Emmy Nominations 2012: American Horror Story, Mad Men and Modern Family Lead the Pack
Nominations for the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced early Thursday morning by Scandal star Kerry Washington and this year’s Emmys host, Jimmy Kimmel — in his pajamas — and FX’s American Horror Story and AMC’s Mad Men led the pack with 17 total nods each.
PBS’ Downton Abbey and History’s Hatfields & McCoys followed with 16 apiece, while Modern Family was the most-nommed scripted comedy series, with 14.
Showtime’s Homeland amassed the most nominations (nine) for a freshman series, while Jon Hamm, Melissa McCarthy, Lena Dunham (as a star, director and writer of Girls) and Amy Poehler (as Parks and Rec actress and for penning an episode) are among those who netted multiple nods.
Here is the list of the nominees who were revealed on TV, to be updated imminently with the full roster of contenders in major races. Your job, as fellow TV enthusiasts, is to hit the comments with unchecked euphoria… or utter outrage. (It’s the Internet, so we’re conservatively predicting at least 60 percent “outrage.”)
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OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
Claire Danes, Homeland
Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Damian Lewis, Homeland
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad
Brendan Coyle, Downton Abbey
Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
Jared Harris, Mad Men
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Mark Margolis, Breaking Bad
Dylan Baker, The Good Wife
Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife
Jeremy Davies, Justified
Ben Feldman, Mad Men
Jason Ritter, Parenthood
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Martha Plimpton, The Good Wife
Loretta Devine, Grey’s Anatomy
Jean Smart, Harry’s Law
Julia Ormond, Mad Men
Joan Cusack, Shameless
Uma Thurman, Smash
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OUTSTANDING COMEDY
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Zoey Deschanel, New Girl
Lena Dunham, Girls
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Don Cheadle, House of Lies
Louis C.K., Louie
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men (*his first time in Lead race in years)
Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
Max Greenfield, New Girl
Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten, Desperate Housewives
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Michael J. Fox, Curb Your Enthusiasm
Greg Kinnear, Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale, Nurse Jackie
Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live
Will Arnett, 30 Rock
Jon Hamm, 30 Rock
OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Dot-Marie Jones, Glee
Maya Rudolph, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock
Margaret Cho, 30 Rock
Kathy Bates, Two and a Half Men
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OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW HOST
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Betty White, Betty White’s Off Their Rockers
OUTSTANDING REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice
OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
American Horror Story
Game Change
Hatfields & McCoys
Hemingway and Gellhorn
Luther
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
LEAD ACTOR IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Idris Elba, Luther
Woody Harrelson, Game Change
Clive Owen, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Bill Paxton, Hatfields & McCoys
LEAD ACTRESS IN A TV MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Connie Britton, American Horror Story
Ashley Judd, Missing (*which was eligible as a miniseries)
Nicole Kidman, Hemingway and Gellhorn
Julianne Moore, Game Change
Emma Thompson, The Song of Lunch
The complete list of Emmy nominations can be found at Emmys.com.
The Emmys will be held Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. ABC is broadcasting this year’s show, with Jimmy Kimmel serving as host.
hen you see Adam Scott is trending on twitter on the day they announce Emmy nods- finding out that it’s about a golfer is a real bummer.
But Adam Scott the golfer is really hot.
SUPER HOT!
There needed to be room for Bill Hader(?????) on the list and God knows those Modern Family guys walk on water…
adam scott was in the lead actor category. so my question is why the hell did Jon Cryer take his spot? seriously? i can’t even say jon cryer and emmy in the same sentence without cracking up!
It annoys me how the men are dominating their category and that julie bowen is even nominated (when has she ever been funny on the show!?!?!??!). I’m a modern family fan but there are WAY more deserving actors/actresses. This past season was a bit of a let down
This is a constant repeat of years before. Nothing new to nominate? We all know this is just a sham. Way better shows were totally shut out and it shows that network tv has really lost it, eve though the best shows were relegated to 0 noms at all! Boo to the Emmys!!!
NO GLEE pls
I fully support that view.
Dot Marie Jones is nominated
dot marie and jane lynch are okay. the whole show getting nominated again would’ve invalidated the entire emmy process.
That’s cool. She can act.
Dot Marie Jones did an excellent job in the few episodes she was in (and her crying on cue — kills me!)
#sixseasonsandanemmy
Hahhahhah! #sixseasonsandamovieandanemmy
#sixseasonsandamovieandDanHarmon
Yet again, I don’t follow most of these shows. Community and Fringe shut out again. And really? Nominating Sofia (MF) and Mayim (BB) when they are both the worst part of their shows? The Emmys are totally out of touch. Doubt I will ever watch this award show again. Choices are always off base, in my opinion. I much preferred Michael’s list.
um Mayim is one of the best parts of BBT
Agreed, Mayim deserved her nom!
Not totally out of the question… Remedial Chaos Theory got a writing nomination.
If Jessica Paré is nominated for Lead Actress, I will go on a killing spree the likes of which this world has never seen!
The Walking Dead instead of Boardwalk Empire!
Oh man Parks and Recs didn’t make it. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
And Louie didn’t either. Damn. I hope Curb wins now. If Girls wins I might vomit.
That is a MFing travesty. How long is Parks going to be ignored? HOW LONG? Awards are stupid but they’d be less stupid if they went to the right people.
Nice Ron Swanson Quote, Ava
I know! And no Hugh Laurie! It’s a damn shame he has never won an emmy!
So true. Even just a nomination would be nice.
GIRLS!
