Here's a roundup of Emmy Award predictions from the best pundits on the planet: Mike Ausiello (Entertainment Weekly), Kristin dos Santos (E! Online), Maggie Furlong (AOL TV Squad), Joseph Kapsch (Zap2It), Steve Pond (The Odds, The Wrap), Matt Roush (TV Guide) plus the Gold Derby/The Envelope team of Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Rob Licuria and me. Read category-per-category analysis here.

COMEDY SERIES
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Glee" — Dos Santos
"Modern Family" — Ausiello, Beachum, Furlong, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
"Nurse Jackie"
"The Office"
"30 Rock"

COMEDY ACTOR
Jim Parsons ("The Big Bang Theory") — Ausiello, Beachum, Dos Santos, Furlong, Pond, Roush
Larry David ("Curb Your Enthusiasm")
Matthew Morrison ("Glee")
Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") — Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil
Steve Carell ("The Office")
Alec Baldwin ("30 Rock")

COMEDY ACTRESS
Lea Michele ("Glee") — Dos Santos
Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("The New Adventures of Old Christine")
Edie Falco ("Nurse Jackie") — Ausiello, Beachum, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
Amy Poehler ("Parks and Recreation")
Tina Fey ("30 Rock")
Toni Collette ("United States of Tara") — Furlong

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTOR
Chris Colfer ("Glee") — Kapsch, O'Neil
Neil Patrick Harris ("How I Met Your Mother")
Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family")
Eric Stonestreet ("Modern Family") — Beachum, Dos Santos, Licuria, Pond
Ty Burrell ("Modern Family") — Ausiello, Furlong, Roush
Jon Cryer ("Two and a Half Men")

SUPPORTING COMEDY ACTRESS
Jane Lynch ("Glee") — Ausiello, Beachum, Dos Santos, Furlong, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
Julie Bowen ("Modern Family")
Sofia Vergara ("Modern Family")
Kristen Wiig ("Saturday Night Live")
Jane Krakowski ("30 Rock")
Holland Taylor ("Two and a Half Men")

DRAMA SERIES
"Breaking Bad" — Dos Santos
"Dexter"
"The Good Wife"
"Lost" — Furlong
"Mad Men" — Ausiello, Beachum, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
"True Blood"

DRAMA ACTOR
Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") — Ausiello, Furlong
Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") — Beachum, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") — Dos Santos
Hugh Laurie ("House")
Matthew Fox ("Lost")
Jon Hamm ("Mad Men")

DRAMA ACTRESS
Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer")
Glenn Close ("Damages")
Connie Britton ("Friday Night Lights")
Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") — Ausiello, Beachum, Dos Santos, Furlong, Kapsch, Licuria, O'Neil, Pond, Roush
Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit")
January Jones ("Mad Men")

It's not often that I let myself be bulldozed into a prediction, but Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria (AwardsHeaven) make such a compelling argument for Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") to win the Emmy for lead actor in a drama that, OK, I admit I'm stealing their predix.

But I do so with queasiness. As they attest, this contest is a tossup. However, I do quarrel with two of their views. They rank Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") too high and Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") too low. Hamm, I think, has no chance to win. He has one nice scene in his Emmy episode when he cries while recalling his brother's suicide. Big deal. (Uh, oh -- that sounds so callous, doesn't it?) Chandler's episode is the loudest, most bombastic, as he bullies his high-school football players. Sometimes the biggest acting prevails. Click here to watch Boomer, Rob and I dish this race via webcam video.

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA: ROB'S PREDIX
1. Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" ("The Getaway")
2. Hugh Laurie, "House" ("Broken")
3. Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" ("Full Measure")
4. Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" ("The Gypsy and the Hobo")
5. Matthew Fox, "Lost" ("The End")
6. Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights" ("East of Dillon")

ROB'S COMMENTARY: My e-mail to Tom and Chris last week was something like "Help me, I can't make heads or tails of this category! It's too difficult!" After re-watching all of the episodes in succession, I haven't changed my tune. I don't recall a category in recent Emmy history so stacked with wonderfully chosen episodes showcasing stunning dramatic masterpiece performances from the cream of the crop of TV dramatic acting.

