Family Guy became the first-ever animated show in nearly 50 years to be nominated in the best comedy series category at the Emmy Awards, which announced the contenders for its 61st annual primetime awards Wednesday.
Family Guy scored two nominations this year, the other being for Seth MacFarlane in Best Voice Over Performance for playing Peter Griffin in the episode ‘I Dream of Jesus.’
New rules this year opened up the best comedy and drama series categories to a few more contenders ‘ seven shows were nominated in each category ‘ but Fox had made a concerted push for MacFarlane’s Family Guy in the best comedy category. The last time an animated series was nominated for best comedy was in 1961, when The Flintstones earned a nom.
MacFarlane’s other show, American Dad!, was nominated in best animated program under an hour, along with Robot Chicken’s Star Wars Episode II, The Simpsons and South Park.
The Simpsons, Fox’s long-running animated series now celebrating its 20th anniversary, earned five nominations in all. Other animated nominees include Robot Chicken, also with two nominations; and with one nomination each Phineas & Ferb, South Park, American Dad and SpongeBob SquarePants.
“I’m so stunned that people like our show,’ Robot Chicken co-creator Seth Green told Variety about the nomination. ‘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.”
It was a year of records for the Emmy nominations, with comedy series 30 Rock earning a comedy-series record 22 nominations and HBO leading the pack among networks with 99 noms.
The full list of nominees can be found here; a list of the nominees in animation-specific categories follows:
COMEDY SERIES
‘ Entourage (HBO)
‘ Family Guy (Fox)
‘ Flight of the Conchords (HBO)
‘ How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
‘ The Office (NBC)
‘ 30 Rock (NBC)
‘ Weeds (Showtime)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (less than one hour)
‘ American Dad – “Sixteen-Hundred Candles” (Fox)
‘ Robot Chicken – “Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II” (Cartoon Network)
‘ The Simpsons – “Gone Maggie Gone” (Fox)
‘ South Park – “Margaritaville” (Comedy Central)
ANIMATED PROGRAM (one hour or more)
‘ Afro Samurai: Resurrection (Spike TV)
‘ Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends: Destination Imagination (Cartoon Network)
SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAM – SHORT-FORMAT ANIMATED PROGRAMS
‘ Disney’s Phineas And Ferb – “The Monster Of Phineas-N-Ferbenstein” (Disney Channel)
‘ SpongeBob SquarePants – “Dear Vikings” (Nickelodeon)
OUTSTANDING VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
‘ American Masters, ‘Jerome Robbins: Something To Dance About’ (PBS), Ron Rifkin, Narrator
‘ Family Guy, ‘I Dream of Jesus’ (Fox), Seth MacFarlane as Peter Griffin
‘ Robot Chicken, ‘Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II’ (Cartoon Network), Seth Green as Robot Chicken Nerd, Bob Goldstein, Ponda Baba, Anakin Skywalker, Imperial Officer
‘ The Simpsons, ‘Eeny Teeny Maya, Moe’ (Fox), Hank Azaria as Moe Syzlak
‘ The Simpsons, ‘The Burns And The Bees’ (Fox), Harry Shearer as Mr. Burns, Smithers, Kent Brockman, Lenny
‘ The Simpsons, ‘Father Knows Worst’ (Fox), Dan Castellaneta as Homer Simpson
COMMERCIAL
‘ “Airport Lounge” – Amex / Platinum Card; Hungry Man, Production Company; Ogilvy and Mather, Ad Agency
‘ “Alec In Huluwood” – Hulu; Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Ad Agency
‘ “Bottled Courage” – Nike; @radical media, Production Company; Wieden & Kennedy, Ad Agency
‘ “Circus” – Anheuser-Busch Budweiser; DDB Chicago, Ad Agency; PYTKA, Production Company
‘ ‘Heist” – Coca-Cola; Wieden + Kennedy, Ad Agency; Psyop, Production Company
“Magazine Buyer” – Anheuser-Busch Bud Light; DDB Chicago, Ad Agency; Tool of North America, Production Company
‘ “Tips” – Career Builder; MJZ, Production Company
‘ “Wedding ” – Sprint Nextel; O Positive, Production Company; Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Ad Agency
MAIN TITLE DESIGN
‘ Lie To Me (Fox)
‘ Storymakers (AMC)
‘ Taking Chance (HBO)
‘ True Blood (HBO)
‘ United States Of Tara (Showtime)
MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (Dramatic Underscore)
‘ Castle – “Flowers From Your Grave” (ABC) – Robert Duncan
‘ Ghost Whisperer – “Leap Of Faith” (CBS) – Mark Snow
‘ Legend Of The Seeker – “Prophecy” – (Syndicated) – Joe LoDuca
‘ The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency – Pilot (HBO) – Gabriel Yared
‘ The Simpsons – “Gone Maggie Gone” (Fox) – Alf H. Clausen
‘ 24 – “7:00AM – 8:00AM” (Fox) – Sean P. Callen
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES
‘ Battlestar Galactica – “Daybreak” (Part 2) – (Syfy)
‘ Fringe – “Pilot” (Fox)
‘ Ghost Whisperer – “Ghost In The Machine” (CBS)
‘ Heroes – “The Second Coming/The Butterfly Effect” (NBC)
‘ Sanctuary – “Sanctuary For All” – (Syfy)
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE OR SPECIAL
‘ Generation Kill – “The Cradle Of Civilization” (HBO)
‘ Into The Storm (HBO)
