Homeland, Mad Men, and Louie Are Among TCA Awards Nominees

HBO is leading the pack at this year’s Television Critic’s Association Awards, but it’s Showtime’s Homeland that seems to be getting the most attention. The show has nominations in three categories, including Outstanding New Program and Program of the Year. Downton Abbey, Breaking Bad and Mad Men are also among the top contenders.

On the comedy side of the awards nominations, reported by Deadline today, there are nods to New Girl, which is up for Outstanding New Program, Parks and Recreation and Louie, with Louis C.K. and Amy Poehler both also nominated for an individual award. Louis C.K. is easily one of the funniest guys around, so I’d like to see him take the Individual Achievement in Comedy award home. While Breaking Bad is a person favorite of mine, my guess is that Homeland might take this one.

Of the reality series up for awards, most are talent competition series, something we’ve certainly seen a bit too much of in the new and current programming; I lean towards The Amazing Race mainly because it stands out from the pack. As a mother I spend more time than I’d like to watching youth programming, so I’m more familiar than a lot of viewers with the nominees. All I can say that Yo Gabba Gabba just can’t beat Sesame Street. Can it? It probably won’t be an issue, as I think the departing Nick series iCarly is the likely front runner. My last prediction is going to be Star Trek for the Heritage Award. I never could get into Twin Peaks, which I realize is probably blasphemy for my generation.

Up for the Career Achievement Award are Dick Clark, David Letterman, William Shatner, Andy Griffith and Regis Philbin. My money is on Dick Clark in this category, as his recent passing is still fresh in so many minds. Here’s a full listing of this year’s nominees:

Individual Achievement in Drama

Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad,” AMC)
Claire Danes (“Homeland,” Showtime)
Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” HBO)
Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” AMC)
Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story,” FX)

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials

“Downton Abbey: Masterpiece” (PBS)
“Game Change” (HBO)
“Hatfields & McCoys” (History)
“Hemingway & Gellhorn” (HBO)
“Sherlock: Masterpiece” (PBS)

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

“Breaking Bad” (AMC)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Homeland” (Showtime)
“Justified” (FX)
“Mad Men” (AMC)

Individual Achievement in Comedy

Louis C.K. (“Louie,” FX)
Lena Dunham (“Girls,” HBO)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” HBO)
Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory,” CBS)
Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in News and Information

“Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
“The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
“Frontline” (PBS)
“60 Minutes” (CBS)
“The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
“The Glee Project” (Oxygen)
“So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox)
“The Voice” (NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming

“iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
“Phineas and Ferb” (Disney)
“Sesame Street” (PBS)
“Switched at Birth” (ABC Family)
“Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nick Jr.)

Outstanding New Program

“Girls” (HBO)
“Homeland” (Showtime)
“New Girl” (Fox)
“Revenge” (ABC)
“Smash” (NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

“The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
“Community” (NBC)
“Louie” (FX)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Parks and Recreation” (NBC)

Career Achievement Award

Dick Clark
Andy Griffith
David Letterman
Regis Philbin
William Shatner

Heritage Award

“Cheers” (NBC)
“Lost” (ABC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
“Star Trek” (NBC)
“Twin Peaks” (ABC)

Program of the Year

“Breaking Bad” (AMC)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Homeland” (Showtime)
“Mad Men” (AMC)
“Downton Abbey: Masterpiece” (PBS)