Earlier today Melissa McCarthy ("Mike & Molly") and Joshua Jackson ("Fringe") presented the full list of nominees for the 63rd Prime Time Emmy Awards. And although Don Draper and company won't be returning until 2012, the hit AMC show, "Mad Men" led all TV series with 19 nominations.
HBO's Prohibition-era drama "Boardwalk Empire" also scored an impressive 18 nominations, with "Game of Thrones" and "30 Rock" each capturing 13 nominations. The long running comedy variety series, "Saturday Night Live" was also among the leaders, with 16 nominations.
"Game of Thrones" and "Boardwalk Empire" are both freshmen series going for their first best dramatic series awards against veteran shows like "Mad Men," "Dexter," "Friday Night Lights" and "The Good Wife;" which is notably the only drama series on this list not originally produced by a cable network.
For outstanding lead dramatic actor, the absence of Bryan Cranston completely changes the playing field after he won three years in a row for his performance as Walter White on "Breaking Bad." Jon Hamm is the early favorite for his role as Don Draper on "Mad Men," but he'll be competing against Hugh Laurie ("House"), Timothy Olyphant ("Justified"), Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") and Steve Buscemi ("Boardwalk Empire").
Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife"), Kathy Bates ("Harry's Law"), Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights"), Mireille Enos ("The Killing"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: SVU") and Elisabeth Moss ("Mad Men" will compete for the outstanding lead dramatic actress award.
In comedy, "Modern Family" will get a chance to repeat as best series, while going up against "The Big Bang Theory," "Glee," "The Office," "30 Rock" and "Parks and Recreation."
Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") may also get to repeat as outstanding lead comedic actor against co-star Johnny Galecki, Steve Carell ("The Office"), Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock") in addition to Louis C.K. and Matt LeBlanc; who portrayed fictional versions of themselves on "Louie" and "Episodes," respectively.
While announcing the nominations, McCarthy learned that she has been nominated for outstanding lead actress in a comedy for "Mike & Molly," with Laura Linney ("The Big C"), Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation"), Martha Plimpton ("Raising Hope") and Tina Fey ("30 Rock") looking to unseat last year's winner, Edie Falco ("Nurse Jackie").
Peter Dinklage was the lone actor from "Game of Thrones" to receive a nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a drama. Regardless, that didn't stop HBO from landing 104 combined nominations, far outpacing all of its competitors.
Jane Lynch ("Glee") will host this year's Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 18 on Fox. A complete list of the major award categories is available on the next page.
