime Emmys announced Thursday in Los Angeles. Coming off its best season yet, “24” topped all series with 12 nominations, closely followed by “Grey’s Anatomy” with 11. But it was “Into the West,” a sprawling frontier miniseries from producer Steven Spielberg and TNT, which led all programs with 16 nominations. Meanwhile, longtime Emmy heavyweight HBO led all networks with 95 nominations, followed by ABC with 64, CBS with 47, NBC with 46 and Fox with 41. In the biggest slap down to last year’s Emmy darlings, ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” were both snubbed. Neither received a best series nod and the stars of both series failed to earn acting nominations. The cold shoulder shown to the women of Wisteria Lane and the castaways of “Lost” may have been a reflection of new Emmy rules put in place to lessen the “same old, same old” beat of repeat nominees. Pleasant surprises? Cable standouts Denis Leary and Kyra Sedgwick pumped new blood into the drama series acting competition. Leary was honored for his work as combustible firefighter Tommy Gavin in FX’s “Rescue Me,” which Sedgwick earned a richly deserved nomination for her portrayal of eccentric police sleuth Brenda Leigh Johnson on TNT’s “The Closer.” Besides “24” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” the nominees for best drama series included “House,” “The Sopranos” and “The West Wing,” which enjoyed a creative resurgence in its excellent final season. When it came to laughs, Emmy opted for lower rated critical favorites, including first-time best sitcom nominee “The Office.” The other comedy series nominees were “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Scrubs,” the canceled “Arrested Development” and “Two and a Half Men,” the lone conventional sitcom hit in the group. In terms of Emmy worthy quality, the colorful, fresh-squeezed irreverence of “My Name is Earl” was the biggest oversight in the category. Emmy also didn’t show any love to rudely ignored “Earl” star Jason Lee, though sly Steve Carrel of “The Office” was a commendable first time nominee. Also, Julia Louis-Dreyfus put one more nail in the coffin of the Seinfeld Curse when the star of “The New Adventures of Old Christine” grabbed a nomination as best actress in a sitcom. But Emmy still possesses affection for performers from series that have already left the air and taken up residence in Cancellation Township. Geena Davis of “Commander in Chief,” Lisa Kudrow of “The Comeback,” Stockard Channing of “Out of Practice,” Peter Krause and Frances Conroy of “Six Feet Under,” and Martin Sheen, Allison Janney and Alan Alda of “The West Wing” will all stroll the red carpet as acting nominees when Conan O’Brien hosts the Emmy Awards Aug. 27 on NBC. Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
