‘Ugly Betty,’ ‘Dexter’ get TV Golden Globe nods

updated 4:41 p.m. ET Dec. 14, 2006

LOS ANGELES - “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera was floored, literally, and Michael C. Hall of “Dexter” was flying high after netting Golden Globe nominations Thursday.

“My phone rang and I don’t get very good telephone service in my house — I only get one bar of service on the floor of my bathroom, so I had to crouch down ... to hear what happened,” Ferrera said. “I was so excited and happy.”

Hall, whose Dexter is a crime-scene expert with a murderous streak, was soaring.

“I’m in New York getting ready to take a vacation to Ireland, so it’ll be nice to literally fly, because I’m already kind of flying,” he said.

Ferrera and Hall, stars of freshman series, weren’t the only newcomers on the TV block to catch the eye of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which gives the Golden Globes.

“Heroes,” about ordinary folks with superpowers, was nominated for best drama series honors, sharing the category with “24,” “Big Love,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost.”

Alec Baldwin of the comedy “30 Rock” and Sarah Paulson of “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” received acting nods for their new series, both inspired by “Saturday Night Live.”

But “Studio 60,” the high-profile drama created by Aaron Sorkin (“The West Wing”) that’s struggling in the ratings, failed to gain a best-series bid.

Stars Bradley Whitford and Matthew Perry also were snubbed for their “Studio 60” roles as producers of a late-night comedy show, although Perry was nominated as best actor in a TV movie or miniseries for “The Ron Clark Story.”

Also overlooked was James Gandolfini of HBO’s “The Sopranos,” although co-star Edie Falco received a bid. “The Wire,” HBO’s critically acclaimed inner-city drama that fails to grab Hollywood trophies, was bypassed, too.

“The Path to 9/11,” an ABC miniseries that ignited fierce protests over its depiction of the Clinton administration’s anti-terrorism policies, was ignored as well.

A Diet Coke toast
But “Broken Trail” made a big splash with three nominations, including acting nods for Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church and a best movie or miniseries bid. The Golden Globe nominations are AMC’s first.

Besides “Ugly Betty,” about an unchic young woman working at a glam fashion magazine, nominees in the category of best musical or comedy series were “Desperate Housewives,” “Entourage,” “The Office” and “Weeds.”

“I will probably toast my writing staff with Diet Coke and we’ll spend about 10 minutes talking about it and then we’ll just jump back into work,” said “Desperate Housewives” creator Marc Cherry. “You only get a couple seconds to enjoy the show-biz glow of it all before you have to get back to what they’re paying you for.”

Ferrera’s competition in the category of best actress in a musical or comedy includes Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman of “Desperate Housewives,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and Mary-Louise Parker, “Weeds.”

“That was the best 5:20 a.m. wake-up call I have ever had,” Louis-Dreyfus said after the early morning Globe announcement. “Now all I need is the gown, a spray tan and some Botox and I’ll be gold.”

Said Cross: “I really don’t know how to tell you how grateful I am, with a baby coming, a new husband and now a Golden Globe nomination. I’m very blessed.”

Actresses nominated for a drama series besides Falco were Patricia Arquette, “Medium”; Evangeline Lilly, “Lost”; Ellen Pompeo, “Grey’s Anatomy” and Kyra Sedgwick, “The Closer.”

Joining Hall as best drama series nominees were Patrick Dempsey, “Grey’s Anatomy”; Hugh Laurie, “House”; Bill Paxton, “Big Love”; Kiefer Sutherland, “24”.

In musical or comedy series category, the nominees besides Baldwin were Zach Braff, “Scrubs”; Steve Carell, “The Office”; Jason Lee, “My Name is Earl” and Tony Shalhoub, “Monk”.

The Golden Globe movie nods, also announced Thursday, are seen as a potential bellwether for the Academy Awards that follow. The Globe TV nominations, which come after the Emmy Awards, don’t carry the same forecasting potential but can raise the profile of a well-reviewed show in need of an audience.

HBO was the Golden Globes leader, with 14 nominations, while CBS managed only a single bid, for Louis-Dreyfus.

The Golden Globe ceremony is Jan. 15. The Oscars will be presented Feb. 25.

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