60th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners; ION Adds More Warner Bros. Movies; New TV Season Begins Tonight

Monday, September 22, 2008

60th Primetime Emmy Awards Winners; ION Adds More Warner Bros. Movies; New TV Season Begins Tonight

Here are the winners for the main categories at last night's Emmys.

COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Two and a Half Men (CBS)
30 Rock (NBC)
Entourage (HBO)
WINNER: 30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Lost (ABC)
House (Fox)
Damages (FX)
Boston Legal (ABC)
Mad Men (AMC)
Dexter (Showtime)
WINNER: Mad Men

LEAD ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub, Monk (USA Network)
Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Steve Carell, The Office (NBC)
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
WINNER: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock (NBC)

LEAD ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
America Ferrera, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Old Christine (CBS)
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds (Showtime)
Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)
WINNER: Tina Fey, 30 Rock (NBC)

LEAD ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Hugh Laurie, House (Fox)
James Spader, Boston Legal (ABC)
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)
Gabriel Bryne, In Treatment (HBO)
Michael C. Hall, Dexter (Showtime)
Jon Hamm, Mad Men (AMC)
WINNER: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad (AMC)

LEAD ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Glenn Close, Damages (FX)
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU (NBC)
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace (TNT)
WINNER: Glenn Close, Damages (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES
Kevin Dillion, Entourage (HBO)
John Cryer, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
Rainn Wilson, The Office (NBC)
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Jeremy Piven, Entourage (HBO)
WINNER: Jeremy Piven, Entourage.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty (ABC)
Amy Poehler, SNL (NBC)
Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies (ABC)
Holland Taylor, Two and a Half Men (CBS)
WINNER: Jean Smart, Samantha Who? (ABC)

SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES
Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)
William Shatner, Boston Legal (ABC)
John Slattery, Mad Men (AMC)
Ted Danson, Damages (FX)
Michael Emerson, Lost (ABC)
WINNER: Zeljko Ivanek, Damages (FX)

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES
Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Candice Bergen, Boston Legal (ABC)
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy (ABC)
Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)
WINNER: Diane Wiest, In Treatment (HBO)

See complete list of winners.

COMMENTS: The night belonged to the mini-series John Adams, comedy 30 Rock and drama Mad Men. Too much cable stuff was winning. Surprise of the night was Bryan Cranston winning for Lead Actor in a Drama Series for AMC's Breaking Bad. Besides the 30 Rock wins (Comedy, Lead Actor, and Lead Actress) and the win for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Jean Smart of ABC's Samantha Who?, the night was all cable...AMC, FX, HBO. I liked the tributes to the memorable TV shows and moments...as the Emmys turned 60. As for the hosts, they should have just done 1 or 2...Tom Bergeron was clearly the best. 30 Rock doesn't launch its third season until October 30, so no carry over likely, however the show's second season is coming to DVD on October 7. I think it is the new Arrested Development...critically acclaimed show that no one watches.
Combining the winners for the creative portion on Sept. 13, HBO had the most wins with 26, thanks to mini-seroes John Adams, which became the most-honored program ever. ABC led the broadcast networks with 12 wins. CBS, NBC and PBS tied for third overall with 10 overall wins. AMC had 8 wins overall.

ION Television, the "Positively Entertaining" general entertainment network reaching over 94 million homes, has inked a multi-year film acquisition deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. Extending from fall 2008 through summer 2010, this multi-year deal brings 27 critically acclaimed and Academy Award-winning films to the network's film slate.
The network already had a deal with Warner Bros., now 27 more movies come and the deal gets extended through summer 2010. ION Television kicks off the first of its new Warner Bros. films on Wednesday, September 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET with the comedy favorite Grumpier Old Men (starring Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Sophia Loren). ION will air the movies regularly on Thursdays from 9-11PM (sometimes 8-11PM) starting October 2. Through summer 2010, blockbusters featuring some of the biggest names in Hollywood will grace ION Television in a series of cinematic favorites spanning multiple genres.
Dramatic thrillers and crime sagas include classics like The Fugitive (starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones), GoodFellas (starring Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino) and Heat (starring Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer and Jon Voight), as well as more recent favorites such as Deep Blue Sea (starring Saffron Burrows, Thomas Jane, LL Cool J and Samuel L. Jackson) and Training Day (starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke).
Also in the mix are two movies from the famed Batman series, Batman Forever (starring Val Kilmer, Tommy Lee Jones, Jim Carrey, Nicole Kidman and Chris O’Donnell) and Batman Returns (starring Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken), plus Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon 1, 2 and 4.
Modern comedy classics include The Mask (starring Jim Carrey), Analyze This (starring Robert De Niro, Billy Crystal and Lisa Kudrow) and National Lampoon's European Vacation (starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo), among many others.
Rounding out the cinematic variety of ION Television's "Positively Entertaining" new movie lineup are dramas like City of Angels (starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan) and romantic comedies such as You've Got Mail (starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan). So that's 16 of the 27 new Warner Bros. movies, if you were counting. What about the rest? Above the Law, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Major League 2, Malice, Matchstick Men, Memphis Belle, Murder in the First, The Negotiator, The Specialist, Tango & Cash and Young Guns II! There you have it! Lots of good movies for Thursday nights.

The new season starts tonight! Expect Monday hits Dancing with the Stars, CSI: Miami, Two and a Half Men, and Heroes to be the night's highest rated shows. Other new notables tonight is the launch of the CBS sitcom Worst Week rounding out the CBS Monday sitcoms (8-10PM) and the Monday debut of ABC's Boston Legal.
My bets of the night: Dancing with the Stars (ABC 8-10:00PM) and The Big Bang Theory (CBS 8:00-8:30PM). Two fun-filled shows!

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Wednesday, October 9

Abbott Elementary - "Back to School" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
The neighboring construction site of a new golf course is causing issues at Abbott, forcing the teachers to find creative solutions. An HR representative visits the school. Following their kiss, Janine and Gregory’s relationship status is revealed.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Cheat Codes" (Comedy Central, 10:00PM ET/PT)
Chris debates using a cheat code to win a free Nintendo.

Everybody Still Hates Chris - "Everybody Still Hates Halloween" (Comedy Central, 10:30PM ET/PT)
Chris spends Halloween at a church event, hoping to hook up with Tasha.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 7)

Wednesday, October 9

Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) - Watch Quinta on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. She also talks about the new season of Abbott Elementary on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Henry appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Rachel Sennott (Call Your Mother) - Rachel is a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Eric Idle (Suddenly Susan/Nearly Departed) - Eric stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Michael Keaton (Report to Murphy/Working Stiffs/All's Fair) - E! News has an interview with Michael at 11pm on E!.
Ali Wong (Big Mouth/American Housewife/Are You There, Chelsea?) - NBC's Today catches up with Ali in the 10am hour.
Rita Wilson (Girls) - Rita stops by to talk about her new album on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your listings.
Goldie Hawn (Good Morning World) - Goldie appears on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am.
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Sheryl Lee talks about Abbott Elementary on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm. She chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Josh Gad (Wolf Like Me/Avenue 5/The Comedians/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh talks about his new children's book PictureFace Lizzy and fatherhood on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jessica St. Clair (Avenue 5/Playing House/Best Friends Forever/In the Motherhood) - Jessica is sharing her breast cancer experience with Drew and Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz is talking about breast cancer diagnoses on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Abigail Spencer (Extended Family/Burning Love) - Abigail discusses her television series Shatter Belt on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Kim Matula (LA to Vegas) - Kim is a guest on PIX 11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:39am.
Lea Thompson (Caroline in the City) - Lea appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.