TV Review - 2011 Primetime Emmy Nominations

Oprah Winfrey's new cable network got its first Emmy nominations, three in total, all for its documentary Becoming Chaz.

Of course, when it comes to cable TV, HBO is again the leader of the pack, garnering the most Emmy nominations. The lion's share this time went to Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet. That miniseries, which got a total of 21 nods, co-starred Guy Pearce who also got a nomination, so Pearce was nominated for Pierce.

I think I'm most excited for CBS' The Good Wife, which got nine nominations, mostly in the acting categories. It is currently my favorite series on television. Julianna Marguiles stars as a woman who has to restart her life after her politician husband is exposed in a sex scandal. Sound familiar? Alan Cumming and Michael J. Fox all got nominations for their roles in the show's second season.

My favorite comedy series is Louie on FX and it got two nominations. The editors at the A.V. Club liken each episode of that show to a well-made short film, and I couldn't agree more. It drew early comparisons to Seinfeld but edgier. Now, however, it's become it's own unique thing and is all the better for it.

Modern Family will likely sweep the awards, but I'm hoping for Glee, which got 12 nominations, to dominate. As far as funniest categories in terms of unlikely competitors, there is the Guest Actor in Comedy Series category. In this one category, you have Oscar-winner Matt Damon going up against pop star Justin Timberlake who is also going up against bearded, loveable goof Zach Galifianakis. In what bizarro world would those three ever be competing against one another?

Surprising nomination goes to Timothy Olyphant for Justified on FX. He's the gritty white knight who just might be this generation's Clint Eastwood. His series got four total nods. The second season has been more embraced than the first, not by me, but I'm glad the show's getting some recognition.

What I'm most surprised and also happiest about is the good number of minorities like black people on the nomination list. Archie Panjabi, of Indian-descent, got nominated for The Good Wife. Laurence Fishburne was honored for playing Thurgood Marshall. Loretta Divine was honored for her reoccuring role on Grey's Anatomy as well as Alfre Woodard for her small role on True Blood. Taraji P. Henson got a nod for her Lifetime movie The Tiffany Rubin Story. Idris Elba got two nods, one for Luthor on BBC America and the other for The Big C on Showtime.

Continuing in the vein of honoring African-Americans, Freedom Riders on PBS got three nominations. An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Chaka Khan got a nod, but I'm personally rooting for Isaiah Mustafa because his new Old Spice commercial called "Questions" earned an Emmy nod too.

As far as I can tell, there weren't any real egregious snubs. There was snickering from the guy who created Sons of Anarchy, but arguably the best show on FX was The Shield and that show was snubbed numerous times. Some critics might also have taken offense to Breaking Bad  being totally snubbed, but I don't. Overall, I have no complaints.