Since this is the first year that the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences is trying the new nomination system, it's understandable that it wants to keep results under wraps. Some egos may be bruised if certain Hollywood heavyweights see that they haven't made the lists. Or would they really be miffed? The Envelope asked some TV industry leaders from networks, PR agencies and the media what they think. We even asked a few actors who, we believe, made the cut-off. A few declined to comment, but all others told us that they support the idea of releasing info about who the Emmy finalists are. We found no one who objects.

RICHARD LICATA, EVP CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS, SHOWTIME: "After all the DVD packaging, and all of the advertising strategies, and all of the Emmy prognostication by journalists and industry wags it would be somewhat of a relief to know who the 10 finalist are--especially with the Academy's new voting policy promising to breathe important new life into the Emmy derby. Let's share the good news. God knows we wait long enough to hear it."

STAN ROSENFELD, CELEBRITY PUBLICIST: "I'm in agreement with the others. I think the names should be released, because on Aug. 27, only one name is read anyway."

RAY RICHMOND, EMMY WRITER, HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: "Without doubt the TV Academy should be releasing the names of the finalists if only because there is no explainable reason not to. Why is this considered confidential information? The only conclusion is that ATAS has something to hide. This is also massively disrespectful of the process and contemptuous of those who gave a weekend of their time to serve as judges. Failing to release the names cements the impression that the pros who lent their expertise over the weekend participated in something furtive and almost shameful rather than entirely noble. If these performers and producers at least knew they were short-list finalists, it would conceivably take some of the sting out of failing to be recognized in the end. At the same time, it steals none of the suspense/thunder from the July 6 nominations announcement itself. If anything, it helps build greater momentum."

QUENTIN SCHAFFER, SENIOR VP, CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS, HBO: "Yes, we would be in favor of releasing the names of series and stars who made the list of finalists as it's the first step of recognition in the nomination process and seems only fair that they be accorded some attention."

JOHN SOLBERG, SENIOR VP, PUBLIC RELATIONS, FX NETWORKS: "Yes, I think the TV academy should reveal who made the lists of finalists. Actually, I think it would be great to see how many votes everybody got -- just like you can see in political elections, the Heisman Trophy and the Sy Young Awards. I've always been dying to know how 'Nip/Tuck' did its first two years on the air. Did it ALMOST make it into the top 5 for best drama series? Or did it land at number 12? Or further back? Whatever the truth is, I can take it."

MIKE AUSIELLO, SENIOR EDITOR, TV GUIDE.COM: "The TV Academy releases the pre-noms in the Daytime Emmy race, so I see no reason not to make the Primetime semi-finalists available as well. At the very least, they should tell us if Lauren Graham made the top 10, 'cause that's all anyone really cares about."

Leave it to a bunch of kudos-crazed internutters at The Envelope to try to trump Hollywood awards by issuing their own! Posters here have been doing so for years — that is, long before the Los Angeles Times acquired our old GoldDerby.com and folded it into TheEnvelope.com, which launched last November. Thus these prizes are still called the GoldDerby Awards. Nominees for our TV prizes have just been announced — see below. How do you think they stack up against the Golden Globes, SAG kudos and awards bestowed by the Television Critics of America? Click on the "Comments" link below and pipe in — or CLICK HERE to join our posters in the forums where much excitement bubbles.

Voting is organized by three forum moderators: Chris Beachum ("Boomer"), Andrew Pickett ("andrew") and Robert Licuria ("Xanadu"). All forum posters will be invited to pick winners July 1-25. "Winners from 2005 included 'Arrested Development,' Lauren Graham, Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter and Peter Boyle in the comedy categories and 'Lost,' Kristen Bell, Kiefer Sutherland, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Terry O'Quinn in the drama categories," notes Beachum.

COMEDY SERIES:
Arrested Development (Fox)
Desperate Housewives (ABC)
Gilmore Girls (WB)
The Office (NBC)
Scrubs (NBC)

COMEDY LEAD ACTRESS:
Marcia Cross as Bree Van De Kamp on Desperate Housewives
Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls
Lisa Kudrow as Valerie Cherish on The Comeback
Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis on Desperate Housewives
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin on Weeds

COMEDY LEAD ACTOR:
Jason Bateman as Michael Bluth on Arrested Development
Zach Braff as Dr. John (J.D.) Dorian on Scrubs
Steve Carell as Michael Scott on The Office
Jason Lee as Earl Hickey on My Name is Earl
Eric McCormack as Will Truman on Will and Grace

Click Here to Continue Reading Nominees' List!

Photo: Our forum posters give 11 nominations to "The Office," including bids for best comedy series, lead actor (Steve Carell), supporting actor (John Krasinski, Rainn Wilson) and supporting actress (Jenna Fischer). "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy" tied for second place with 8 bids.
(NBC)

The TV academy's awards chief John Leverence believes that the Emmy's new nomination process is a success. While he disagrees with those of us who say that the list of top 10 finalists for best comedy and drama series and top 15 vote-getters for best lead actor and actress should be made public, he dangles fascinating clues about what landed on those lists before judging panels narrowed down contenders to the final nominees that will be announced next Thursday, July 6.

The goal of the new voting process is to give programs on smaller, oft-snubbed networks a better chance to be weighed equally against shows on ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and HBO after the 14,000 members of the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences vote using a popular ballot. We asked John how many of these networks had their programs viewed during the panels held last weekend at the TV academy's offices in North Hollywood: FX, UPN, WB, TNT, USA, Sci-Fi and Showtime. He replied, "Candidates from all but one of the networks you cited were screened at the Blue Ribbon Panels. Of the 11 categories screened, they are represented — in the majority of them with multiple candidates — in 8 categories, i.e., 75 percent of the winners in these 8 categories could be from the networks (except one) that you cited."

The 11 categories included best comedy and drama, lead actor/actress in a series plus special effects, cinematography and variety performance. If you wish to guess how the smaller networks were represented in those races, join the dish in our forums — CLICK HERE!

Note to John: Click the above link at your own peril. Our greedy forum Envelopers are, of course, yelping for more clues!

Photo: A private joke for John Leverence. The rest of you — butt out!
(Harvard Library)

Apparently, the new COO of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is not dodging or snubbing us, after all. Alan Perris says he didn't get my request to interview him last week, which is obviously true — I can see now what happened. Because I've never met Perris, I didn't want to be brash and call his office directly, so I put in a formal request for an interview via an ATAS press rep. Turns out that rep was dashing off to France and tried to get a colleague to follow up, but a mix-up occurred and ominous silence ensued at a time when tough Emmy questions needed answers.

So I assumed the worst. Dark Emmy clouds loomed overhead (and still do), after all. While the academy was finally trying something drastic to fix its nominations process, it was suddenly, strangely employing unprecedented secrecy. Why? Historically, ATAS has always been open and accommodating. Heck, years ago, before cheap DVD technology, the academy even spent thousands of dollars per year to give journalists dupes of VHS tapes that judging panels used to pick Emmy winners. Of course, that inevitably invited criticism from TV critics displeased with award results, but ATAS never flinched, never pulled back. Now, all of a sudden, it won't even let us know what programs are being viewed by its panels, which are choosing nominees for the first time ever in top categories (previously, the panels just picked winners — up until the year 2000 when at-home voting was introduced — are you confused yet?).

This spooky turn of events occurred just months after a new leader appeared on the academy throne and one who, apparently, refused to explain what's going on. So I thought it was appropriate to ask Perris the tough questions here at The Envelope and hope they'd reach him at last. They did.

"I'm not hiding!" he said cheerfully when he telephoned on Monday. "I never got your request for an interview. I'm terribly sorry." I became just as sorry, too, when we figured out how my request got derailed. Given that snafu, I was way too rough on him in this column afterward, regardless of how justified I felt at the time. I would like to apologize to him, publicly and most sincerely, for that.

Turns out Perris doesn't have an opinion of his own on the secret policy surrounding the new voting process. "I just got here eight weeks ago," he explained. "The policy had already been decided before I got here. Right now I'm merely an observer learning the ropes. Give me some time and I'm sure I'll develop strong opinions, too, once we see how this new process plays out. We're all hoping to achieve the same thing — a more equitable playing field for the networks, all of them, including FX, TNT and ABC."

Well said, Alan Perris! That sounds like the right answer to me. Good luck on the job ahead!

Photo: TV academy's new COO Alan Perris has worked in program development at Sony, Telepictures (Warner Bros.), Hallmark Channel and elsewhere. Among the programs he helped to launch: "The Ricki Lake Show," "Dragon Tales," "Judge Mathis" and "Street Smarts."
(ATAS)

Gossipmeisters in our forums are serving up some hot Emmy dish about what voters may have seen this weekend during judging panels conducted at the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences in North Hollywood. See lists below, but beware: the info is just internet gossip, not verified, pure heresay, but fascinating nonetheless, if true. Here, allegedly, are the 10 finalists for best comedy series and 8 of the 10 up for best drama. Where the episode entry is reported, it's noted, too.

Considering the suspicion of bloc voting being leveled against the TV academy in the blog item below, there's not a lot of great news so far in terms of programs that are not on broadcast TV or HBO. Only one made the comedy lineup: "Weeds" (Showtime). Only one is on the drama list at this (incomplete) point: "Rescue Me" (FX). Both were widely expected to make the cut.

Never before in TV academy history have its leaders tried to hide episode information about what voters see when judging the primetime races. Its bizarre, unprecedented secret policy this year has triggered an outcry in the TV industry and now, apparently, has resulted in a rebellion by alleged academy members who are determined to share info with the public in the spirit of the organization serving as a true "academic" organization that encourages the free exchange of ideas and debate. Just as this TV academy always did — nobly and heroically — in its past.

More updated info (or shall we say "gossip"?) will be posted soon, including who may have made the lineups for best actor and actress. Meantime, new dish is being posted on our message boards every minute — CLICK HERE!

