A lot is made of the overwhelming number of great leading roles for women on cable, but if the official Emmy ballots are any indication, women are still a minority when it comes to starring TV roles.  On the official ballot sent to Emmy voters, there are 70 contenders for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but only 48 for the Lead Actress category.

But the numbers don't help the major networks.  Despite the fact that more than 60 percent of the potential nominees come from the five major networks, it's the cable guys and gals who take the lead at the Emmys.

See More:
Drama Series Predictions>>

The ballots are out, the race is on, and soon we will know which lucky shows and actors will be nominated for this year's Emmy Awards.  This year the main categories have been expanded to six nominees due to the increasing volume of shows produced.  The official Emmy ballot for Outstanding Drama Series lists 76 eligible shows, but that includes everything from last year's winner, Mad Men, to "no chance in Hell: submissions like The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

So who is actually in the hunt?  Last year proved that cable networks have finally broken through as it was the first time a cable network other than HBO scored a nomination in this category.

Tonight, Damages concludes its sophomore season with an explosive 90-minute finale that promises to shed light on Ellen's season long quest for revenge. There were a lot of intriguing things that happened all season, but according to series co-creator Glenn Kessler, fans can expect more mayhem as the season comes to a close.

"There's gonna be some major, major upheaval in Patty's life, and Ellen has some coming in her life as well," co-creator Glenn Kessler told TV Guide. "The ground is going to shift considerably.  Many of the things we've proposed throughout the season certainly do get knotted up, and these women end the season on very different ground than they started."

From FX's official press release:

Patty begins to suspect Ellen's motives for returning to the firm. Meanwhile, Patty's on a mission to stop a corporate merger that she believes is connected to Christine Purcell's murder.

From FX's official press release:

While Patty works to clear Daniel Purcell of any wrongdoing in his wife's murder, Ellen and Tom head down to West Virginia in hopes of gathering vital information in the case against Ultima National Resources.