‘The Pacific,’ ‘Glee,’ top Emmy Awards nominees; O’Brien nabs ‘Tonight’ nod from Leno

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‘The Pacific,’ ‘Glee,’ top Emmy Awards nominees

LOS ANGELES — “Glee,” the spunky TV musical comedy about high school misfits and the teachers who shepherd them, was a top Emmy nominee Thursday with 19 bids, including for best comedy series and stars Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele.

The leading nominee was the gritty, unsparing World War II drama, “The Pacific,” with 24 nominations.

Conan O’Brien is gone from “The Tonight Show” but his short tenure as host is not forgotten: The late-night show with him at the helm nabbed a nomination as best variety, music or comedy series, while resurrected Jay Leno was snubbed in the category.

David Letterman’s “Late Show” also was missing from the nominees, after a season in which the host turned an admission of affairs with female staffers and a blackmail attempt into high broadcast drama.

Besides “Glee,” other newcomers receiving Emmy recognition include “Modern Family,” with nods for best comedy series and for five members of its ensemble cast, and “The Good Wife,” a nominee for best drama and recognition for star Julianna Margulies.

The final season of “Lost” garnered nominations for best drama series and a nod for star Matthew Fox and supporting nominations for Terry O’Quinn and Michael Emerson. Elizabeth Mitchell received a guest actress bid for the drama.

“Saturday Night Live” received 12 nominations for a total 126 nominations during its run, surpassing the “ER” all-time record of 124 bids. One of the nominations went to Betty White, who at 88 proved you’re never too old for comedy when she hosted the show to big ratings and applause.

Besides “Glee” and “Modern Family,” other nominees for best comedy series include “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” ”Nurse Jackie,” ”The Office” and last year’s winner, “30 Rock.” The Tina Fey comedy has won three times in a row.

Joining “Lost” and “The Good Wife” as best drama series nominees were “Breaking Bad,” ”Dexter,” ”True Blood” and “Mad Men,” which won the award for the past two seasons.

Only one other miniseries nominee, “Return to Cranford,” is competing with “The Pacific,” the Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks-produced companion to their European theater WWII miniseries, “Band of Brothers.”

Big names prevailed in the made-for-TV movie category. Al Pacino’s performance as euthanasia advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian in “You Don’t Know Jack” and the film itself were nominated, while this year’s Oscar winner Jeff Bridges was nominated for “A Dog Year.”

Bryan Cranston, last year’s best drama actor winner for “Breaking Bad,” was nominated again. He’s joined by Fox, Michael C. Hall of “Dexter,” Kyle Chandler of “Friday Night Lights,” Hugh Laurie of “House” and Jon Hamm of “Mad Men.”

Glenn Close, who captured top drama acting honors last year for “Damages” received a bid, along with Margulies, Kyra Sedgwick of “The Closer,” Connie Britton of “Friday Night Lights,” Mariska Hargitay of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and January Jones of “Mad Men.”