'Desperate Housewives,' 'Lost' head for Emmy race

The cast of Desperate Housewives.

LOS ANGELES - Two surprise hits driving a ratings rebound at US television network ABC - "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost" - are now front-runners at this week's Emmy Award nominations, joining a mix of newcomers and old favorites vying for US television's highest honors.

"Desperate Housewives," a wry, episodic tale of suburban intrigue, is widely seen as a leading contender for best comedy series, and the castaway thriller "Lost" is heavily favored to clinch a bid for best drama when Emmy nominees are announced on Friday (NZ time). The winners will be announced in September.

The Emmy-sponsoring Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is notorious for repeat coronations of past nominees. But new entries and previously snubbed shows are given better odds than usual this year because such recent Emmy heavyweights as HBO mob drama "The Sopranos" and NBC's smash sitcom "Friends" are out of the running.

"It's a great year for the Emmys to redress past oversights and welcome the hot new players," said entertainment awards pundit Tom O'Neil, author of "The Emmys" and senior editor of In Touch Weekly magazine.

While most TV series typically gain little Emmy attention their first season on the air, "Housewives" and "Lost" both drew Emmy buzz as breakout hits that reversed a three-year ratings slump at ABC while winning mostly favorable reviews.

Some observers have cried foul over "Desperate Housewives" competing as a comedy, arguing the hourlong show hews closer to a drama than a half-hour sitcom. But supporters of the show point to the precedent set by "Ally McBeal," the Fox legal "dramedy" that ran as an hourlong comedy and won in 1999.

The Emmy race for best comedy is seen as especially wide open this year due to the absence of several perennial nominees - "Friends," "Frasier" and "Sex and the City" all went off the air last year, and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" was on hiatus this past season.

Last year's critically praised but ratings-poor comedy champion, Fox's "Arrested Development," is expected back to defend its title, and the CBS sitcom hit and 2003 winner "Everybody Loves Raymond" is considered likely to claim a nomination for its just-finished ninth and final season.

Emmy watchers also give strong odds to two NBC comedies, "Will & Grace" and "Scrubs, as well as HBO's new satire of Hollywood culture, "Entourage."

The race for best drama series is considered a less open contest, with three past nominees expected to make the cut again his year - NBC political saga and four-time winner "The West Wing," CBS's top-rated detective show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and Fox espionage thriller "24."

Last year's most nominated series and winner for best drama, "The Sopranos," is on the sidelines for lack of qualifying episodes this past season, possibly making room for another HBO critical favorite, the gritty, foul-mouthed western "Deadwood."

The 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards are held on Sept. 18 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

*  'Desperate Housewives' screens on TV2 at 8.30pm from Monday.


- REUTERS