It pains me to put Kyle Chandler in sixth place. His work in this episode is absolutely fantastic. Two scenes in particular, as he address and/or scolds his team, are wonderful. He would be a winner in any other year, and the sixth spot is by no means a slight on him at all, but somebody has to fill up the slots, and by comparison, I think that the show he is on, the network, and the relative small screen time, do hurt his chances a little.

Similarly, Matthew Fox is absolutely amazing in the "Lost" finale. The last 15 minutes in particular are mesmerizing, devastating and emotionally pitch-perfect. If the episode was whittled down to his scenes alone, he would be much more competitive, but voters have to sit through a double episode, where Fox is not featured for long stretches of time. Surely that will disadvantage him. Again, I stress that he could easily win, if voters respond to the emotion of the final scenes like I did. Watch him die on the jungle floor as the plane flies over his pained-but-happy face and tell me that he doesn't deserve the Emmy.

Jon Hamm has never had a better chance at winning the Emmy that this year. In his episode, the gruff, tough exterior of his Don Draper persona is smashed away by the unwelcome reveal to his wife about his true identity and shameful past. Another masterclass in acting, everything he is feeling is right there on his face. I was blown away by his performance, and thought it would be enough to win him the Emmy, until I saw a few of the other guys in this category.

Bryan Cranston, technically (based on this episode alone) should probably be lower on this list. I don't think it is anywhere near as good as his previous submissions or even some of the other episodes of the third season of "Breaking Bad" ("Fly", for example). But, as a two-time consecutive past winner on a Drama Series-nominated show, I think that he automatically has a bit of an edge over the other guys in this category. And don't get me wrong, the penultimate scene in the episode is dynamite. Don't be surprised if he wins again.

Hugh Laurie has a whole movie-length episode to showcase his character's battle with mental illness, and he doesn't disappoint. The range is there, the characteristics of Dr House that fans and critics alike have grown to cherish are there. The screen time is definitely there. There's even some impact. I initially thought that he might have the front-runner status because there is a perception out there that nobody is more overdue that him. Yet, I just couldn't bring myself to put him in 1st place.

That's because Michael C Hall finally has the episode with which he will likely (finally) take that Emmy that has so far eluded him. Coming off a Golden Globe and SAG win, and John Lithgow's earlier Guest Actor triumph, I think this is Hall's year. The episode does not disappoint -- range, screen time, impact especially with the final haunting scene in the bathroom -- Hall nails it. However, because this category has made me crazy over the last few days, I choose him with a caveat and that is ANYBODY in this group can win this award. I won't be surprised, and would have loved to submit a 6-way tie. But for now, with the proviso that I had to pick a winner, I'm siding with Hall, squeaking over the line in front of Laurie, with Cranston always a deserving threat for another win, and Hamm, Fox and Chandler my sentimental favorites.

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA: BOOMER'S PREDIX
1. Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" ("The Getaway")
2. Hugh Laurie, "House" ("Broken")
3. Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" ("Full Measure")
4. Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" ("The Gypsy and the Hobo")
5. Matthew Fox, "Lost" ("The End")
6. Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights" ("East of Dillon")

BOOMER'S COMMENTARY: All six men deserved to be nominated, and every one of them deserves to actually win this category. That fact is abundantly true based on their incredibly well-chosen episode submissions but also for their seasons and overall contributions to their shows. It is the finest group of nominees and episodes I can remember. Analyzing the category and ranking the nominees is agonizing. Here is my best effort.

"I'm happy to be in the same barn with all these other cats," Kyle Chandler ("Friday Night Lights") says in our podcast chat about being nominated for best drama actor at the Emmys opposite Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Matthew Fox ("Lost"), Michael C. Hall ("Dexter"), Jon Hamm ("Mad Men") and Hugh Laurie ("House"). "It makes me walk a few inches higher off the ground, believe me."

To listen to the audio of our podcast, click on the right-pointing arrow below.

Chandler is not merely in the company of prestigious rivals, he has a real chance to beat them. Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly predicts Chandler will prevail, and Tucker may be right. Chandler picked a good episode of "Friday Night Lights" to give to Emmy judges — "East of Dillon," in which he has a powerful locker-room scene, bellowing to the high-school football team he coaches, "If you don't want to be here, get out of my house!" Actually, Chandler didn't really pick the episode himself, as he revealed in our podcast. "I let other people choose it because I couldn't go through the whole season and objectively try to pick something," he says. "I asked people who are respected and who are involved with the show.

