15 Emmy Nominations for "The Sopranos"

Will Hart/HBO
James Gandolfini, left, Edie Falco and Robert Iler in "The Sopranos," which ended its storied run on HBO.

By JACQUES STEINBERG

The New York Times
Published: July 19, 2007

A month after fading abruptly to black, “The Sopranos” received Emmy nominations today for best dramatic series and for the performances of five of its principal actors, including James Gandolfini and Edie Falco.

Also prominent on the list of this year’s Emmy nominees, which were announced this morning in Hollywood, were two new NBC series, “Heroes” and “30 Rock” (and two stars of “30 Rock,” Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin), as well as a new ABC comedy, “Ugly Betty,” and “Broken Trail,” an AMC miniseries starring Robert Duvall.

When the 59th Annual Emmy Awards are presented on Sept. 16, “The Sopranos” and “Heroes” will be competing against three other nominees for best dramatic series: “Grey’s Anatomy” on ABC, “House” (Fox) and “Boston Legal” (ABC).

In the category of best actor in a drama, Mr. Gandolfini, whose Tony Soprano may or may not have survived the series’ final act, will square off against Hugh Laurie of “House”; Denis Leary of “Rescue Me” (FX); James Spader of “Boston Legal” and Kiefer Sutherland of “24” on Fox.

In addition to Ms. Falco, the nominees for best actress in a dramatic series are Sally Field for “Brothers and Sisters” (ABC); Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer” (TNT); Minnie Driver, “The Riches” (FX); Mariska Hargitay, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC) and Patricia Arquette, “Medium” (NBC).

Joining “30 Rock” and “Ugly Betty” as nominees for best comedy series are “Entourage” (HBO); “The Office” (NBC) and “Two and a Half Men” (CBS).

The nomination of Mr. Baldwin for best actor in a comedy series was something of a surprise — not because of his scene-chewing performance as the television executive Jack Donaghy, which was widely praised by critics, but because of the negative publicity he received earlier this year when an angry voice mail message he left for his teenage daughter was widely disseminated on the Internet.

His competition in the category includes an actor playing another officious boss on NBC, Steve Carell of “The Office”; Tony Shalhoub for “Monk” (USA); Ricky Gervais, “Extras” (HBO) and Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men.”

Ms. Fey, who also created “30 Rock,” will be competing for best actress in a comedy series against America Ferrera, “Ugly Betty”; Felicity Huffman, “Desperate Housewives” (ABC); Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” (CBS) and Mary-Louise Parker , “Weeds” (Showtime).

The most-nominated movies or miniseries were “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” on HBO, with 17 in all, and “Broken Trail,” the first original miniseries produced by AMC, more formally known as American Movie Classics, with 16.

Among all series, “The Sopranos” was the most nominated, with 15, including nominations for best supporting actress for Lorraine Bracco, who played Tony’s psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi, and for Aida Turturro, who played his sister. Michael Imperioli, who played Tony’s nephew Christopher, whose death in a car accident was hastened by Tony, was nominated in the category of best supporting actor.

With 11 nominations, “Ugly Betty” led the pack among the major networks’ series, followed by “Grey’s Anatomy” and “30 Rock,” which each received 10.