Posted at 11:35 a.m., Thursday, July 12, 2001
'Sopranos' leads Emmy nominations
• List of Emmy nominations
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — "The Sopranos" received a leading 22 Emmy nominations today, the most in the three seasons of the cable hit about the angst-filled life of a suburban mob family.
The show's chief competition again will be NBC's White House series "The West Wing," which received 18 nominations and last year picked up the best drama trophy among its record nine honors.
For the first time, reality programs were eligible for recognition, with nominations going to CBS' "Survivor" and Fox's "American High" among others in the popular genre.
HBO's "The Sopranos" nominations included best drama and bids for series stars James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.
Besides "The West Wing," the series will compete for best drama with NBC's "ER" and "Law & Order," and ABC's "The Practice."
"It's a great morning," said Aaron Sorkin, creator of "The West Wing." "There was a lot of individual achievement recognized but what we like the most is the best drama nomination because it's something we all achieved together."
Asked about reports that some cast members seeking pay raises might boycott the start of production for next season, Sorkin replied: "We don't begin filming until Monday and I'm sure it will all be taken care of."
The 11-year-old drama "Law & Order" marked its 10th consecutive year of being nominated, extending a record it broke last year.
"This is icing on the cake," said producer Dick Wolf, whose show has survived despite constant cast changes over the years. "The cast — it's not that they are replaceable — we've just been lucky to have one great actor after another."
"The Sopranos" received an impressive but not record-setting number of bids. "NYPD Blue" is the most-nominated series ever, with 27 bids for the 1993-94 season, while the miniseries "Roots" got 37 nominations in 1977.
Comedy series that received nominations: CBS' "Everybody Loves Raymond," NBC's "Frasier" and "Will & Grace," HBO's "Sex and the City," and Fox's "Malcolm in the Middle."
Other top contenders were "Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," a miniseries about the life of the late singer which earned 13 bids, and the baseball home run saga "61*" and the NBC comedy "Will & Grace," which each received 12 nominations.
Gandolfini, best dramatic actor last year, will compete this time with Andre Braugher of ABC's canceled "Gideon's Crossing," Dennis Franz of ABC's "NYPD Blue" and Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen of "The West Wing."
Besides Falco, others nominated for best actress in a drama series were her co-star Lorraine Bracco, Amy Brenneman of CBS' "Judging Amy," Sela Ward of ABC's "Once and Again" and Marg Helgenberger of CBS' "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation." Ward won the Emmy last year.
Among networks, "The Sopranos" helped drive HBO to a leading 94 nominations, followed by NBC with 76, ABC with 63 and CBS with 46.
Nominations for best actor in a comedy series went to Kelsey Grammer of "Frasier," John Lithgow of the canceled "3rd Rock from the Sun" and Eric McCormack of "Will & Grace," all on NBC, and Frankie Muniz of "Malcolm in the Middle" and Ray Romano of "Everybody Loves Raymond."
Female comedy series counterparts who received bids were Calista Flockhart of Fox's "Ally McBeal" and Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle," last year's winner Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Debra Messing of "Will & Grace" and Sarah Jessica Parker of "Sex and the City." Along with "Life With Judy Garland," best miniseries nods went to "Anne Frank" on ABC, Showtime's "Armistead Maupin's Further Tales of the City," A&E's "Horatio Hornblower" and TNT's "Nuremberg."
The awards in the two new reality show categories will be given out during an Emmy creative arts ceremony held more than a week before the televised ceremony. In these categories, awards may go to one, more than one, or none of the nominees, depending on the decisions of judging panels.
