2006 Emmy Nominations - Some Picks

The 2006 Emmy Nominations come out on July 6th. What stars in the TV galaxy will be nominated for an Emmy for the 2005-2006 season? Each year, the Emmy nominations bring much frustration to viewers who see their talented favorites passed over for safe choices but the nominations also deliver happiness to fans of great shows and performers who are justifiably nominated. Here's a look at just some of the many shows and creative individuals who have earned 2006 Emmy nominations.

DENIS LEARY & RESCUE ME. (Outstanding actor/drama, drama, writing…) Leary and his co-creator/producer Peter Toland have created a dark, irreverent, sometimes gross, sometimes hilarious, sometime very sad show about the universe of very human dysfunction surrounding an FDNY fireman, Tommy Gavin. Sometimes, the stories are a little too busy and soapy (spouse-hopping seems to be a trend…), but Leary and his fellow actors are believable, intense and often very funny. The writing in a typical episode juggles themes, tone, character storylines and emotion expertly. It'll be a shame if the show doesn't get some kind of Emmy nomination, be it for Leary, some of the supporting cast, or the various writers, including Leary and Toland.

KYRA SEDGWICK & THE CLOSER. (Outstanding actress/drama, Outstanding drama…) Sedgwick's TNT hit is day to RESCUE ME's night, with pat cases, a much lighter tone, and a decidedly more feminine vibe, but it's still so very good and just as addictive. As Brenda Johnson, a Georgian transplanted to L.A. where she cracks "high priority" murders and leads a mostly male squad, Sedgwick can be sweet, sad, sassy, tough, and tenacious, sometimes all in one scene. The mysteries may not be as hardcore as say, THE SHIELD, but they're interesting and the gotcha moments at the end seldom disappoint. Sedgwick's a shoo in for a best actress Emmy nomination for her work in last summer's season.

LAURA GRAHAM & THE GILMORE GIRLS. (Outstanding actress/comedy, supporting actress/comedy, writing for a comedy and comedy series ). Since DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES seems to have proven, like ALLY MCBEAL before it, that a dramedy featuring females can be consider in the comedy category, one has to wonder why this great, banter-happy show by Amy Sherman Palladino has never gotten an Emmy nomination. For five or six seasons, Laura Graham has been funny as the rapid fire single-mom Loralai Gilmore. She does as much as any of the Housewives. Palladino's team's scripts are certainly as well written as the Housewives weekly routines, or as many episodes of MCBEAL. And Kelly Bishop as Emily Gilmore is without a doubt as deserving of a nomination for her role as Holland Taylor was for showing up in a handful of TWO AND A HALF MEN last season. Alas, put your money on yet another Emmy nomination snub in 2006 for the crew from Star's Hollow.

KIEFER SUTHERLAND & 24 (Outstanding lead actor, supporting actor, supporting actress/drama; outstanding drama). This show gets crazier and better every year. Such was the case in 2006. With slick movie-like production values, surprising twists, intense acting from Sutherland and supporting players like Jean Smart and Gregory Itzin, 24 is the whole package for action drama fans. It's sure to earn a best drama Emmy nomination and likely one for Sutherland as well. Let's hope the President and the first lady aren't overlooked.

JASON LEE & MY NAME IS EARLY. (Outstanding actor, supporting actress & actor/comedy; outstanding writing, outstanding comedy). His name is Earl and his show was one of the few hits for NBC in the 2005 - 2006 season. And by hit, we mean something that didn't totally stink. By being original, full of heart, and capable of very funny and bizarre episodes, EARL earned some Emmy karma and it's star Jason Lee, plus supporting players Jaime Pressley as trashy Joy and Ethan Suplee as dufus with a heart of gold Randy also deserve Emmy nominations. Let's hope the writers get some credit, too.

ZELJKO IVANEK & SHOREH AGDASHLOO (Outstanding guest actor & actress, drama)
Not only do they both have incredibly cool names (Ivanek actually has a little mark over the Z but I dont have that letter on my keyboard...) but they also gave two of the best visiting performances I saw all season. Ivanek barely left his chair in an episode of COLD CASE where he played a character who confessed to a killing and buried another guy alive. He was riveted to the chair, it seemed, and still kept viewers riveted to their seats. Note that Ivanek was recently Tony nominated for another chair-bound performance as Capt. Queeg in The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. For her part, Agdashloo, who was also very funny on a WILL & GRACE episode, played an immigrant mom who's daughter doesn't make in on ER. While not quite a "guest star patient episode" like James Woods got, Agdashloo was more present than the typical waiting family member and had some great scenes with Goran Visnjic, which, also a very cool name. Maybe an Emmy nomination in 2006 will make up Agdashloo's being snubbed bigtime for her role on 24 in 2005.