"My strategy was to have no strategy," Chandler says in reference to his Emmy candidacy. Though he took a hands-off approach to episode selection, he nonetheless paid attention to the shrewd Emmy campaign run by DirecTV, which included sending all 14,000 members of the TV academy DVDs of the complete fourth season as NBC aired them just weeks before Emmy voting.

"I saw a lot of the material before it went out," he says. "I thought it was fantastic for that support. That's what it's all about. Standing behind the product. To go out there, do all that and pull it off, we've all got our hands in the air."

Photo: NBC / DirecTV

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Entertainment Weekly's Mike Ausiello and I mostly agree on who'll win Emmys in the top series races Aug. 29. However, there are significant differences in our rankings per category, and there is drastic disagreement over how we size up the contest for best comedy actor. I've got Tony Shalhoub ("Monk") in first place, Mike's got him in last!

Note: My predix are still a bit tentative. I haven't seen a few of the episodes submitted to Emmy judges by nominees as examples of their best work. When I finish up that viewing in a few days, I may make a few changes. Mike may want to make a few last-minute switcheroos too? Meantime, thank you, Mike, for piping in.

BEST DRAMA SERIES	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	"Mad Men"	"Mad Men"
2.	"Breaking Bad"	"Lost"
3.	"The Good Wife"	"Dexter"
4.	"Dexter"	"The Good Wife"
5.	"Lost"	"Breaking Bad"
6.	"True Blood"	"True Blood"

BEST DRAMA ACTOR	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"	Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
2.	Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"	Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
3.	Hugh Laurie, "House"	Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
4.	Matthew Fox, "Lost"	Hugh Laurie, "House"
5.	Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"	Matthew Fox, "Lost"
6.	Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"	Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"	Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
2.	Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"	Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"
3.	Glenn Close, "Damages"	Glenn Close, "Damages"
4.	January Jones, "Mad Men"	Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
5.	Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"	Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"
6.	Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order: SVU"	January Jones, "Mad Men"

BEST COMEDY SERIES	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	"Modern Family"	"Modern Family"
2.	"Glee"	"Glee"
3.	"30 Rock"	"30 Rock"
4.	"The Office"	"Nurse Jackie"
5.	"Curb Your Enthusiasm"	"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
6.	"Nurse Jackie"	"The Office"

BEST COMEDY ACTOR	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"	Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"
2.	Steve Carell, "The Office"	Jim Parsons, "The Big Bang Theory"
3.	Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"	Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
4.	Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"	Alec Baldwin, "30 Rock"
5.	Matthew Morrison, "Glee"	Steve Carell, "The Office"
6.	Tony Shalhoub, "Monk"	Matthew Morrison, "Glee"

BEST COMEDY ACTRESS	Mike Ausiello	Tom O'Neil
1.	Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"	Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"
2.	Amy Poehler, "Parks & Recreation"	Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"
3.	Tina Fey, "30 Rock"	Lea Michele, "Glee"
4.	Toni Collette, "United States of Tara"	Tina Fey, "30 Rock"
5.	Lea Michele, "Glee"	Amy Poehler, "Parks & Recreation"
6.	Julie Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"	Julie Louis-Dreyfus, "New Adventures of Old Christine"

Photo: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

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Never mind which TV shows and stars are favored by Emmy voters. Yahoo measured the lists of Emmy nominees according to which ones were searched most by their Web browsers during the eligibility period spanning June 1, 2009, to May 31, 2010.

