The Television Critics Association Announces 2012 TCA Award Nominees

TCA Program of the Year Nominees Represent Diverse Genres From Period Piece “Downton Abbey” and Fantasy Adventure “Game of Thrones” to Arresting Dramas “Breaking Bad,” “Homeland” and “Mad Men

Critics Nominate Stellar Personalities for Career Achievement Award, Including Dick Clark, Andy Griffith, David Letterman, Regis Philbin and William Shatner

The 28th Annual TCA Awards will be Presented on Saturday, July 28 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel

LOS ANGELES (June 7, 2012) – The Television Critics Association (TCA), a media organization with more than 200 professional TV critics and journalists from the United States and Canada, today announced nominations for its 2012 TCA Awards. The 2012 TCA Awards recognize outstanding television programming in the 2011-2012 season, honoring both actors and producers in a variety of categories including news and information, youth, reality, drama and comedy achievements.

The winners of the 28th Annual TCA Awards will be announced at the invitation-only presentation on Saturday, July 28, 2012, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, as part of the group’s bi-annual industry conference.

The nominations for current programming are spread across all four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — PBS, and 13 cable networks. HBO leads the way with eight nominations; AMC has six; NBC and PBS each have five; and CBS and FX each have four.

The nominees include a number of past winners, including Bryan Cranston, Jon Hamm, Jim Parsons and shows ranging from “Mad Men” to “Game of Thrones” and “The Daily Show” to “The Big Bang Theory.”

But there are also a number of first-time nominees, including “Homeland” and its star, Claire Danes, and “Girls” and its creator/star, Lena Dunham.

“Homeland” and “Girls” join “New Girl,” “Revenge” and “Smash” as nominees for Outstanding New Program.

“These nominees represent the highest quality that television had to offer in the past year,” said TCA President Candace Havens. “Our more than 200 members chose these people and programs as the best of the best.”

In addition to recognizing the year’s finest programming, the TCA Awards bestow a Heritage Award trophy to one long-standing program that has culturally or socially impacted society. This year, the TCA members have nominated some of TV’s most memorable series with NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” ABC’s “Lost,” NBC’s “Cheers,” NBC’s “Star Trek” and ABC’s “Twin Peaks” as nominees in this eminent category.

The organization also presents a Career Achievement Award to an individual who has influenced television through his work on the small screen. Nominees include TV host/producer Dick Clark (“American Bandstand”), late-night talk show host David Letterman (“Late Show with David Letterman”), actor William Shatner (“Star Trek”), actor Andy Griffith (“The Andy Griffith Show”) and TV host Regis Philbin (“Regis and Kelly”).

Below is the complete list of the 2012 Television Critics Association nominees.

Individual Achievement in Drama

  1. Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad,” AMC)
  2. Claire Danes (“Homeland,” Showtime)
  3. Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones,” HBO)
  4. Jon Hamm (“Mad Men,” AMC)
  5. Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story,” FX)

Individual Achievement in Comedy

  1. Louis C.K. (“Louie,” FX)
  2. Lena Dunham (“Girls,” HBO)
  3. Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” HBO)
  4. Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory,” CBS)
  5. Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation,” NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in News and Information

  1. “Anderson Cooper 360” (CNN)
  2. “The Daily Show” (Comedy Central)
  3. “Frontline” (PBS)
  4. “60 Minutes” (CBS)
  5. “The Rachel Maddow Show” (MSNBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming

  1. “The Amazing Race” (CBS)
  2. “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
  3. “The Glee Project” (Oxygen)
  4. “So You Think You Can Dance” (Fox)
  5. “The Voice” (NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Youth Programming

  1. “iCarly” (Nickelodeon)
  2. “Phineas and Ferb” (Disney)
  3. “Sesame Street” (PBS)
  4. “Switched at Birth” (ABC Family)
  5. “Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nick Jr.)

Outstanding New Program

  1. “Girls” (HBO)
  2. “Homeland” (Showtime)
  3. “New Girl” (Fox)
  4. “Revenge” (ABC)
  5. “Smash” (NBC)

Outstanding Achievement in Movies, Miniseries and Specials

  1. “Downton Abbey: Masterpiece” (PBS)
  2. “Game Change” (HBO)
  3. “Hatfields & McCoys” (History)
  4. “Hemingway & Gellhorn” (HBO)
  5. “Sherlock: Masterpiece” (PBS)

Outstanding Achievement in Drama

  1. “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
  2. “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
  3. “Homeland” (Showtime)
  4. “Justified” (FX)
  5. “Mad Men” (AMC)

Outstanding Achievement in Comedy

  1. “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
  2. “Community” (NBC)
  3. “Louie” (FX)
  4. “Modern Family” (ABC)
  5. “Parks and Recreation” (NBC)

Career Achievement Award

  1. Dick Clark
  2. Andy Griffith
  3. David Letterman
  4. Regis Philbin
  5. William Shatner

Heritage Award

  1. “Cheers” (NBC)
  2. “Lost” (ABC)
  3. “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
  4. “Star Trek” (NBC)
  5. “Twin Peaks” (ABC)

Program of the Year

  1. “Breaking Bad” (AMC)
  2. “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
  3. “Homeland” (Showtime)
  4. “Mad Men” (AMC)
  5. “Downton Abbey: Masterpiece” (PBS)

Contact: Cindy Ronzoni
310.880.1961/@cindyronzoni
[email protected]

ABOUT THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION

The Television Critics Association represents more than 200 journalists writing about television for print and online outlets in the United States and Canada. For 28 years the TCA has honored outstanding achievement in television and enduring contributions to the medium’s heritage through the TCA Awards. Membership in the Television Critics Association is open to full-time TV writers at newspapers, magazines, trade publications, news wire services, news syndicates, and text-based Internet news organizations. For additional information on the TCA, please visit www.tvcritics.org. The TCA is also represented on Facebook and Twitter. To follow the Summer TCA on twitter, tweets are represented with the hashtag #TCAs12.

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