Four Subplots To Look For At Tomorrow's Emmy Announcements

By the time you've taken your first sips of Red Bull-sweetened coffee tomorrow morning, Hollywood will be abuzz with talk of who has or hasn't been recognized with an Emmy nomination. The results would already have been read aloud by Grey's Anatomy's Chandra Wilson and The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons at a press conference held shortly after dawn -- just in time for the news to make the morning talk show rounds, whereupon Today's Ann Curry will no doubt marvel at all the "large, big, powerful Jews" recognized by the TV Academy for their sitcom-writing achievements.

To prepare you for the triumphs and injustices to come, we've compiled this briefing of subplots and suspects to keep an eye on.

1. New Rules Mean You May Have Seen These Shows

Awards shows are in trouble -- that's no secret. As ADD-addled audiences continue to erode, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences realizes this year's ceremony -- airing on CBS on Sept. 20, from L.A.'s Nokia Theatre -- could be their last chance to convince networks their shindig is worth televising before being bumped to the basic cable ghetto, where ugly turf-war shoot-outs could result in tragedy for the cast of Two and a Half Men. As a result, the "blue-ribbon" voting procedures that saw a select few singling out little-watched, critically-acclaimed series like Breaking Bad in recent years has been replaced by a return to voting by the entire Academy membership. To balance it out, they've added a sixth nomination to every major category. Bottom line: Shows that actually get ratings are bound to have a better year. Big Bang Theory could easily pull a Best Comedy Series nomination and Best Actor in a Comedy Series nomination (it's not for nothing that Parsons was paired with triple-nominee Wilson), and How I Met Your Mother might finally crack the shortlist.

2. Will Kathy Griffin Be Telling Jon & Kate to "Suck It?"

Best Reality Program is always something of a toss-up, but if one thing's become a sure bet, it's that two-time-winner Kathy Griffin's Bravo reality show My Life on the D-List will be in the running. If for nothing else, they love seeing her toting around that brass weapon the following season -- free publicity! (And they milk some great headlines out of whatever she says at the Creative Arts Emmys, which she'll be hosting again this year.) But the popular voting rules mean tabloid obsession Jon & Kate Plus 8 could easily swing a spot held by shows like Intervention and Dirty Jobs in the past. Griffin vs. Gosselin is exactly the kind of bout this show needs. Count on it.

3. Watch Out, Mad Men: True Blood Wants Your Women

Millions of years ago, the ferocious Gandolfini Rex ruled over all others, its tiny, hairy forearms laying limp and useless as it devoured slower-running nominees in its powerful mandibles -- but then the HBOnisaurs eventually died out. (OK, enough with this motif.) The point is, True Blood may not be a great show, but it's something of a buzzy show, fans greedily tuning in for every fang and frosting orgy. Anna Paquin's a lock for Lead Actress Drama, stealing one space available to Mad Men's calendar girl, January Jones. But might it even squeeze in for a Drama Series slot?

4. Sorry, Southland

We're still trying to make sense of why NBC stuck its most promising new drama (not that Knight Rider and Kings gave it much competition, but still) in the Friday slot this fall, as if they want to see it fail. But expect that same defeatism to extend to its showing tomorrow. Cops Shawn Hatosy -- as good-natured in real life as he is on the show -- and rugged gay enforcer Michael Cudlitz both deserve Supporting Actor nods that will likely end up going to bigger name vets like William Hurt (for Damages) and John Mahoney (for In Treatment's panic-attacky corporate bigwig). Let's hope it makes it another season to finally earn its due.