TOP SEARCHED BEST SERIES, DRAMA

1. "Lost"

2. "True Blood"

3. "Dexter"

4. "Mad Men"

5. "Breaking Bad"

6. "The Good Wife"
 


TOP SEARCHED BEST SERIES, COMEDY
1. "Glee"

2. "The Office"

3. "Modern Family"

4. "30 Rock"

5. "Nurse Jackie"

6. "Curb Your Enthusiasm"
 

TOP SEARCHED BEST ACTOR, DRAMA
1. Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
2. Hugh Laurie, "House"

3. Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"

4. Matthew Fox, "Lost"

5. Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"

6. Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"

• If any actor has a right to sing the blues, it is Hugh Laurie, who hasn't had any luck with the Emmys despite four previous nominations for playing the cantankerous title character in "House, M.D." Although he's contending again this year in the lead actor race, our early predictions rank him as an also-ran again. On Monday, Warner Music announced a record deal with the erudite Englishman for an album of New Orleans-style songs. The disc will be produced by two-time Grammy champ Joe Henry. In a statement, Laurie said, "I am drunk with excitement at this opportunity. I know the history of actors making music is a checkered one, but I promise no one will get hurt." Laurie, who plays a variety of musical instruments, has been the keyboardist for the charity group Band From TV for the last several years and tickled the ivories on the last album from Meat Loaf as well. USA TODAY

• Three-time Tony nominee Alfred Molina is switching coasts to join the cast of "Law & Order: L.A." in the fall. Mike Ausiello delivers this news, noting "Molina is the second major 'LOLA' hire. As I reported earlier this month, Skeet Ulrich has been tapped to play one of the two lead detectives. In a statement, show exec Dick Wolf said, 'I am thrilled that Fred is "LOLA's" Deputy DA. He joins a remarkable list of some of America’s greatest character actors like Sam Waterston, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jeff Goldblum, Steven Hill, Dianne Wiest, and Michael Moriarty as stars of 'Law & Order'-branded series.' "

• The versatile Molina also appears in the fourth film from theater visionary Julie Taymor -- a reimagining of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" -- which will close the 67th edition of the Venice film fest on Sept. 11. The picture stars Oscar champ Helen Mirren ("The Queen") as Prospera, a gender-bending take on the character of Prospero, a sorcerer marooned on an island with his daughter. The film features another Oscar winner -- Chris Cooper ("Adaptation") -- as well as Russell Brand, Alan Cumming, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn and Ben Whishaw. LA BIENNALE

• Sir Elton John and Lee Hall -- who penned the Tony-winning musical adaptation of "Billy Elliot" -- are reteaming to turn the George Orwell classic novel "Animal Farm" into a tuner. Baz Bamigboye chatted with Hall, who revealed, "I'm deep into it, writing songs for pigs and other four-legged friends" but admitted proper work on the show would not begin till after the summer. "Having worked with him on 'Billy Elliot,' I know that Elton likes to have the lyrics done and have them in front of him, so I'll work on a batch before I give him anything to look at. I would think it's going to take about two years before it's all ready to go." DAILY MAIL

• Four of the Emmy-nominated cast members of "Mad Men" have been immortalized by Mattel as collectible dolls that retail for $74.95 each. "The collection features suave ad men Don Draper (Jon Hamm) and Roger Sterling (John Slattery) complete with cufflinks. The Draper doll features a painted 5 o'clock shadow [that] adds to his good looks, as does his dreamy gaze. Draper's turmoil-ridden wife, Betty (January Jones), wears a traditionally saccharine floral A-line dress with a shiny gray bow, while flame-haired beauty Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) wears a figure-hugging dress, stockings and pointy black heels." And, as this report notes, "even though Mattel cites the Holloway doll's 'curvy silhouette,' the mini-Joan takes on Barbie's traditionally slim figure." FOX NEWS

• At a Comic-Con panel, Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall previewed the upcoming fifth season of "Dexter." For the actor, his character of a serial killer under suspicion in his wife's death is now "motivated by a desire to make amends for that even if he doesn't consciously know it. He needs to make things right, even if it feels impossible." And, as per producer Chip Johannessen, "We want to process this huge event, which is almost like a second origin story. This is something he brought on himself. We don't continue the facts of Season 4 for very long, but the set of events that he brought upon himself very much permeate Season 5." TV GUIDE

• The gang from "Glee" was also at Comic-Con, where, as per this report by Denise Martin, show creator Ryan Murphy "hit Chris Colfer with the news that he may soon get to do 'The Time Warp,' the classic song-and-dance routine from 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show.' " And, Denise adds, "the Britney Spears episode may be a little dream-like, even if it isn't exactly a dream for one star. And get ready for more Madonna." TV GUIDE

