Which shows should get Golden Globe noms?

DRAMA SERIES
“Heroes”
“Lost”
“Deadwood”
“The Wire”
“Friday Night Lights”

Not that we’re HBO-centric, but it’s impossible to pick two better shows on the air this year than David Milch’s “Deadwood” and David Simon’s “The Wire.” That being said, both have been mostly ignored when award season rolls around, so expecting the Globes or Emmys to choose either for some well-earned hardware would be foolish indeed. “Lost” won for best drama last season and the quality is as good as ever. The split season is practical from a production standpoint but not from a fan’s perspective, which may hurt the show’s awards momentum. “Friday Night Lights” is a gem, but probably has a hard time registering with voters from foreign countries where football is non-existent. Then, of course, there’s “Heroes,” a real audience pleaser and bonafide ratings sensation in a season where hits have been awfully hard to find.

COMEDY SERIES
“30 Rock”
“The New Adventures of Old Christine”
”Ugly Betty”
“The Office”
“Entourage”

“Betty” knows how to turn heads — and TV remotes. “Ugly Betty” is the rare hourlong sitcom that was a hit from Day One and deserves the high praise it’s receiving. Watercooler buzz alone makes it a Globes nom and most likely winner. Yet it’s far from the funniest new show of the season. That honor belongs to NBC’s “30 Rock,” a Nielsen-challenged but often laugh-out-loud look at a “SNL”-type variety series. It may be one of the lowest-rated Thursday night programs in the history of the network, but it’s still a thousand times better than “Veronica’s Closet,” “Suddenly Susan” or any of those other lame comedies NBC put up during its Thursday night glory days. Thanks to a stellar cast, “Christine” is a weekly gem but Globes voters rarely acknowledge traditional studio-audience sitcoms. “Entourage” provides quality on a consistent basis, with skewers and jabs at Hollywood that are funny only because they’re so true.

Because of broadcast time constraints, the Globes have only two supporting categories that integrate series, miniseries and TV movies, all in one. It’s utterly ridiculous — an actor can be nominated for 10 minutes of work in an HBO dramatic movie and compete against someone who’s in 22 episodes of a comedy series. If they’re trying to acknowledge the best weekly work only, however, among those men who should have their name called include Masi Oka (“Heroes”), Gerald McRaney (“Deadwood”), Forest Whitaker (“The Shield”), Michael K. Williams (“The Wire”), Michael Emerson (“Lost”), William Fichtner (“Prison Break”) and Joseph Gannascoli (“The Sopranos”).

For the women, worthy nominations would include Elizabeth Mitchell (“Lost”), Hayden Panettiere (“Heroes”), Jamie Pressley (“My Name Is Earl”), Jean Smart (“24), Cobie Smulders (“How I Met Your Mother”) and Minka Kelly (“Friday Night Lights”).

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Variety. You can reach him at

MORE FROM TELEVISION

Television Section Front

‘Desperate’ Susan does time on chain gang Dobbs says CNN departure was ‘amicable’   Univision to make shows available on YouTube Ian McKellen rules in remake of ‘The Prisoner’ Ian McKellen on his new show and Shakespeare Owen reconnects with an old friend on ‘Grey’s’ Ask Ausiello: Answering 20 TV questions NYT: Few women have write stuff for late-night John King to replace Dobbs on CNN Reality TV section Television Section Front   Add Television headlines to your news reader: