Today is Emmy nominations day and fans of 30 Rock have a lot to celebrate as the defending Best Comedy Series champ has tallied a record 22 nominations.  This year’s field of nominees marks a change in that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences seems to acknowledge that new programs and those geared for younger audiences might just be worth a nod or two…or more as the case may be.  Also, a rules change that expanded the Best Comedy and Best Drama nominations to six actually produced seven total for each category as there was a tie in the voting. 

Reactions were varied as the actors nominated for the seeming millions of categories weighed in on being selected.  A few excerpts:

“Well, I think all bets would be off if he wasn’t killing by the code
and killing deserving parties. Also, the way the show is structured,
the audience isn’t a regular observer but (is) in Dexter’s head and a
part of that trauma, which adds to the appeal of the character. Another
thing that keeps that appeal is that I don’t want it to be ‘who does he
kill this week?’ He has to develop, as do his relationships, and I
think an example of that is when these relationships are threatened, he
is forced to protect them not because of the code he is following but
because he has a stake in these relationships now.”
— Michael C. Hall, lead actor in a drama, “Dexter”

“It’s absolutely bittersweet (getting a nomination after the show
wasn’t picked up). This is the first time I ever saw (the nominations)
live, where it wasn’t someone calling me from New York. … I was so
happy, and then I immediately got a little sad. We loved doing our
show, For all of us, even the crew, it was our favorite job we ever
had. It’s nice that we can go out with something positive.”
— Christina Applegate, lead actress in a comedy, “Samantha Who?”

“I never let them tell me when (the nomination announcement) is, so I
don’t stress out. So I was in bed this morning with my son talking
about the Loch Ness Monster, and my phone suddenly lit up and it was
Christina Applegate calling to congratulate me. It was so nice to get
that call from her, and it was also so great that she got nominated
too.”
— Mary-Louise Parker, lead actress in a comedy, “Weeds”

“I think the appeal comes from how (Roger Sterling) is a complicated
person and goes by the courage of his convictions. He wants something,
even if it is socially unacceptable — he goes for it whether it be a
hooker or a cocktail waitress, or lights up cigarette after cigarette.
… The thing about Roger is he has a great sense of humor, and he
laughs at his own jokes, which relates back to the kind of person he
is.”
— John Slattery, supporting actor in a drama, “Mad Men”

“I’m so stunned that people like our show. We like it, but you don’t
expect other people to. When a joke is so obscure, I’m always surprised
that people get it. We like making this show. It’s a backbreaker, but
we’ve got a great team behind it.”
— Seth Green, animated program, “Robot Chicken”

Variety has a voluminous breakdown of all of the ins and outs of the main nominations here as well as some of the ones that you have no chance of and probably less desire to watch on primetime TV here.  The main nominations list:

COMEDY SERIES
“Entourage”
“Family Guy
“Flight of the Conchords”
“How I Met Your Mother”
“The Office”
“30 Rock”
“Weeds”

DRAMA SERIES
“Big Love”
“Breaking Bad”
“Damages”
“Dexter”
“House”
“Lost”
“Mad Men”

MINISERIES
“Generation Kill” (HBO)
“Little Dorrit” (PBS)

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin – “30 Rock” (NBC)
Steve Carell – “The Office” (NBC)
Jemaine Clement – “Flight Of The Conchords” (HBO)
Jim Parsons – “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Tony Shalhoub – “Monk” (USA)
Charlie Sheen – “Two And A Half Men” (CBS)

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Simon Baker – “The Mentalist” (CBS)
Gabriel Byrne – “In Treatment” (HBO)
Bryan Cranston – “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
Michael C. Hall – “Dexter” (Showtime)
Jon Hamm – “Mad Men” (AMC)
Hugh Laurie – “House” (Fox)

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Christina Applegate – “Samantha Who?” (ABC)
Toni Collette – “United States Of Tara” (Showtime)
Tina Fey – “30 Rock” (NBC)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – “The New Adventures Of Old Christine” (CBS)
Sarah Silverman – “The Sarah Silverman Program” (Comedy Central)
Mary-Louise Parker – “Weeds” (Showtime)

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes – “Damages” (FX Networks)
Sally Field – “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
Holly Hunter – “Saving Grace” (TNT)
Mariska Hargitay – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC)
Kyra Sedgwick – “The Closer” (TNT)
Elisabeth Moss – “Mad Men” (AMC)

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
“Coco Chanel” (Lifetime)
“Grey Gardens” (HBO)
“Into The Storm” (HBO)
“Prayers For Bobby” (Lifetime)
“Taking Chance” (HBO)

REALITY
“Antiques Roadshow” (PBS)
“Dirty Jobs” (Discovery Channel)
“Dog Whisperer” (NGC)
“Intervention” (A&E)
“Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” (Bravo)
“MythBusters” (Discovery Channel)

REALITY HOST
Tom Bergeron – “Dancing With The Stars” (ABC)
Phil Keoghan – “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
Heidi Klum – “Project Runway” (Bravo)
Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio – “Top Chef” (Bravo)
Jeff Probst – “Survivor” (CBS)
Ryan Seacrest – “American Idol” (Fox)

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“American Idol” (Fox)
“Dancing With The Stars” (ABC)
“Project Runway” (Bravo)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SERIES
“The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
“The Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (Comedy Central)
“Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS)
“Real Time With Bill Maher” (HBO)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)

VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
“Chris Rock – Kill The Messenger” (HBO)
“Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut A Bitch ” (Bravo)
“The Kennedy Center Honors” (CBS)
“Ricky Gervais: Out Of England” – The Stand-Up Special (HBO)
“Will Ferrell: You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W. Bush” (HBO)

WRITING FOR A COMEDY
“Flight Of The Conchords” – “Prime Minister” (HBO) – James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, Bret McKenzie,
“30 Rock” – “Reunion” (NBC) – Matt Hubbard
“30 Rock” – “Apollo, Apollo” (NBC) – Robert Carlock
“30 Rock” – “Mamma Mia” (NBC) Ron Weiner
“30 Rock” – “Kidney Now!” (NBC) – Jack Burditt, Robert Carlock

WRITING FOR A DRAMA
“Lost” – “The Incident” – (ABC) – Carlton Cuse, Damon Lindelof
“Mad Men – “A Night To Remember” – (AMC) – Robin Veith, Matthew Weiner
“Mad Men – “Six Month Leave” – (AMC) – Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Matthew Weiner
“Mad Men” – “The Jet Set” – (AMC) – Matthew Weiner
“Mad Men” – “Meditations In An Emergency” – (AMC) – Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY
“Entourage” – “Tree Trippers” (HBO) – Julian Farino
“Flight Of The Conchords – “The Tough Brets” (HBO) – James Bobin
“The Office” – “Stress Relief” (NBC) – Jeff Blitz
“30 Rock” – “Apollo, Apollo” (NBC) – Millicent Shelton
“30 Rock” – “Reunion” (NBC) – Beth McCarthy
“30 Rock” – “Generalissimo” (NBC) – Todd Holland

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA
“Battlestar Galactica” – “Daybreak (Part 2)” – (Syfy) – Michael Rymer
“Boston Legal” – “Made In China/Last Call” – (ABC) – Bill D’Elia
“Damages” – “Trust Me” (FX Networks) – Todd A. Kessler
“ER” – “And In The End” (NBC) – Rod Holcomb
“Mad Men” – “The Jet Set” – (AMC) – Phil Abraham

The awards will be telecast on September 20th and be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris.