Freshmen Series Top TCA Nominations. PEACOCK FANS 13 Nominations

June 5, 2007 Los Angeles, CA — The Television Critics Association today unveiled its 2007 TCA Award nominations.

Once again, NBC leads the list with 13 nominations on the strength of its strong freshmen series, including, “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights” and “Heroes,” which garnered 12 nominations total. Third-year comedy “The Office” received the other nod.

Other newcomers also received recognition. ABC’s “Ugly Betty” received three nominations while Showtime’s “Dexter” netted a pair. ABC Family saw success in children’s programming with their series “Lincoln Heights” and “Kyle XY.”

HBO programs received nine notices overall. Veteran series “The Sopranos” and “The Wire” received nominations in the dramatic categories while the Spike Lee documentary “When the Levees Broke” secured three nominations.

The 23rd annual TCA Awards honor the finest work of the 2006-07 season as selected by the association’s 200-plus member critics and journalists. The winners will be announced at a July 21st ceremony at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Past winners up for honors this year include Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”), Hugh Laurie (“House”), NBC’s “The Office,” Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” HBO’s “The Sopranos,” ABC’s “Lost” and Nickelodeon’s “Nick News.”

CBS has two series, “M*A*S*H” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” nominated for a TCA Heritage Award, which recognizes a long-standing program that made a lasting cultural or social impact. Also nominated in this category is “Sesame Street” (PBS), “Roots” (ABC) and “The Sopranos” (HBO).

The TCA also voted for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s programming with Nickelodeon series receiving three of the five nominations for “Dora the Explorer,” “Nick News” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Disney Channel received a nod for their new series “Johnny and the Sprites.”

Below is a complete list of this year’s TCA Award nominations. Please note, career achievement nominees are not listed, but a winner in that category will be chosen by TCA members.

PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

“American Idol” (Fox)
“Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
“Heroes” (NBC)
“Planet Earth” (Discovery)
“The Wire” (HBO)
“When the Levees Broke” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

“30 Rock” (NBC)
“The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
“Entourage” (HBO)
“The Office” (NBC)
“Ugly Betty” (ABC)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

“Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
“Heroes” (NBC)
“Lost” (ABC)
“The Sopranos” (HBO)
“The Wire” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT MOVIES, MINI-SERIES AND SPECIALS

“Broken Trail” (AMC)
“Planet Earth” (Discovery)
“Prime Suspect” (PBS)
“The State Within” (BBC America)
“When the Levees Broke” (HBO)

OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM OF THE YEAR

“30 Rock” (NBC)
“Dexter” (Showtime)
“Friday Night Lights” (NBC)
“Heroes” (NBC)
“Ugly Betty” (ABC)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY

Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”)
Stephen Colbert (“The Colbert Report”)
America Ferrera (“Ugly Betty”)
Tina Fey (“30 Rock”)
Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show”)

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA

Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”)
Kyle Chandler (“Friday Night Lights”)
Michael C. Hall (“Dexter”)
Hugh Laurie (“House”)
Helen Mirren (“Prime Suspect”)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN CHILDREN’S PROGRAMMING

“Dora the Explorer” (Nickelodeon)
“Johnny and the Sprites” (The Disney Channel)
“Kyle XY” (ABC Family)
“Lincoln Heights” (ABC Family)
“SpongeBob Squarepants” (Nickelodeon)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS & INFORMATION

“Baghdad ER” (HBO)
“Bill Moyers Journal” (PBS)
“Galapagos” (National Geographic)
“Planet Earth” (Discovery)
“When the Levees Broke” (HBO)

HERITAGE AWARD

“M*A*S*H” (CBS)
“Roots” (ABC)
“Sesame Street” (PBS)
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (CBS)
“The Sopranos” (HBO)