2011 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

It’s good to be a television fan.

Just looking at the nominations (never mind the great stuff they missed) confirms to me how much better tv has become creatively as opposed to film.

Mad Men leads with 19 nominations, followed by 18 for Boardwalk Empire, 17 for Modern Family, 16 for Saturday Night Live and 13 each for 30 Rock and Game of Thrones.

The 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sunday, September 18 with nominee Jane Lynch hosting.

Check out the nominations after the jump (for a complete listing of nominees including writers and directors, head to the Emmy’s official site.)

Comedy Series

• The Big Bang Theory
• Glee
• Modern Family
• The Office
• Parks and Recreation
• 30 Rock

Drama Series

• Boardwalk Empire
• Dexter
• Friday Night Lights
• Game of Thrones
• The Good Wife
• Mad Men

Lead Actress in a Comedy

• Laura Linney, The Big C
• Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
• Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
• Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly
• Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope
• Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Lead Actor in a Comedy

• Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
• Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Steve Carell, The Office
• Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory
• Louis C.K., Louie
• Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Lead Actor in a Drama

• Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
• Michael C. Hall, Dexter
• Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
• Jon Hamm, Mad Men
• Hugh Laurie, House
• Timothy Olyphant, Justified

Lead Actress in a Drama

• Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
• Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights
• Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU
• Mireille Enos, The Killing
• Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
• Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

• Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
• Chris Colfer, Glee
• Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family
• Ed O’Neill, Modern Family
• Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family
• Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Supporting Actor in a Drama

• John Slattery, Mad Men
• Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age
• Walton Goggins, Justified
• Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
• Josh Charles, The Good Wife
• Alan Cumming, The Good Wife

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

• Jane Lynch, Glee
• Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
• Julie Bowen, Modern Family
• Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
• Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
• Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Supporting Actress in a Drama

• Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire
• Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
• Michelle Forbes, The Killing
• Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife
• Margo Martindale, Justified

Mini-series or Made-for-Television Movie

• Cinema Verite
• Downton Abbey
• The Kennedys
• Mildred Pierce
• The Pillars Of The Earth
• Too Big To Fail

Variety, Music or Comedy Series

• The Colbert Report
• Conan
• The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
• Late Night With Jimmy Fallon
• Real Time With Bill Maher
• Saturday Night Live

Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or movie

• Edgar Ramirez, Carlos
• Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
• Barry Pepper, The Kennedys
• Idris Elba, Luther
• Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
• William Hurt, Too Big To Fail

Lead Actress in a Mini-Series or movie

• Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
• Elizabeth McGovern, Downton Abbey
• Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce
• Taraji P. Henson, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story
• Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs

Reality Program

• Antiques Roadshow
• Deadliest Catch
• Hoarders
• Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List
• MythBusters
• Undercover Boss

Reality Competition

• The Amazing Race
• American Idol
• Dancing With The Stars
• Project Runway
• So You Think You Can Dance
• Top Chef

Host of a Reality Program or Competition

• Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race
• Ryan Seacrest, American Idol
• Tom Bergeron, Dancing With The Stars
• Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can
• Jeff Probst, Survivor