2006 primetime Emmy nominees

July 2006 Special Edition

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences had some surprises in store for this year's primetime Emmy nominations. Some heavyweights scored fewer nominations than usual in the major categories, while other shows received nominations as going-away presents.

Highlights in the Comedy categories

The first thing you'll notice here is the absence of Desperate Housewives from most of the major categories. Yes, it's nominated for a bunch of creative awards as well as one major acting award (see below). But there won't be any repeat of the three-way showdown between Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher and Marcia Cross. And while there are familiar faces, there are newcomers to the categories too.

Thanks to Friends, Seinfeld, and The West Wing, three of the five Lead Actress nominees are no strangers to the Emmys or to viewers. This year, The Comeback's Lisa Kudrow (left), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), and Stockard Channing (Out of Practice) received their first nominations in the Lead Actress category. They're up against Will & Grace's Debra Messing, who has five nominations and one win, and Malcolm in the Middle's Jane Kaczmarek, who perhaps hopes that seven will be her lucky number.

As stated above, Desperate Housewives got only one nomination in a major category, and that was thanks to Alfre Woodward, who's up for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Woodard will compete against Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jaime Pressly (My Name is Earl), Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds), and Megan Mullally (Will & Grace).

Like their female counterparts, the Lead Actor comedy nominees feature three first-timers: Kevin James (The King of Queens), Steve Carell (The Office), and Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men). They're joined by Tony Shalhoub (Monk), last year's winner and the only holdover from that group of nominees, and Larry David, who scored his third nomination in this category, for Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The departure last season of Everybody Loves Raymond means that for the first time in eight years, Brad Garrett or Peter Boyle (or both) won't be among the five nominees. That's good news for three actors whose shows are no longer with us -- Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Bryan Cranston (Malcolm in the Middle), and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) -- as well as Jeremy Piven (Entourage) and Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men), whose shows are alive and well.

Although Scrubs only got one major nomination, it was a big one, for Outstanding Comedy Series. As much as I like the hospital comedy, it's unlikely that it'll beat out Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Office, and Two and a Half Men for the award.

Highlights in the Drama categories

What Desperate Housewives is this year to the comedy categories, The Sopranos is to the drama categories. Though HBO received 95 nominations, the most of any network, only seven of those were from the mobster drama, the lowest number since the series began.

Just as in comedy, there was only one holdover in the Leading Actor category, that being 24's Kiefer Sutherland. He and Martin Sheen (The West Wing) are the Susan Luccis of this group, both having been nominated several times in this category (five for Sutherland, seven for Sheen) with no wins. They're joined by Peter Krause (Six Feet Under), who has three nominations to his credit, and two first-time nominees, Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and Denis Leary (Rescue Me).

Alan Alda (right), Sheen's West Wing cohort, didn't win the Oval Office, but he may win an Emmy. Alda, who played a Republican senator running for president, has competition for Academy votes from William Shatner (Boston Legal), Oliver Platt (Huff), Michael Imperioli (one of only two major nominations for The Sopranos), and Gregory Itzin (24).

Frances Conroy, one of the Leading Actress nominees, may be a sentimental favorite for Six Feet Under fans — she's been nominated three times before, but has never won. Conroy has stiff competition, though, in the persons of West Wing's Allison Janney, who has a formidable batting average (four wins in five previous nominations), and three-time nominee Mariska Hartigay. The quintet is rounded out by first-time nominees Mariska Hartigay, of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Geena Davis, who earlier this year won a Golden Globe for Commander in Chief.

Candice Bergen, who won five Emmys during the run of Murphy Brown, received her first-ever drama nomination in the Supporting Actress category. She's joined by Blythe Danner, who won last year's award for Huff, Jean Smart (nominated for 24), and Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson, who might end up splitting the Grey's Anatomy vote.

Despite being shut out of most of the major awards, The Sopranos still received a nomination for Outstanding Drama Series. It'll go up against perennial favorites 24 and The West Wing, and two newcomers to the category, Grey's Anatomy and House.

Will it be in with the new and out with the old? Or will the oldies-but-goodies (relatively speaking) prevail? Tune in to NBC on August 27 to find out.

-- A. Wu