KEY POINTS:
LOS ANGELES - The hit hospital drama Grey's Anatomy and offbeat comedy Weeds, about a pot-dealing soccer mom, led the field of Golden Globe contenders for TV awards today with four nominations each.
Grey's Anatomy, one of the most watched shows in US prime time this season, scored
nominations for best drama and for three of its cast members, including Ellen Pompeo, who stars as the title character, and Patrick Dempsey, who plays her hunky love interest.
Centered on the medical and personal complications confronting a group of young surgical interns at a Seattle hospital, "Grey's" is one of several hit shows that has helped the ABC network reverse a severe ratings slump in recent years.
Weeds, drawing a much smaller audience on the Showtime cable channel, was nominated in the Golden Globe race for best TV comedy or musical and garnered three acting bids, most notably for Mary-Louise Parker, who stars as a suburban widow who makes a living by selling marijuana to her neighbors.
ABC, a unit of the Walt Disney Co., is the most recognized broadcast network in this year's Golden Globes competition, with 11 nominations total, all of them from four powerhouse shows -- Grey's Anatomy, Lost, Desperate Housewives and comedy newcomer Ugly Betty.
However, Time Warner Inc.-owned pay-cable channel HBO once again dominated the overall roster of Golden Globe TV contenders, amassing 14 nominations. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., followed with nine nominations and Viacom Inc.-owned Showtime had six.
Television shows have been honored by the Golden Globes since they were added to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's motion picture accolades in 1956.
While the Globe movie nominations are regarded as a bellwether for the more prestigious Oscar race, the TV nominees invariably take a back seat, coming as they do months after the US television industry's highest honors, the Emmys, are already presented for the year.
Still, the Globes, which are presented in January, can play a key role in drawing attention to shows in need of a mid-season promotional boost.
And unlike the Emmys, which tend to recognize more well-established hits, the Globes are known for celebrating lesser-known critical favorites or new shows like Ugly Betty.
- REUTERS