On-demand tv gets a noticing nod in Emmy nominations
Fear and fantasy led the pack today when nominations were announced for the 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, with FX’s “American Horror Story: Asylum” garnering 17 nominations and HBO’s “Game of Thrones” close behind with 16.
And for the first time, on-demand television took its place among the
nominees.
The political thriller “House of Cards” was nominated in the
outstanding drama series category, one of 14 nominations for Netflix, which
marked the first time a streaming video service has been recognized by the
Emmys. The other nominees in the category were last year’s winner, Showtime’s
`Homeland,” AMC’s “Mad Men” — a four-time winner — and “Breaking Bad,”
PBS’ British period drama “Downton Abbey” and medieval fantasy “Game of
Thrones.”
ABC’s “Modern Family,” a winner each of the last three years,
surprised no one by making the list of nominees for outstanding comedy series
again this morning. Other nominees in the category included CBS’ “The Big Bang
Theory,” HBO’s “Girls,” FX’s “Louie,” NBC’s “30 Rock,” and HBO’s “Veep.”
“Arrested Development,” winner of six Emmys during its 2003-2006 run on Fox and now in a new season on Netflix, was not nominated in the comedy category, although Jason Bateman was nominated for his portrayal of Michael
Bluth in the series.
This was the second year that none of the outstanding drama series
nominees came from the major broadcast networks. A series from the major
broadcast networks has not won in the category since Fox’s “24” in 2006.
CBS’ “The Amazing Race” has received the Emmy for outstanding reality-
competition program for nine of the 10 years it has been awarded and was
nominated again today, along with Bravo’s “Top Chef” the only other program
to win in the category. Other nominees were ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,”
Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance,” NBC’s “The Voice,” and Lifetime’s
“Project Runway.”
Three-time Emmy winner Neil Patrick Harris, who will host the 65th
annual Primetime Emmy Awards in September, and Aaron Paul, a two-time Emmy
winner and nominee again today for his portrayal of methamphetamine
manufacturer Jesse Pinkman on “Breaking Bad,” joined Bruce Rosenblum, the
chairman and CEO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, in announcing
the nominees in the top categories in a ceremony that began at 5:40 a.m. at the
academy’s North Hollywood headquarters.
Kate Mara, who plays reporter Zoe Barnes on ”House of Cards,” was
originally scheduled to co-host with Paul but was stuck on location due to a
cancelled flight, according to organizers.
Harris joked about the early hour, designed to allow the nominations to
be shown live in the Eastern and Central time zones on the morning news
programs.
“Special thanks to Kate Mara for getting me out of the house before my
children start screaming and crying,” Harris said.
The 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor programming
initially airing between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013,
will be presented Sept. 22 at the Nokia Theatre and televised on CBS.
The bulk of the Primetime Emmys will be presented at the Creative Arts
Emmy Awards ceremony Sept. 15, also at the Nokia Theatre.
