The Sopranos

Tomorrow morning at 8:30am ET (5:30am PT), The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick and Two and a Half Men’s Jon Cryer will announce the nominees for the 2007 Emmy Awards. Over the past couple of weeks, list of the top 10 finalists in many major categories, including Drama and Comedy Series, have been leaked, predominately at TheEnvelope.com.

What will be the biggest shows? It’s always a bit difficult trying to predict the future, but it’s a safe bet that these four shows will all make quite a showing:

THE SOPRANOS

It was the final season, and this Emmy juggernaut will likely go out in style. The Emmys have always loved this show, giving it 96 nominations in its six previous years of eligibility. As a parting gift, it should at least hit the average of 16.

A Series nom is a no-brainer, as are spots for the lead actors, James Gandolfini and Edie Falco as the struggling title couple. The Supporting fields are also strong, with Michael Imperioli as Christopher, Dominic Chianese as Uncle Junior, Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Melfi and Aida Turturro as Janice all strong possibilities. The show is also known for taking a handful or two of the Writing and Directing spaces, but it’s unclear whether the massive controversy surrounding the finale will help or hurt its chances. Before you start ticking off the Sopranos box on your office Emmy pools, be warned: no drama series has ever won the Emmy for its final season.

GREY’S ANATOMY

Sure, the show had its bumps. Izzie and George as a couple was, perhaps, the single worst story arc on all of television last season, the special three-parter with the ferry disaster was oftentimes painful to watch, and the storm of controversy surrounding Isaiah Washington still looms, but it’s still a hit show with an attractive,, young cast that should dominate tomorrow morning.

Like The Sopranos, it’s virtually unfathomable for the show not be nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. It’s slightly iffier with the stars, as not many people are claiming Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey are the greatest actors in the world. Still, the tide of an Emmy monsoon sometimes brings some driftwood in its wake. The true power is in the supporting categories. Four actresses from the show have made the top 10, and three of them have an excellent shot. Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh were nominated last year, and both have won Screen Actors Guild awards, meaning they’re respected by their peers. The third one is a bit trickier, but Katherine Keigl has been on an upswing with her career. She’s beautiful, starred in a hit summer movie (Knocked Up), and was nominated for a Golden Globe. Now whether the show can take four nominations in one category, with Kate Walsh prepped for her spin-off, is unlikely.

On the men’s side, for as much as the Washington controversy may have hurt the show, the one actor who did benefit was T.R. Knight, suddenly thrust into popularity. The goodwill people feels towards him, plus the fact that his character lost his father this season, equals Emmy nomination. Grey’s Anatomy can also break through in the Guest Acting category, with George’s dad (George Dzundza) and Meredith’s mom (Kate Burton) both heavy favorites for nominations.

THE OFFICE

After last year’s win for Outstanding Comedy Series, The Office is the toast of the comedy world. The question isn’t whether it’s great, but how great is it? This year, as the frontrunner, the show seems poised to take on even more. Last year, the strong supporting cast of Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer were all ignored, but now they are all strong candidates. A host of special guest directors (Harold Ramis, J.J. Abrams, Joss Whedon) and writers (British Office creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant wrote an episode) could mean lots of love in the technical categories. And who knows, if they love the show enough, maybe some of the less central actors may get swept in, like Melora Hardin as Jan or Angela Kinsey as Angela.

UGLY BETTY

It’s the big, hot new show of the year. It walked over the competition at the Golden Globes, winning for Best Comedy and Lead Actress for America Ferrera, two likely Emmy categories. With new shows, it’s always difficult to know how warmly the Emmy voters feel about them. We know that Supporting Actress candidates Vanessa Williams (Wilhelmina Slater) and Becki Newton (Amanda) made the top 10, and the fact that a relatively unknown actress like Newton got that far gives hope for the show’s chances. Perhaps her partner in crime Michael Urie (Marc) can get in as well.

Then you have the guest stars. Salma Hayek, Judith Light, Patti Lupone, Gina Gershon, Lucy Liu, Leslie Jordan, any or most of them could get in. Plus, don’t forget the technical categories (I suspect we already know the winner for Outstanding Costumes will be).


Sure, other shows may factor into the equation: Heroes and Lost could explode, 24 may return, Friday Night Lights could catch on, 30 Rock seems to be building momentum. But for the four listed above, you can take those to the bank. Tomorrow morning, those are the headlines, and I’m not even Kyle Chandler in Early Edition.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of HBO)