Doug Strassler's Reacts to the 2012 Emmy Nominations

Anna Gunn got an Emmy nomination. Finally! That's all I can really think about in the wake of yesterday's nomination announcement for the 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards. Gunn, a terrific veteran character actress, got a Supporting Actress nomination ? her career first ? for her work on Breaking Bad, which earned a slew of nods following a killer (pun intended) fourth season and on the heels of a record-breaking fifth season premiere for the AMC show, which may very well end competitor Mad Men's four-season winning streak.   I'll be writing a series of official predictions as the September ceremony nears, but until then some other thoughts: -HBO continues to dominate, but perhaps too much so. Lena Dunham scored acting and writing victories for her un-sitcomy Girls, which also landed a Best Comedy nod. But so did the network's Curb Your Enthusiasm and Veep, neither of which had superlative seasons. If they wanted to represent HBO, why not nominate Laura Dern for Enlightened? -Speaking of the Comedy Series category, The Big Bang Theory got nominated, as did two of its stars. Jim Parsons, a winner for the last two years, showed up again, but unlike last year, co-lead Johnny Galecki did not. However, Mayim "Blossom" Byalik did score her first-ever Emmy nod in the supporting category. (Meanwhile, in the first season of Two and a Half Men since Charlie Sheen's exit, Jon Cryer has now moved up to the Lead Actor category.) -Downtown Abbey segued from a miniseries to a continuing won, and dominated the acting categories, including a nod for Michelle Dockery for Lead Actress. While Kathy Bates got another nod for the now-defunct Harry's Law, other nominees left out were Mireille Enos (The Killing) and Jessica Pare (Mad Men), while her co-star Moss made the cut. Interestingly, though he had a richer season this year, Men actor John Slattery failed to get nominated in the Supporting Actor category, though co-star Jared Harris did. -The big snubs: after a terrific first season performance and Golden Globe, Kelsey Grammer was not nominated for Lead Actor. Louis C.K. got nominated for Actor in a Comedy, but his show was un-nominated? No Mandy Patinkin for Homeland? -I still think it was a cheat to run American Horror Story as a miniseries, and it isn't a worthy contender in that category, nor is Connie Britton for Lead Actress. (Nor is Ashley Judd for Missing). But the Lead Actor in a Miniseries category is perfect. -One last thing: James Van der Beek was robbed for Don't Trust the B!