• Al Pacino will be back on Broadway this fall headlining a transfer of the summer hit "The Merchant of Venice," which has been playing in repertory as part of the Public Theater's season in Central Park. Pacino, who first came to fame as a stage actor, headlined a 1979 rialto revival of "Richard III" that was met with mixed reviews. His last appearance on Broadway was in a staged reading of the Oscar Wilde play "Salome" in 2003. He is in contention at the upcoming Emmy Awards for his performance in the telefilm "You Don't Know Jack." Pacino is one of only 18 actors to have achieved the triple crown, winning an Oscar for "Scent of a Woman," an Emmy for "Angels in America" and two Tony Awards, for "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" and "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel." NEW YORK TIMES

• The 1988 Oscar-nominated Spanish film "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is being turned into a Broadway musical this fall and will feature a slew of award-winning talent including a pair of Tony champs -- Patti LuPone ("Evita," "Gypsy") and Brian Stokes Mitchell ("Kiss Me, Kate") -- as well as multiple nominees Sherie Rene Scott and Danny Burnstein. Tony winner Bartlett Sher ("South Pacific") directs, and Tony nominees David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane are collaborating once again on the score, as they did with "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," with Lane also adapting Pedro Almodóvar's screenplay for the stage. PLAYBILL

• A trio of Oscar-winning actors -- Goldie Hawn ("Cactus Flower"), Julia Roberts ("Erin Brockovich") and Forest Whitaker ("The Last King of Scotland") -- are among those on-screen talents working behind the scenes on documentaries scheduled to debut on Oprah Winfrey's new TV network next year. As per the press release, Roberts will present "Extraordinary Moms," about "brilliant and awe-inspiring women who share a powerful connection: the love they have for their children combined with a fierce desire to protect the future of all children"; Hawn will narrate "Search for Happiness," which "examines the age-old quest that has motivated civilization and technological progress"; and Whitaker will do likewise with "One Last Shot," which "takes viewers inside Louisiana’s maximum security prison at Angola, where the average sentence is more than 90 years." TV BY THE NUMBERS

Photos, from top: Hugh Laurie in "House, M.D." Credit: Fox. "Mad Men" collectible dolls. Credit: Mattel, Inc. Al Pacino in "The Merchant of Venice." Credit: Public Theater

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You've already seen the Emmy predictions covering the top comedy races from me and our two experts Chris "Boomer" Beachum and Rob Licuria (AwardsHeaven). Now here's how we rank the major drama contests.

BEST DRAMA SERIES	Tom O'Neil	Rob Licuria	Chris Beachum
1.	"Mad Men"	"Mad Men"	"Mad Men"
2.	"Dexter"	"The Good Wife"	"Dexter"
3.	"The Good Wife"	"Dexter"	"Lost"
4.	"Lost"	"Breaking Bad"	"Breaking Bad"
5.	"Breaking Bad"	"Lost"	"The Good Wife"
6.	"True Blood"	"True Blood"	"True Blood"

BEST DRAMA ACTOR	Tom O'Neil	Rob Licuria	Chris Beachum
1.	Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"	Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"	Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"
2.	Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"	Matthew Fox, 'Lost"	Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad"
3.	Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"	Michael C. Hall, "Dexter"	Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."
4.	Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."	Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"	Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"
5.	Matthew Fox, 'Lost"	Hugh Laurie, "House M.D."	Kyle Chandler, "Friday Night Lights"
6.	Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"	Jon Hamm, "Mad Men"	Matthew Fox, 'Lost"

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS	Tom O'Neil	Rob Licuria	Chris Beachum
1.	Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"	Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"	Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"
2.	Glenn Close, "Damages"	Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"	Glenn Close, "Damages"
3.	Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"	January Jones, "Mad Men"	January Jones, "Mad Men"
4.	Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"	Glenn Close, "Damages"	Connie Britton, "Friday Night Lights"
5.	Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order"	Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"	Kyra Sedgwick, "The Closer"
6.	January Jones, "Mad Men"	Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order"	Mariska Hargitay, "Law & Order"

Photo: Jon Hamm in "Mad Men." Photo credit: AMC.

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Beware: Some Emmy-watchers are making a false assumption about the races for best lead actor and actress in the drama series. They believe Michael C. Hall ("Dexter") and Julianna Margulies ("The Good Wife") are shoo-ins to win on Aug. 29 because they've already bagged the Golden Globe and SAG Award earlier this year. Not necessarily so!

