Comedy CentralSarah Silverman, hello. America Ferrera, goodbye. Jennifer Aniston, is that you again? And, Justin Timberlake, what are you doing here?
There was modest turnover today in Emmys' comedy acting races, with Silverman scoring her first Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nomination for her subversively innocent act in The Sarah Silverman Program.
Silverman's competition includes fellow newcomer Toni Collette, from United States of Tara, who again proved the award-season adage: If your character's mentally ill, your chances for a nomination will kill.
Mostly, though, Silverman will contend with holdovers: Samantha wiWho?'s Christina Applegate, The New Adventures of Old Christine's Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 30 Rock's Tina Fey, the reigning winner, and Weeds' Mary-Louise Parker.
There was only one actress from last year who didn't make it back into that inner circle: Ferrera.
The Ugly Betty star, a former winner and two-time nominee, seemed to go down with her show's flagging ratings. (Not that starring on a canceled series, a la Samantha Who?, nixed Applegate's chances.)
The Lead Actor in a Comedy Series field, meanwhile, is a mix of the same-old guys (30 Rock's Alec Baldwin, The Office's Steve Carell, Monk's Tony Shalhoub, Two and a Half Men's Charlie Sheen) and the who-knew-Emmy-voters-knew-these-guys guys (The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons and Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement). Baldwin is the defending champ.
Left on the outside looking in: Pushing Daisies' Lee Pace, who was the lone 2008 nominee not to rate a return invite to the category.
The canceled-series excuse doesn't quite work in Pace's case, because while Pushing Daisies was indeed canceled, Kristin Chenoweth appeared on the same ex-series—and she rated her second straight Emmy nod.
Chenoweth is again a contender for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Her competition: Amy Poehler, up for Saturday Night Live, which she left, and not Parks and Recreation, for which she left SNL; Kristen Wiig, also up for SNL; 30 Rock's Jane Krakowski; Ugly Betty's Vanessa Williams; and, Weeds' Elizabeth Perkins.
Chenoweth, Poehler and Williams are the only returning nominees. This category, along with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, featured the most turnover for a top race. Not even last year's winner—Samantha Who? mom Jean Smart—earned another chance.
Red-carpet attendees, meanwhile, won't have to worry about whether to wear lead vests under their tuxes and gowns: High-mercury-count sufferer Jeremy Piven, who was on a three-year, Emmy-winning roll, was not renominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
The Piven snub aside, the category will look largely the same as last year: Kevin Dillon, Piven's Entourage costar; How I Met Your Mother's Neil Patrick Harris; The Office's Rainn Wilson; Two and a Half Men's Jon Cryer; and, 30 Rock's odd couple, Tracy Morgan and Jack McBrayer. Morgan and McBrayer are the only nominees new to the category.
In the guest-acting categories, comic great Steve Martin, up for a bit on 30 Rock, will do battle with, well, pretty-great SNL host Justin Timberlake, while Jennifer Aniston, up for stalking on 30 Rock, will go up against 30 Rock's Fey, who snagged her inevitable nomination for doing a better Sarah Palin than Sarah Palin.
Aniston's nomination is her first since 2004, and Friends.
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See who else got some Emmy love in our Notable Nominees gallery.