http://www.wnbc.com/entertainment/3531713/detail.html 'Frasier,' 'Friends' Absent From Best Comedy Ballot "Angels in America," the HBO drama about the 1980s AIDS crisis in New York, nabs a leading 21 Emmy nominations Thursday in Los Angeles -- including nods for Best Miniseries and acting notices for stars Al Pacino, Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson. "The Sopranos" was the leading nominee among series competitors, with 20 nominations including Best Drama -- an award the show has yet to win. Facing off against the Sopranos for Best Drama trophy are "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "24," last year's winner "The West Wing," and "Joan of Arcadia," a newcomer to the category this year. In a year that saw changes in Emmy rules intended to broaden the field beyond familiar nominees, other newcomers included Fox's critically acclaimed sitcom "Arrested Development," which nabbed a Best Comedy series nod. The other nominees for Best Comedy Emmy are HBO's "Sex and the City," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Will & Grace" and last year's winner, "Everybody Loves Raymond." While the Academy gave a fond farewell to HBO's "Sex and the City" with a top nod in its final season, noticeably absent from the category were two perennial Emmy favorites -- the departing series "Friends" and "Frasier." John Ritter got a posthumous nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for "8 Simple Rules." The other nominees are Larry David for "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Kelsey Grammer for "Frasier," Matt LeBlanc for "Friends" and last year's winner, Tony Shalhoub for "Monk." Jennifer Aniston of "Friends" was nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, along with Patricia Heaton of "Everybody Loves Raymond," Bonnie Hunt of "Life with Bonnie," Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" and Sarah Jessica Parker of "Sex and the City." "Sopranos" star James Gandolfini nabbed a Best Actor Drama nomination, along with prior nominees Kiefer Sutherland for "24" and Martin Sheen for "The West Wing." Newcomers to the category this year are James Spader for "The Practice" and Anthony LaPaglia for "Without a Trace." The Best Actress Drama nods went to prior nominees Jennifer Garner of "Alias," Allison Janney of "The West Wing" and last year's winner Edie Falco of "The Sopranos," and two newcomers to the category -- Amber Tamblyn of "Joan of Arcadia" and Mariska Hargitay of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." Taking on "Angels in America" for the Best Miniseries are "American Family: Journey of Dreams," "Horatio Hornblower," "Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness" and "Traffic: The Miniseries." In television movie category, the controversial telefilm "The Reagans," earned seven nominations which included nods for Outstanding Made-for-TV Movie, as well as acting notices for stars James Brolin and Judy Davis, who played Ronald and Nancy Reagan, respectively. The other nominees in the TV movie category are "And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself," "Something the Lord Made," "Ike: Countown to D-Day" and "The Lion in Winter." Nominated for Best Reality Series were Donald Trump's "The Apprentice," "The Amazing Race," "American Idol," "Last Comic Standing" and "Survivor." HBO topped the nominations with 124, followed by NBC with 65. CBS and ABC were next with 44 and 33 nominations, respectively, while Fox had 31 and PBS had 27. Falco and Shalhoub announced the nominations from the Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre in Los Angeles. The Primetime Emmys will be handed out Sept. 19 in Los Angeles. Actor-comedian Garry Shandling will host the ceremonies.
