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Flight of the Conchords - Source: ONE News -
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Kiwi cult comedy duo Flight of the Conchords has been nominated for six Emmy awards including best comedy.
Jermaine Clement, who stars in the series with Bret McKenzie,
has also been nominated for best comedy actor.
The show's also in the running in four other awards categories
including best comedy series, outstanding directing for a comedy
series and outstanding writing for a comedy series.
Another New Zealander, Phil Keoghan has been nominated for best host of a reality show for The Amazing Race.
The Tina Fey comedy 30 Rock and 1960s period drama Mad Men led
the Primetime Emmy nominations on Friday in a broad field full of
fresh faces competing for US television's highest honors.
NBC's 30 Rock had a leading 22 nominations, including best TV
comedy and best actress for Fey, who took the acting Emmy in 2007.
Mad Men on cable channel AMC had 16 nominations, including best
drama. Both shows won the Emmy in those categories last year.
Among the networks, cable channel HBO lead the field with 99
primetime Emmy nominations, while Showtime had 29 and AMC pulled in
23. Broadcast network NBC earned 67 nominations, followed by ABC
with 55, CBS with 49 and Fox with 42.
More nominees were added to the leading categories for the first
time this year in a bow to growth of strong dramas and comedies on
US television, particularly on cable TV.
"There is so much good work, we have really recognized the
diversity on television today," said John Shaffner, chairman and
CEO of the Television Academy.
The Academy said 41 of the 83 nominations for comedy and drama
programs were different from last year. They included drama
newcomer Big Love, HBO's controversial polygamy series, animated
comedy Family Guy on Fox and HBO comedy Flight of the
Conchords.
Actor Simon Baker of the new CBS crime show The Mentalist got a
best actor nomination, while Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory and
Toni Collette of Showtime's United States of Tara were among the
fresh faces in the comedy category.
Sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, which drew record
audiences for NBC during last year's US presidential election
campaign, had 13 nominations, including a best guest actress nod
for Fey's skits as Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah
Palin. Singer Justin Timberlake also received a guest actor
nomination for Saturday Night Live.
Alec Baldwin was nominated best comedy actor for his role in the
network TV spoof series 30 Rock, which dominated the Emmy
nominations for a second year. Baldwin won the award last
year.
Mad Men hopes for repeat
Mad Men, which won the best drama Emmy last year marking an award
breakthrough for basic cable shows, will compete against legal
program Damages on FX, Breaking Bad on AMC, serial killer drama
Dexter of Showtime, Fox medical series House and ABC's Lost.
Along with 30 Rock, comedy series nominations included HBO's
Entourage, NBC's The Office, Weeds from Showtime and How I Met Your
Mother on CBS.
In the race for best actor in a drama, Bryan Cranston will hope to
repeat his surprise win last year for his role as a chemistry
teacher turned drug dealer in Breaking Bad. Jon Hamm of Mad Men,
cranky doctor Hugh Laurie of House, Michael C. Hall for Dexter and
Gabriel Byrne from In Treatment also are in the running.
Glenn Close, who plays a hard-bitten lawyer in Damages, detective
Kyra Sedgwick in The Closer, Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit), Sally Field (Brothers and Sisters), Holly
Hunter (Saving Grace) and Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) will compete in
the best drama actress category.
The 61st Primetime Emmys will be handed out in Los Angeles on
September 20 in a live broadcast ceremony.
HBO is owned by Time-Warner while Showtime is owned by Viacom and
NBC is part of General Electric. ABC is part of Walt Disney Co and
Fox is owned by News Corp.