Only rarely do the three awards line up, probably because their voting systems vary so much. Winners of Globes and SAG Awards are decided by a popular ballot, but the Emmy is a juried award chosen after a small group of judges views one sample episode submitted by every nominee in the category.

Occasionally, the three prizes do concur – as when James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") won best drama actor at the Emmys a few months after triumphing at the Globes and SAG in 2000. Ditto, Gillian Anderson ("The X-Files") in 1997 and Edie Falco ("The Sopranos") in 2003. However, all of the following actors failed to repeat at the Emmys soon after sweeping the Globes and SAG: Dennis Franz ("NYPD Blue") in 1995, Anthony Edwards ("ER") in 1998 and Hugh Laurie ("House M.D.") in 2007.

[For the record, 7:35 a.m. July 26: An earlier version of this post misspelled Julianna Margulies' first name as Juliana.]

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Photos: Hollywood Foreign Press Assn., Screen Actors Guild, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

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● No Emmy pundits foresaw the "Nurse Jackie" nomination for best comedy series. Meantime, Showtime's other laffer, which was Emmy nominated last year, got snubbed: "Weeds." Does that mean bohemian Hollywood has swapped love of marijuana for pills? Side note: Another big snub in a different category is the omission of last year's winner from the category of best reality program: "Intervention." Hmmm … one day after Lindsay Lohan goes before a judge in Beverly Hills for issues related to alcohol? Coincidence?

● Charlie Sheen's bad-boy antics finally caught up with him. After four Emmy nominations in a row, the "Two and a Half Men" star was snubbed.

● Bill Maher has four new chances to increase his lead as Emmy's biggest loser. His four new nominations were for variety series ("Real Time"), variety special ("But I'm Not Wrong") and writing for both. Currently, he has 22 losses, no wins.

● Other snubs: Courteney Cox (the only star of "Friends" who didn't get nominated) was snubbed for "Cougar Town." "Married … with Children" costars Ed O'Neill and Katey Sagal were snubbed for "Modern Family" and "Sons of Anarchy," respectively. What's very odd about O'Neill's newest snub is that three of his costars made it into the race for best supporting comedy actor: Eric Stonestreet, Ty Burrell and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

● We knew that Jeremy Piven might not get nominated again. After winning three years in a row, he suddenly wasn't nominated last year after that fishy story about mercury poisoning after eating sushi. But "Entourage" wasn't nommed after reaping three consecutive bids (2007-2009).

Gold Derby's Emmy gurus Chris "Boomer" Beachum, Rob Licuria and I agree on five of the six chaps who will be nominated for best drama actor when Emmy bids are unveiled Thursday, but we split on the sixth star.

Also, check out our video slugfests over which shows will be nominated for best drama series and comedy series.

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Simon Baker, "The Mentalist" — Beachum, Licuria, O'Neil
Bryan Cranston, "Breaking Bad" — Beachum, Licuria, O'Neil
Michael C. Hall, "Dexter" — Beachum, Licuria, O'Neil
Jon Hamm, "Mad Men" — Beachum, Licuria, O'Neil
Hugh Laurie, "House" — Beachum, Licuria, O'Neil
Timothy Olyphant, "Justified" — O'Neil
Bill Paxton, "Big Love" — Licuria
Kiefer Sutherland, "24" — Beachum

BEACHUM'S ALTERNATES: Bill Paxton, Matthew Fox
LICURIA'S ALTERNATES: Timothy Olyphant, Peter Krause
O'NEIL'S ALTERNATES: Bill Paxton, Wendell Pierce

RELATED POSTS

Tom O'Neil "fearless, 100% accurate" Emmy nomination predictions

Chris "Boomer" Beachum's Emmy nomination predictions

Rob Licuria's Emmy nomination predictions

Pundits' video slugfest: Emmy nominations predictions -- best drama actor

Pundits' video slugfest: Emmy nominations predictions -- best drama series

Pundits' video slugfest: Emmy nomination predictions -- best comedy series

Pundits' video slugfest: Emmy nominations predictions -- best drama actress

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