When it has come to significant TV awards, the most notable ones are the Golden Globes and the TV BAFTAs (though I like to add the British Soap awards too!). But as well as the Globes, the Americans also have their own equivalent to the BAFTAs in the shape of the Emmys which has a vast variety of awards in the Drama and Comedy categories. They also like to recognise nearly everybody from television as well as the occasional film-star which is clear from this year’s contenders.

Leading the nominations for 2011/2012 are the acclaimed drama series Mad Men and the FX thriller American Horror Story with a solid 17 nods each.

Mad Men was nominated for Best Drama Series and also secured mentions in the acting stakes for lead actors Jon Hamm and Elisabeth Moss and supporting actors Jared Harris and Christina Hendricks. American Horror Story was placed in the Outstanding TV Mini-series category but received the majority of its nods in the tech categories. New critically-acclaimed shows like Breaking Bad and Homeland also did well in the nominations field with Bryan Cranston, Damian Lewis and Claire Danes earning respective mentions.

One of my current favourite shows Modern Family dominated in the comedy categories with all the adult actors being nodded including four of them in Best Supporting Comedy Actor. Very competitive! The likes of 30 Rock, The Big Bang Theory, New Girl and Veep also secured some notice.

But it was a fantastic day for the Brits too as Downton Abbey enjoyed success (16 nominations altogether) with several nominations for its actors with Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery and Dame Maggie Smith amongst them. Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Idris Elba (Luther), Clive Owen (Hemingway and Gellhorn) and Emma Thompson (The Song of Lunch) were the other big-name Brits to receive attention while presenter Cat Deeley was nodded for her hosting of So You Think You Can Dance?

The Hollywood stars also weighed in on nominations today with Oscar-winners Nicole Kidman, Kathy Bates and Kevin Costner getting some attention. Woody Harrelson and Julianne Moore both earned deserved nods for their political drama Game Change. Hopefully the latter will win for her exceptional portrayal of Sarah Palin!

Surprisingly though, there was a lack of love for other heavyweight dramas like Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones which did better in the tech categories while Steve Buscemi and Peter Dinklage were the only actors from both shows to be noticed in acting this year.

The Emmys will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on September 23rd. The full list of nominations are below with my predictions.

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Big Bang Theory
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Girls
Modern Family
30 Rock
Veep

Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Lena Dunham – Girls
Melissa McCarthy – Mike & Molly
Zooey Deschanel – New Girl
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie
Amy Poehler – Parks And Recreation
Tina Fey – 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Veep

Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Don Cheadle – House of Lies
Louis C.K.- Louie
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
Jon Cryer – Two And A Half Men

Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Mayim Bialik – The Big Bang Theory
Kathryn Joosten – Desperate Housewives
Julie Bowen – Modern Family
Sofia Vergara – Modern Family
Merritt Wever – Nurse Jackie
Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family
Jesse Tyler Ferguson – Modern Family
Ty Burrell – Modern Family
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family
Max Greenfield – New Girl
Bill Hader – Saturday Night Live

Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Downton Abbey
Game Of Thrones
Homeland
Mad Men

Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Glenn Close – Damages
Michelle Dockery – Downton Abbey
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife
Kathy Bates – Harry’s Law
Claire Danes – Homeland
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men

Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire
Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall – Dexter
Hugh Bonneville – Downton Abbey
Damian Lewis – Homeland
Jon Hamm – Mad Men

Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Anna Gunn – Breaking Bad
Maggie Smith – Downton Abbey
Joanne Froggatt – Downton Abbey
Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife
Christine Baranski – The Good Wife
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men

Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad
Giancarlo Esposito – Breaking Bad
Brendan Coyle – Downton Abbey
Jim Carter – Downton Abbey
Jared Harris – Mad Men
Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones

Outstanding Guest Actor in Comedy
Michael J. Fox – Curb Your Enthusiasm
Greg Kinnear – Modern Family
Bobby Cannavale – Nurse Jackie
Jimmy Fallon – Saturday Night Live
Will Arnett – 30 Rock
Jon Hamm – 30 Rock

Outstanding Guest Actress in Comedy
Dot-Marie Jones – Glee
Maya Rudolph – Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy – Saturday Night Live
Elizabeth Banks – 30 Rock
Margaret Cho – 30 Rock
Kathy Bates – Two and a Half Men

Outstanding Reality Show Host
Tom Bergeron – Dancing With the Stars
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance
Phil Keoghan – The Amazing Race
Ryan Seacrest – American Idol
Betty White – Betty White’s Off Their Rockers

Outstanding Reality Series Competition
The Amazing Race
Dancing With the Stars
Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
Top Chef
The Voice

Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live

Outstanding TV Miniseries or Movie
American Horror Story
Game Change
Hatfields & McCoys
Hemingway and Gellhorn
Luther
Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia

Lead Actor in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Kevin Costner – Hatfields & McCoys
Benedict Cumberbatch – Sherlock: A Scandal in Belgravia
Idris Elba – Luther
Woody Harrelson – Game Change
Clive Owen – Hemingway and Gellhorn
Bill Paxton – Hatfields & McCoys

Lead Actress in a TV Miniseries or Movie
Connie Britton – American Horror Story
Ashley Judd – Missing
Nicole Kidman – Hemingway and Gellhorn
Julianne Moore – Game Change
Emma Thompson – The Song of Lunch