Simon Baker is in. Anna Paquin is not.
In today's Emmy nominations, Baker scored a Lead Actor in a Drama Series nod for his freshman hit, The Mentalist. He'll face off against a familiar group: In Treatment's Gabriel Byrne, Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, Dexter's Michael C. Hall, Mad Men's Jon Hamm and House's Hugh Laurie.
All five of those fellows were nominated last year, too; Cranston is the defending champ.
The corresponding Lead Actress race also looks a lot like 2008's. Damages' Glenn Close, the reigning winner, is up against Brothers & Sisters' Sally Field, Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay, Saving Grace's Holly Hunter and The Closer's Kyra Sedgwick.
Just like last year.
The only fresh blood in that category belongs to Mad Men's Elisabeth Moss, who benefited from the Emmys' growth initiative, which pushed the number of nominees in the top acting races from five to six.
Expansion, however, did not help Paquin, shut out for True Blood, or Kiefer Sutherland, who was nominated for the 24's TV-movie prequel, but not for the show's seventh season.
Here are how the other drama series acting races shape up:
• Zeljko Ivanek's Damages attorney is dead—and so are Ivanek's chances of repeating as Outstanding Supporting Actor. He's out. William Shatner, for the dismissed Boston Legal, Michael Emerson, for Lost, and John Slattery, for Mad Men, are back in. Boston Legal's Christian Clemenson, Cranston's Breaking Bad cohort Aaron Paul and Damages' William Hurt, basically assuming last year's Ted Danson slot, are newly in.
• Fortunately for Dianne Wiest, Gabriel Bryne's In Treatment therapist is still in need of therapy himself, so she can repeat as Outstanding Supporting Actress. Her competition: Grey's Anatomy's Sandra Oh and Chandra Wilson, Damages' Rose Byrne, In Treatment's Hope Davis and 24's new president, Cherry Jones. This category, along with Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, featured the most turnover of the series acting categories, with only three returning nominees from last year: Wiest, Oh and Wilson.
• Danson was bumped down to the Guest Actor category for his downsized role on Damages. Among the key competition he'll face in that race: Michael J. Fox, up for his turn on Rescue Me.
• The Guest Actress field is strictly for veterans only—well, veterans not named Tori Spelling, who came up with nada for attempting to bring ZIP-code credibility to 90210. Among the nominees here: Carol Burnett, in the game for playing a former dancer on Law & Order: SVU.
(Originally published July 16, 2009 at 6:21 a.m.)
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See who else got some Emmy love in our Notable Nominees gallery.