The Daily Star - Stay Tuned
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The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, September 21, 2012 2 coverstory By Kyla Brewer TV Media J ust as the fall season kicks into high gear, the industry celebrates the best televi- sion has to offer. As networks and popular cable channels fight for a piece of the lucrative ratings pie, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hon- or this past season's outstand- ing work in comedy, drama, re- ality TV and more. Network and cable giants battle for Emmy supremacy Tipping the scales Emmy winner Jimmy Kim- mel will bring viewers all of the excitement when he hosts the 64th annual Emmy Primetime Awards for the first time on Sunday, Sept. 23, on ABC. Kim- mel cut his teeth as host of such awards ceremonies as the American Music Awards and the ESPY awards, but this is his first crack at the Emmys. The major networks once dominated the Emmys, but ca- ble series have become in- creasingly popular in the past few years and have overtaken the once-untouchable ratings giants. However, network TV is starting to push back as evi- denced by this year's list of nominees. While cable chan- nels are still racking up nomi- nations -- including 17 each for AMC's "Mad Men" and FX's "American Horror Story," 16 for History's "Hatfields & Mc- Coys" miniseries and 12 for HBO's "Game of Thrones" -- ABC, CBS and NBC appear to be on the rebound. With 11 wins last year, CBS has been weathering the cable "storm" better than the others. This year, the broadcaster ups the ante even more with a whopping 60 Emmy nods, up from 50 nominations in 2011. The Eye leads the major broad- cast networks, thanks to its slate of heavy-hitting dramas, hit comedies and engrossing reality series. This year, "The Big Bang Theory" earned five Emmy nominations, including Max Greenfield and "Saturday Night Live's" Bill Hader. Fox seems to have slipped a bit this year, though the net- work has some solid chances of winning in the outstanding animated program category with three programs up for the statue: "American Dad," "The Simpsons" and "Bob's Burg- ers." Still, the network netted 42 nominations at the 2011 Emmys, and a "mere" 26 this year. "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm those for Outstanding Lead Ac- tor in a Comedy Series for Jim Parsons and Outstanding Sup- porting Actress in a Comedy Series for Mayim Bialik. Reality competition series "The Amaz- ing Race" garnered even more with seven Emmy nomina- tions. Phil Keoghan bagged a nomination for Outstanding Host and the series is also up for the coveted Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. Believe it or not, PBS isn't far behind CBS in 2012 Emmy honors. The public broadcaster has secured 58 accolades for its varied programming, in con- trast to 43 nominations in 2011. The "Masterpiece" se- lection "Downton Abbey" has brought in 16 nominations, ty- ing History Channel's much lauded "Hatfield & McCoys," which starred Kevin Costner and Bill Paxton. Other PBS fare that made the Emmy grade in- clude "Masterpiece: Sherlock: A Scandal In Belgravia," which is up against "Hatfield & Mc- Coys" for Outstanding Minise- ries or Movie, and "Great Per- formances: Tony Bennett: Du- ets II," which earned a nod for Outstanding Variety Special. The NBC network increased its nominations from 46 in 2011 to 51 this year. After more than three decades on the air, "Saturday Night Live" is back on top, pulling in 14 Emmy nods. Other top performers in- clude the Amy Poehler sitcom "Parks and Recreation," the in- novative musical series "Smash" and the singing com- petition show "The Voice," with four nominations each. ABC hauled in 48 nomina- tions for its programming this year, compared to 40 for last year's offerings. Once again, "Modern Family" leads the charge for the network with 14 nominations, including a nod for Outstanding Comedy. The cast of the acclaimed series has proven particularly popular this year as many of them will compete for honors in the same category. Both Julie Bow- en and Sofia Vergara are up for Outstanding Supporting Ac- tress, while co-stars Ed O'Neill, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ty Burrell and Eric Stonestreet practically eclipse all competition in the Outstanding Supporting Actor group. The only others who managed to sneak into that category were "New Girl's" In comparison, HBO's tally dropped from 104 nomina- tions last year to 81 in 2012. However, there are still some areas in which the cable channels reign. In 2012, HBO dominates the Outstanding Comedy Series category. Of the six programs nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, three of them are on HBO: "Girls," "VEEP" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." As for the major networks, ABC snagged a nod for "Modern Family," CBS got props for "The Big Bang Theory" and Tina Fey's "30 Rock" reeled one in for NBC. The four big networks were also completely shut out of the running for Outstanding Dra- ma. In an era of increasing vio- lence and adult content else- where, television is following suit, but such content is tough to pull off on network TV. AMC's violent "Breaking Bad" and vintage-cool "Mad Men" made the cut, along with HBO's fantasy series "Game of Thrones" and period drama "Boardwalk Empire." Chirstopher's Coins 2 x 2 hollywoodQ&A By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Is "Memphis Beat" starring Jason Lee coming back on the air on TNT? A: Unfortunately, no. In news that cries out for Elvis puns ("fans are taking out rooms at the Heartbreak Hotel," "TNT will have a blue fall season without Jason Lee," and so on), TNT has canceled the quirky dramedy about an Elvis-loving Memphis detective played by ex-skateboard star Jason Lee. The show was a ratings hit for the cable network when it premiered in 2010, but the numbers quickly dropped off in Season 2. The network announced last October, two months after the second-season finale, that it would not be renewed for a third. The major players already had new projects on the go when the news hit, suggesting perhaps that they at least had an in- kling of it ahead of time. Two days before the official cancelation announcement, the news broke that Joshua Harto and Liz Garcia, the husband- and-wife team who created "Memphis Beat," had sold a new pilot to NBC. Unfortunately, it wasn't picked up as a series. And while the second season of "Memphis Beat" was still on the air, it was announced that Lee was producing and would star in a pilot for Adult Swim called "Shredd." (Of course, he's always been a hard worker, having starred in films, including the "Alvin & the Chipmunks" franchise, at the same time as "Memphis Beat.") However, "Shredd," too, didn't make it to series. Q: I heard Jerry Seinfeld has a new series, but I can't find it anywhere on TV. What's up with that? A: The reason you can't find it is because it's not on TV. Jerry Seinfeld's latest series isn't airing on TV, the medium that made him a megastar, but on the Internet. "Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee," which is exactly what the title states, is produced in part by Crackle.com, a site that offers films, televi- sion and some original series content online. Seinfeld's series can be watched online on Crackle.com or on the aptly named ComediansInCarsGettingCoffee.com. The premise is simple: Seinfeld picks up comedian friends in a classic car and they drive to a diner somewhere to get coffee, while participating in the kinds of hilariously meaningless con- versations Seinfeld has become known for. The comics featured so far include Ricky Gervais, Alec Bald- win and Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld's star-making sitcom. 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