Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace lead Emmy nominations

The cast of the 'Desperate Housewives': Nicollette Sheridan, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Teri Hatcher.

LOS ANGELES - Desperate Housewives, one of the surprise hits driving a ratings rebound at US network ABC, and veteran NBC sitcom Will & Grace led the field of Emmy Award series contenders announced today with 15 nominations each, including bids for best comedy.

But two HBO made-for-TV movies - The Life and Death of Peter Sellers and Warm Springs - scored the biggest tallies of any programmes vying for US television's highest honours this year, clinching 16 nominations apiece.

Desperate Housewives, a wry, steamy saga of suburban intrigue, garnered ABC's first nomination for a top comedy since Home Improvement made the cut 11 years ago.

Housewives, an hourlong show that many in the TV business say is more a drama than a true comedy, also yielded best-actress nominations for three of its stars: Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher and Felicity Huffman. The actresses who play the two naughtier roles - Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan - were snubbed by Emmy voters.

Another popular ABC show, castaway thriller Lost, was the most-nominated drama series overall, gaining recognition in 12 categories, including the race for best drama.

Emmy pundits cautioned, however, that Housewives and Lost share two potential strikes against them in the run-up to the awards presentation in September.

Both are episodic cliffhangers, a genre that even in its Dallas and Dynasty heyday tended to fare poorly at the Emmys. And both are first-season shows, which Emmy voters have tended to shy away from in favour of older favorites.

"The big story in TV this year was the return of the cliffhanger show," said Tom O'Neil, author of The Emmys and host of the entertainment awards Web site Goldderby.com. "The big story at the Emmys is how will they do this year. They never do well historically."

The Emmys' deja vu dynamic may prove helpful to such comedy contenders as Will & Grace, back for its sixth straight nomination as best comedy as it heads into its eighth and presumed final season, and Everybody Loves Raymond, which just completed its ninth and final run on CBS. Those shows won the top prize in 2000 and 2003, respectively.

The 13 nods tallied by Raymond helped make CBS the most nominated broadcast network this year, with 59 in all.

"It's a nice thing, because we're off the air, so you would think that maybe people wouldn't remember us in such a big way," said Phil Rosenthal, executive producer and co-creator of "Raymond."

Sentimental points also go to NBC's The West Wing, which clinched a bid for re-election to an unprecedented fifth term as best drama. Rounding out the roster of best-drama contenders were Fox espionage thriller 24 and two HBO productions - funereal family soap Six Feet Under and the gritty and vulgar western Deadwood. Last year's winner for best drama series, HBO mob saga The Sopranos, was sidelined this year for a lack of qualifying episodes.

Other best comedy nominees were last year's winner, the critically praised but ratings-poor Fox series Arrested Development and the NBC hospital sitcom Scrubs.

The 57th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, presented by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, will be broadcast live on CBS from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sept. 18.

Nominees

Drama Series: "Deadwood," HBO; "Lost," ABC; "Six Feet Under," HBO; "24," Fox; "The West Wing," NBC.

Comedy Series: "Arrested Development," Fox; "Desperate Housewives," ABC; "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; "Scrubs," NBC; "Will & Grace," NBC.

Miniseries: "Elvis," CBS; "Empire Falls," HBO; "The 4400," USA; "The Lost Prince (Masterpiece Theatre)," PBS.

Made-for-TV Movie: "Lackawanna Blues," HBO; "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," HBO; "The Office Special," BBC America; "Warm Springs," HBO; "The Wool Cap," TNT.

Variety, Music or Comedy Series: "Da Ali G Show," HBO; "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," Comedy Central; "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," NBC; "Late Show With David Letterman," CBS; "Real Time With Bill Maher,"HBO.

Variety, Music or Comedy Special: "77th Annual Academy Awards," ABC; "Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth," Showtime; "Everybody Loves Raymond -- The Last Laugh," CBS; "The Games of The XXVIII Olympiad - Opening Ceremony," NBC; "58th Annual Tony Awards (2004)," CBS.

Actor, Drama Series: James Spader, "Boston Legal," ABC; Ian McShane, "Deadwood," HBO; Hugh Laurie,"House," Fox; Hank Azaria, "Huff," Showtime; Kiefer Sutherland, "24," Fox.

Actress, Drama Series: Jennifer Garner, "Alias," ABC; Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," NBC; Patricia Arquette, "Medium," NBC; Glenn Close, "The Shield," FX; Frances Conroy, "Six Feet Under," HBO.

Supporting Actor, Drama Series: William Shatner, "Boston Legal," ABC; Oliver Platt, "Huff," Showtime; Naveen Andrews, "Lost," ABC; Terry O'Quinn, "Lost," ABC; Alan Alda, "The West Wing," NBC.

Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Sandra Oh, "Grey's Anatomy," ABC; Blythe Danner, "Huff," Showtime; Tyne Daly, "Judging Amy," CBS; CCH Pounder, "The Shield," FX; Stockard Channing, "The West Wing," NBC.

Actor, Comedy Series: Jason Bateman, "Arrested Development," Fox; Ray Romano, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Tony Shalhoub, "Monk," USA; Zach Braff, "Scrubs," NBC; Eric McCormack, "Will & Grace," NBC.

Actress, Comedy Series: Marcia Cross, "Desperate Housewives," ABC; Teri Hatcher, "Desperate Housewives," ABC; Felicity Huffman, "Desperate Housewives," ABC; Patricia Heaton, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Jane Kaczmarek, "Malcolm In The Middle," Fox.

Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, "Arrested Development," Fox; Jeremy Piven, "Entourage," HBO; Peter Boyle, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Brad Garrett, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Sean Hayes, "Will & Grace," NBC.

Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jessica Walter, "Arrested Development," Fox; Doris Roberts, "Everybody Loves Raymond," CBS; Holland Taylor, "Two And A Half Men," CBS; Conchata Ferrell, "Two And A Half Men," CBS; Megan Mullally, "Will & Grace," NBC.

Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, "Elvis," CBS; Ed Harris, "Empire Falls," HBO; Geoffrey Rush, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," HBO; Kenneth Branagh, "Warm Springs," HBO; William H. Macy, "The Wool Cap," TNT.

Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Blythe Danner, "Back When We Were Grownups (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation)," CBS; Debra Winger, "Dawn Anna," Lifetime Television; S. Epatha Merkerson, "Lackawanna Blues," HBO; Halle Berry, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," ABC; Cynthia Nixon, "Warm Springs," HBO.

Supporting Actor, Miniseries or a Movie: Randy Quaid, "Elvis," CBS; Paul Newman, "Empire Falls," HBO; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Empire Falls," HBO; Christopher Plummer, "Our Fathers," Showtime; Brian Dennehy, "Our Fathers," Showtime.

Supporting Actress, Miniseries or a Movie: Camryn Manheim, "Elvis," CBS; Joanne Woodward, "Empire Falls," HBO; Charlize Theron, "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers," HBO; Jane Alexander, "Warm Springs," HBO; Kathy Bates, "Warm Springs," HBO.

Animated Program: "Family Guy: North by North Quahog," Fox; "Samurai Jack: Episode XLIX," Cartoon Network; "The Simpsons: Future Drama," Fox; "South Park: Best Friends Forever," Comedy Central; "SpongeBob SquarePants: Fear of a Krabby Patty/Shell of a Man," Nickelodeon.

Best Reality Competition Series: "The Amazing Race", CBS; "American Idol", Fox; "The Apprentice", NBC; "Project Runway", Bravo; "Survivor", CBS

- REUTERS