Okay, I think we get the message. Everyone loves cable this year.
The nominations for the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced bright and early this morning in West Hollywood, and here’s what may be most surprising: AMC’s Mad Men and TNT’s The Closer beat out House, Lost and 24 to enter the Best Ensemble in a Drama for Television category. (Get all the deets in our news story.)Pretty amazing, no? Just as we saw with the Golden Globe nominations one week ago, the SAG voters trended toward more pay-cable and basic-cable nods this year, especially in the drama categories.
Along with Mad Men (clearly the little awesome show that could) and The Closer’s ensemble nods, Holly Hunter (Saving Grace), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) and Glenn Close (FX’s Damages) ousted previous SAG shoo-ins like Patricia Arquette, Mariska Hargitay and the Grey’s girls, while Jon Hamm (Mad Men) smacked down both the Lost lads and Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).Call it another thumbtack in the coffin of network TV...
On the comedy side, however, network shows fared better, with nods to newcomers like 30 Rock’s ensemble and Tina Fey (thank you, Jesus!), Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?, which is so not getting canceled any time soon) and Vanessa Williams of Ugly Betty. And I gotta say, the ensemble nomination for The Office also saved me from having an early-morning meltdown—on camera. Thanks, SAG!
Anyway, I’m curious to know what you all think. Are the SAG and Globes voters right on the money that cable had a better year than network TV when it came to drama? Or is it just not right that shows like Lost, House and 24 are shut out?
Let us hear your thoughts in the Comments below—and weigh in on what other snubs irked you.