PGA Awards TV: ‘Homeland’, ‘Downton Abbey’ And ‘Louie’ Enter Series Fray

PGA Awards‘ weird eligibility window on the TV side made for another field with an outdated feel, like the comedy series nomination for HBO‘s Curb Your Enthusiasm, which has not aired originals for the past year and a half. The PGA Awards follow the Primetime Emmys calendar despite taking place six months later, honoring programs that aired between June 1, 2011-May 31, 2012.

With that in mind, there were only minimal surprises in the series nominations this year, most notably the omission of HBO’s freshman comedies Girls and Veep and last year’s best drama series winner Boardwalk Empire. Modern Family has a shot at a third consecutive PGA Award with another best comedy series nom alongside returning nominees 30 Rock and The Big Bang Theory as well as FX‘s Louie. This extends Louie‘s momentum. After largely flying under the radar for the first two seasons, the series’ third season earned a first Emmy award in September, its first SAG and Golden Globe nominations last month and now a first PGA nomination. Missing the cut this time are last year’s nominees Parks & Recreation and Glee, though Glee co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk landed a TV movie/miniseries nom for the first season of American Horror Story.

On the drama side, just like it did at the Emmys, SAG Awards and Golden Globes, Downton Abbey made a successful transition from the longform to the series categories, landing a drama series nom after winning the TV movie/miniseries race last year. It will face AMC’s Breaking Bad and Mad Men, whose streak of three consecutive PGA Awards was snapped by Boardwalk Empire last year, HBO’s Game Of Thrones as well as Showtime’s Homeland, nominated for its freshman season that won it multiple Emmy Awards, including drama series. There was no representative of commercial broadcast TV in the category as last year’s nominee The Good Wife didn’t make the cut this time, and neither did Showtime’s Dexter.

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