2011 Emmy Nominations Have Few Surprises, Big Showdowns

The 2011 Emmy nominations were finally released Thursday morning. Usually the nominations are either extremely predictable, quite eye-opening, or at least a mix of both in some cases. However, this year the usual Emmy suspects dominated, new blood like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones made its expected splash, and there weren't a lot of huge snubs or shocking nominees to argue about.

For the fourth straight year, Mad Men led the way for series competition with 19 total nominations. However, it narrowly held off Boardwalk Empire and its 17 nods along the way. Yet HBO still had the most-nominated program of the year, as Mildred Pierce got 21 nods in the mini-series/movie categories.

In comedy, Modern Family's 17 selections held off Saturday Night Live's 16, 30 Rock's 13, and Glee's 12. In fact, Modern Family even got Ed O'Neill nominated this time; unlike last year, every single adult cast member got selected, with four alone in the Supporting Actor category.

As for individuals, favorites like Jon Hamm, Julianna Margulies, Tina Fey, Laura Linney, Edie Falco, Alec Baldwin, Steve Carell and Steve Buscemi got in. Critics rejoiced at Friday Night Lights' Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton making the cut, while they may have raised eyebrows at Kathy Bates, nomination co-presenter Melissa McCarthy, Johnny Galecki and Jon Cryer getting nods. Meanwhile, the likes of defending Emmy champion Kyra Sedgwick, Katy Sagal, John Noble, Neil Patrick Harris and Lea Michele missed the cut.

Naturally, Betty White got into Supporting Actress comedy while The Killing actresses Mireille Enos and Michelle Forbes made it despite the seething hatred for their show's finale. And for all the backlash and historical inaccuracy around The Kennedys, the History Channel turned Reelz Channel miniseries got 10 nominations anyway.

Now that the Emmys fields are set up, the handicapping for the actual wins can begin. Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire are set to begin their mega showdown, with Game of Thrones and The Good Wife hoping to be sleepers. Modern Family is favored to repeat, although Glee isn't going away, and The Big Bang Theory is in the running for the first time. Hamm and Carell look to finally prevail in the lead actor categories, as Showtime "dramedy" actresses Linney and Falco take on NBC's Fey and Amy Poehler, and Margulies tries to hold off Elisabeth Moss.

Cryer and Chris Colfer could benefit from the four Modern Family men canceling each other out while the likes of Peter Dinklage, Alan Cumming, Walton Goggins and John Slattery battle for Supporting Actor Drama. Defending Supporting Actress Archie Panjabi faces new challengers in Forbes, Margo Martindale and Kelly MacDonald. Meanwhile, Emmy host Jane Lynch has White to contend with, along with the Modern Family women and new movie star Kristin Wiig.

The Emmy nominations set up a lot of super-charged showdowns, and TV fans will be on edge to see the outcomes Sept. 18 on FOX.

Sources

Primetime Emmys- "Press Release Noms 2011 Emmys"