I CAN’T BELIEVE PARKS AND RECREATION GOT SNUBBED
my thoughts exactly!!! that’s the only thing i’m truly upset about
Grrrr!! NOOOO!
I can’t even look at the list under the best comedy section without laughing. It is so utterly ridiculous.
I second that. Jon Cryer? How on earth did HE get nominated?
Why no Parks and Rec for comedy. Grrrr….
Happy about Schmidt but where the eff is Nick Offerman???
i know! what the f does ron swanson have to do!?
Mariska Hargitay was robbed! Who is Kathy Bates? C’mon people. The noms were a bit disappointing
Who is Kathy Bates, oh, only an oscar winner and fantastic actress.
Who is Kathy Bates? … Really?
Your right about Mariska, especially since this was SVU’s strongest season in years…but Kathy Bates deserved this, and she did not deserve what NBC gave her!
SVU’s strongest year? Really? Have you not been keeping track of their appalling ratings? Worst ratings in this history of the show were “achieved” last season. That speaks volumes. I am a die-hard fan of Mariska Hargitay and SVU was my favourite show. I’d love to see her nominated again but I don’t see it happening while the show is in this mess.
Sadly, I think SVU has seen the back of its award winning, or even good days. Personal thanks go to the arrogant, egotistical and diabolically under qualified Mr. Warren Leight. Did they really think shopping in the reduced section and bagging the show a two for the price of one deal (Pino & Giddish) was a smart move? lol. I guess now they see how wrong they were.
Oh, and who is Kathy Bates? Is that a real question? lol. Harry’s Law? MISERY? Dolores Claiborne? Titanic? P.S. I Love You? Six Feet Under? The Blind Side? Revolutionary Road? The Office? That’s just off the top of my head, lol.
No Parks and Rec for best comedy??
Not happy with the Comedy series nominations, still the same old, the same old that lost its funny a while ago, where are the new ones like Happy endings, what does that show have to do to get recognised!?
agree, let’s move 30 rock, modern family, and curb down, and move community, park&rec, and happy endings up! My only comfort is glee wasn’t nominated again. thank god. I still watch the show but it’s barely my top 15 now.
to clarify: although I do think 30 rock had a much better season this year than previous years, I was still hoping for some new blood.
I can’t even watch it anymore. I am ready for Tina to move onto something fresher with a better supporting cast.
We need to stop thinking of the “deserving” quality of the shows and start facing the Emmys as they are. Most nominations are done in autopilot: if it’s got good recognition in previous years, then it’ll be automatically recognized this year too, despite of anything else. It’s always the case for both good and bad shows. The second rule is, if it’s on HBO, it is automatically superior and should be considered or nominated upfront, no matter what it is. Do not expect the Emmy (or the Globes, for that matter) to be fair. Those people don’t watch anything and just go with the flow.
well to be fair, Veep and Girls are both new shows.
So for a new show to be nominated it needs to be terrible?
Really glad to see Kathy Bates get nominated for Harry’s Law. NBC was stupid to cancel it and I’m glad she was honored with a nomination.
No Parks or Offermann??? Terrible.
Damian Lewis nominated for Homeland! Wooooooo!
4 slots to Modern Family for best supporting actor is excessive.
That’s putting it mildly.
agreed, i have much more colorful words than “excessive.” and this is coming from someone who has modern family on her appt watching list. but to snub so many other amazing actors!!! danny pudi, jim rash, nick offerman, i can go on…
Agreed x 100 lol
yeah, i’d trade ed o’neil with danny or jim any day.
I can’t believe simon helberg didn’t make it!!!!!, this season of TBBT was his best, and for the most part Howard was the back story of every episode
and every single one is well deserved.
Wait… How come they didn’t announce the supporting categories? #confused
me too! I’m so confused right now
Go to emmy.com and they are all listed.
They never announce it on air.
Downton Abbey stole TGW’s best drama spot–season 2 was crap!
Yay for Julianna Margulies, Claire Danes and Elizabeth Moss though.
WOOT! Archie Panjabi and Christine Baranski got noms (bummed about the lack of Josh Charles though), and glad for Christina Hendricks as well. :)
Love that Anna Gunn got nominated, she is great in Breaking Bad!! As well as a new nom for Giancarlo Esposito!!! And nods for Aaron and Brian yay :)
Courteney is still snubbed :( what’s a shame!
And the comedy show nominations are always the same, so disappointed
Nothing for Justified… I’m really sad now.
I CANNOT believe that Justified did not get ONE nomination and they deserved at least three: for lead actor in a tv series; supporting lead in a tv series and outstanding tv series. This is dreadful that they were completely locked out.
At least they recognized Jeremy Davies. I still can’t believe he’s the same man that played Daniel Faraday on Lost.
downton abbey! all the awards
seriously! emmy showed them some sweet sweet lovin’.
bates, carson, anna, the dowager countess (duh), robert, & lady mary? perhaps a bit excessive, but i’m such a fan girl of DA i can’t even complain.
i think i’m gonna watch DA today… =D
RAHHHH where is OUAT for best drama?!?! :(
I love OUAT, but unfortunately it’s not the kind of show that will ever get emmy love.
i enjoy the show too, but i don’t think it’s anywhere near the level of the drama series that got nominated. (except downton abbey, which had a pretty bad season 2…)
How the hell is bbt nominted over parks and rec community and louie?
BBT is funny, but friggin Girls should NOT be in there over Louie, Community, or Parks and Rec. Same goes for Veep.
BBT is only funny if you like bullying humor or enjoy having punchlines spelled out in tedious detail.