Conan O’Brien was justifiably rewarded with an Emmy nomination for his short lived tenure on “The Tonight Show” edging out the returning bore 
Jay Leno and the bitter, cynical tone of David Letterman’s “Late Show with David Letterman.”
That seems to be the only bit of excitement at the Emmys this year. It is again the usual suspects. “The Office,” Tina Fay, Steve Carell, so on and so on, except for the nomination of Edie Falco for “Nurse Betty” and Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton from“Friday Night Lights” who got nods in the lead acting categories, recognition they have both deserved for years now.
“Friday Night Lights” has gone mostly ignored by Emmy voters. Seems a show about ordinary American lives holds little interest for the Academy.
Also great to see Bill Maher get another nod, though he has been a consistent loser in past year. He currently holds 22 losses. No wins.
Matthew Fox of “Lost” also finally received a nomination after many years on TV
Here is a list of all the Emmy nominees in major categories;
Drama Series: “Breaking Bad,” AMC; “Dexter,” Showtime; “The Good Wife,” CBS; “Lost,” ABC; “True Blood,” HBO; “Mad Men,” AMC.
Comedy Series: “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” HBO; “Glee,” Fox; “Modern Family,” ABC; “The Office,” NBC; “Nurse Jackie,” Showtime; “30 Rock,” NBC.
Miniseries: “The Pacific,” HBO; “Return to Cranford (Masterpiece),” PBS.
Made-for-TV Movie: “Endgame (Masterpiece),” PBS; “Georgia O’Keeffe,” Lifetime; “Moonshot,” History; “The Special Relationship,” HBO; “Temple Grandin,” HBO; “You Don’t Know Jack,” HBO.
Actor, Drama Series: Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad,” AMC; Michael C. Hall, “Dexter,” Showtime; Kyle Chandler, “Friday Night Lights,” DirecTV; Hugh Laurie, “House,” Fox; Matthew Fox, “Lost,” ABC; Jon Hamm, “Mad Men,” AMC.
Actress, Drama Series: Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer,” TNT; Glenn Close, “Damages,” FX; Connie Britton, “Friday Night Lights,” DirecTV; Julianna Margulies, “The Good Wife,” CBS; Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” NBC; January Jones, “Mad Men,” AMC.
Supporting Actor, Drama Series: Aaron Paul, “Breaking Bad,” AMC; Martin Short, “Damages,” FX; Terry O’Quinn, “Lost,” ABC; Michael Emerson, “Lost,” ABC; John Slattery, “Mad Men,” AMC; Andre Braugher, “Men of a Certain Age,” TNT.
Supporting Actress, Drama Series: Sharon Gless, “Burn Notice,” USA; Rose Byrne, “Damages,” FX; Archie Panjabi, “The Good Wife,” CBS; Christine Baranski, “The Good Wife,” CBS; Christina Hendricks, “Mad Men,” AMC; Elisabeth Moss,” Mad Men,” AMC.
Actor, Comedy Series: Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS; Larry David, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” HBO; Matthew Morrison, “Glee,” Fox; Tony Shalhoub, “Monk,” USA; Steve Carell, “The Office,” NBC; Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock,” NBC.
Actress, Comedy Series: Lea Michele, “Glee,” Fox; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” CBS; Edie Falco, “Nurse Jackie,” Showtime; Amy Poehler, “Parks and Recreation,” NBC; Tina Fey, “30 Rock,” NBC; Toni Collette, “United States of Tara,” Showtime.
Supporting Actor, Comedy Series: Chris Colfer, “Glee,” Fox; Neil Patrick Harris, “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS; Jesse Tyler Ferguson, “Modern Family,” ABC; Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family,” ABC; Ty Burrell, “Modern Family”; ABC; Jon Cryer, “Two and a Half Men, CBS.
Supporting Actress, Comedy Series: Jane Lynch, “Glee,” Fox; Julie Bowen, “Modern Family,” ABC; Sofia Vergara, “Modern Family,” ABC; Kristen Wiig, “Saturday Night Live,” NBC; Jane Krakowski, “30 Rock,” NBC; Holland Taylor, “Two and a Half Men,” CBS.
Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Jeff Bridges, “A Dog Year,” HBO; Ian McKellen, “The Prisoner,” AMC; Michael Sheen, “The Special Relationship,” HBO; Dennis Quaid, “The Special Relationship,” HBO; Al Pacino, “You Don’t Know Jack,” HBO.
Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Maggie Smith, “Capturing Mary,” HBO; Joan Allen, “Georgia O’Keefe,” Lifetime; Judi Dench, “Return to Cranford (Masterpiece),” PBS; Hope Davis, “The Special Relationship,” HBO; Claire Danes, “Temple Grandin,” HBO.
Supporting Actor, Miniseries or Movie: Michael Gambon, “Emma (Masterpiece),” PBS; Patrick Stewart, “Hamlet (Great Performances),” PBS; Jonathan Pryce, “Return to Cranford (Masterpiece),” PBS; David Straithairn, “Temple Grandin,” HBO; John Goodman, “You Don’t Know Jack,” HBO.
Supporting Actress, Miniseries or Movie: Kathy Bates, “Alice,” Syfy; Julia Ormond, “Temple Grandin,” HBO; Catherine O’Hara, “Temple Grandin,” HBO; Brenda Vaccaro, “You Don’t Know Jack,” HBO; Susan Sarandon, “You Don’t Know Jack,” HBO.
