As expected, “Mad Men” snagged an Emmy nomination today as it began its bid for a record fifth outstanding drama series prize, while “Modern Family” earned a nod for best comedy as it seeks a record sixth win in the category.
“Mad Men” will compete for best drama series with “Better Call Saul,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards” and “Orange is the New Black.”
The AMC period advertising drama won the Emmy in the category each of its first four seasons, but last won in 2011. It completed its run in May and has history on its side. Both “Breaking Bad,” the winner each of the past two years,” and “The Sopranos” won in their final seasons.
“Mad Men” is among three series to be a four-time winner, along with “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and “The West Wing.”
This is the fourth year in a row that none of the nominees for outstanding drama series came from the major broadcast networks. “The Good Wife” was the most recent nominee from a major broadcast network. A series from the major broadcast networks has not won in the category since Fox’s “24” in 2006.
Jon Hamm was nominated for best actor in a drama series for “Mad Men.” He will square off against Kyle Chandler for “Bloodline,” Jeff Daniels for “The Newsroom,” Bob Odenkirk for “Better Call Saul,” Liev Schrieber for “Ray Donovan” and Kevin Spacey for “House of Cards.”
“Mad Men’s” Elisabeth Moss was nominated for best actress in a drama series, along with Claire Danes for “Homeland,” Viola Davis for “How to Get Away with Murder,” Taraji P. Henson for “Empire,” Tatiana Maslany for “Orphan Black” and Robin Wright for “House of Cards.”
“Modern Family” has won the outstanding comedy series Emmy for a record-tying five consecutive seasons. “Frasier” is the other five-time winner in the category.
The ABC comedy will compete for the honor this year with “Louie,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Silicon Valley,” “Transparent,” “Veep” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Anthony Anderson led the list of nominees for best actor in a comedy for his work in the freshman series “black-ish.” Will Forte was also a new face in the category for “The Last Man on Earth.” They will compete with Don Cheadle for “House of Lies,” William H. Macy for “Shameless,” Matt LeBlanc for “Episodes” and Louis C.K. for “Louie.”
Veteran actress and comedian Lily Tomlin scored a nomination for best actress in a comedy for “Grace and Frankie.” Perennial contender Edie Falco was nominated again for “Nurse Jackie,” along with Lisa Kudrow for “The Comeback,” Amy Schumer for “Inside Amy Schumer,” Amy Poehler for “Parks and Recreation” and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for “Veep.”
The nominations were announced at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood by Cat Deeley, host of “So You Think You Can Dance,” and Uzo Aduba, who won a guest actress Emmy last season for her portrayal of Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren on “Orange is the New Black.”
The nominations announcement was made at 8:30 a.m., a departure from the traditional early morning event timed to coincide with East Coast morning news shows. John Levrence, the Television Academy’s senior vice president of awards, said the nature of the “24-hour news cycle gives flexibility to the timing of the announcement.”
The 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which honor programming initially airing between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2014, to May 31, 2015, will be presented Sept. 20 at the Microsoft Theater (formerly the Nokia Theatre) with “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Andy Samberg as the host. The ceremony will be televised on Fox.
The bulk of the Primetime Emmys will be presented at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony Sept. 12, also at the Microsoft Theater.
