The complete list of Emmy nominations has been posted and like last year, the awards prove that if you're an actress over 40 looking for a meaty dramatic role, you'll have better luck on the small screen.
We averaged the ages of the actresses nominated for Emmys versus the actresses nominated for Academy Awards this year (using the ages listed on Wikipedia — we can't get our hands on the birth certificates). Here are the results:
Of the 16 female Emmy nominees for outstanding lead or supporting actress in a dramatic series and outstanding lead actress in a miniseries or movie the average age = 48.75
Of the 12 female Emmy nominees for outstanding lead or supporting actress in a comedy series the average age = 40.66
Combined average age of women nominated for Emmys in comedic and dramatic roles = 45.28
Of the 10 female Oscar nominees for best actress or supporting actress the average age = 39.50
About 70% of the actresses nominated for an Emmy for a dramatic role were over 40, compared to 40% of the actresses nominated for Academy Awards. A fairly diverse group of women were nominated for Oscars this year, but Meryl Streep was still the only actress over 50 nominated. There were many more Emmy nominees of course, but it seems even women over 50 mainly known as film actors are having an easier time finding juicy roles on TV these days. Sally Field, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, and Dianne Wiest are all over 50 and were nominated for Emmys this year.
Many of the older actresses nominated were featured in programs on cable, and one of the most notable things about this year's list of nominees is how cable shows dominated network shows in major categories. House and Lost were the only two network shows nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. Plus, AMC's Mad Men was nominated in 16 categories, the most for a dramatic series (though it was second to NBC's 30 Rock, which had 22 nods).
There were still plenty of snubs even among the cable shows. For True Blood and Battlestar Galactica, the tinge of sci-fi disqualified them from the Emmy race. No special consideration was given to shows that aired their final season, such as Boston Legal, ER, The Shield, Pushing Daisies, and once again, Battlestar Galactica [as they'd say on BSG, frak]. According to the comments in our previous nominations post, many of you are also upset that Friday Night Lights was snubbed. Are you saying you don't find the show's lone nomination for Outstanding Casting For A Drama Series satisfying?
Below are the nominations for this year's Emmys. The complete list can be found here.
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight Of The Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Weeds
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men
OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
Heidi Klum, Project Runway
Jeff Probst, Survivor
Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
Padma Lakshmi, Top Chef
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Jermaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords
Tony Shalhoub, Monk
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Steve Carell, The Office
Charlie Sheen, Two And A Half Men
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Hugh Laurie, House
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Kiefer Sutherland, 24
Kevin Kline, Cyrano de Bergerac (PBS)
Brendan Gleeson, Into The Storm (HBO)
Sir Ian McKellen, King Lear (PBS)
Kevin Bacon, Taking Chances (HBO)
Kenneth Branagh, Wallander: One Step Behind (PBS)
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures Of Old Christine
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program
Toni Collette, United States Of Tara
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Glenn Close, Damages
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Kyra Sedfwick, The Closer
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Chandra Wilson, Accidental Friendship (Hallmark Channel)
Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel (Lifetime)
Drew Barrymore, Grey Gardens (HBO)
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens (HBO)
Sigourney Weaver, Prayers For Bobby (Lifetime)
OUTSTANDING MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Coco Chanel
Grey Gardens
Into The Storm
Prayers For Bobby
Taking Chance
OUTSTANDING MINISERIES
Generation Kill
Little Dorrit
OUTSTANDING REALITY - COMPETITION PROGRAM
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
The Amazing Race
Top Chef
OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM
Antiques Roadshow
Dirty Jobs
Dog Whisperer
Intervention
Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List
MythBusters
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Rainn Wilson, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two And A Half Men
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
William Shatner, Boston Legal
Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
William Hurt, Damages
Michael Emerson, Lost
John Slattery, Mad Men
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Kristin Cheoweth, Pushing Daisies
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Kristin Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Cherry Jones, 24
Rose Byrne, Damages
Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Hope Davis, In Treatment
OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SEREIS
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
2009 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations [Academy Of Television Arts & Sciences]
Earlier: What Do You Think Of The Women's Roles Nominated For Emmy Awards?
And The Oscar Nomination Goes To...
Mad Men, 30 Rock Lead Emmy Nominations