TOP 10 BEST COMEDY SERIES FINALISTS?
"Arrested Development"
"Curb Your Enthusiasm"
"Desperate Housewives"
"Entourage" ("Exodus")
"My Name Is Earl"
"The Office" ("Booze Cruise")
"Scrubs" ("My Way Home")
"Two and a Half Men" (“Santa’s Village of the Damned”)
"Will & Grace" ("The Finale")
"Weeds" ("You Can't Miss the Bear")

Not Listed: "The Comeback," "Everybody Hates Chris," "Extras," "Gilmore Girls," "How I Met Your Mother," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Monk," "New Adventures of Old Christine"

TOP 10 BEST DRAMA SERIES FINALISTS?
"Big Love"
"Boston Legal"
"Grey's Anatomy" ("It's the End of the World")
"House" ("Autopsy")
"Lost" ("Man of Science, Man of Faith")
"Rescue Me" ("Justice")
"The Sopranos" ("Members Only")
"The West Wing" ("Election Day: Part 2")
(2 MORE SERIES YET TO BE NAMED)

To follow the scuttlebutt in our forums where "EA" is wowing Envelopers with dazzling dish — CLICK HERE!

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Envelope does not endorse or encourage the breaking of any vow of confidentiality that academy members may have been asked to take prior to voting. We report this information as speculative internet gossip contributed by anonymous posters who may have no access to actual vote information. Quite frankly, it's wise not to believe that this info is accurate.

Sad news arrives today on the eve of Emmy voters attending judging panels, which will surely consider "Huff" for at least one top award category this weekend. Showtime just canceled that excellent show. The season finale airing this Sunday night will also be the series wrap-up.

Lucky for "Huff" Emmy judging panels have, historically, shown a consistent disregard for low Nielsens and even for the fact that a program is alive or dead. Lots of shows and stars have won Emmys after being axed prematurely. William Windom not only won best comedy actor for "My World and Welcome to It," but his nixed program won best comedy series. Other stars who've won for quickly canceled shows: James Earl Jones ("Gabriel's Fire"), Jonathan Winters ("Davis Rules"), Alex Rocco ("The Famous Teddy Z"), Michael Learned ("Nurse") and Ron Leibman ("Kaz").

This weekend Emmy voters will certainly be looking at "Huff" star Hank Azaria's episode submission for best actor in a drama series. He made the list of five nominees last year when a popular ballot was used. This year he only needs to be among the top 15 finalists in order to have his work screened by a jury of peers who'll decide the final five.

Don't write off his chances to make the cut again; Azaria's episode submission is a whopper: "A Cornfield Grows in L.A."

Azaria told The Envelope that "it's a real emotional, wild episode. I think it's my fanciest acting." (To read our full interview — click here!) How modest. Quite possibly it's the finest acting of Azaria's esteemed, Emmy-winning career.

That's right. Azaria already has four Emmys: one for portraying writer Mitch Albom in TV film "Tuesdays with Morrie" plus three juried Emmys for voicing Moe, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy and other wackos on "The Simpsons."

Azaria might be most famous for performing comedy — including flamboyant roles in "Spamalot" on Broadway and in "The Birdcage" on film — but Emmy voters appreciate his drama chops, so he has a good chance to make the final five lineup for drama actor now.

In "A Cornfield Grows in L.A.," he is a doctor strenuously trying to cure thyself. Azaria is Huff, a psychiatrist who can't cope with his own neurosis or fix his broken relationships with wife, mom and son. So he approaches a colleague, Dr. Markova (Anjelica Huston), who believes she can conduct the equivalent of one year of therapy in just three to four hours if a patient takes a mind-altering drug. Desperate for help, Huff begs her to give him the risky treatment. Reluctantly, she agrees.

Azaria's big money scenes come when he arrives at Markova's home (which, crazily, boasts a cornfield in the front yard — thus the title of the episode) and bears his unhinged soul and heart to her as they squat before her fireplace. Smiling, he recalls the early days of his marriage: "I would get utterly blinded by the knowledge that I would be with Beth at the end of the day. We would literally melt into each other!"

Huff holds a rose to his face as if trying to recall those happy days when love once bloomed, but suddenly he's jolted by the realization of how thorny his marriage is now. As tears flood his lost eyes, he admits, "That has completely passed away."

The scene is such a powerhouse that certainly it will not pass away easily from the memory of Emmy voters as they ink their nomination ballots this weekend. Whether Azaria makes the cut or not will depend on how strong the performances are on the other 14 DVDs that judges will weigh in that race, too. Let's hope it will not depend at all on today's sad network news about the future fate of "Huff."

Photo: "It just feels like death," a tearful Huff (Azaria) tells his therapist about his failed marriage in "A Cornfield Grows in L.A.," an episode probably being evaluated this weekend by Emmy judges for the drama actor race.
(Showtime)

Our forums just moved to a new web server that gives us the capacity to do more amazing things ahead. Technically, the changeover is still occurring while we update all links and hookups, so please be patient.

Meantime, to access the new forums directly — click here!

Yes, the buzz is true: the new "Superman Returns" is really super, one of the best installments of the superb classic film series.

And the best line of dialog? Well, surely, it's the howler uttered by newspaper editor Perry White (Frank Langella) at a point in the story when the endangered world cheers the Man of Steel's triumphant comeback and Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) confesses embarrassment for having once won a Pulitzer Prize for writing an editorial titled "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."

"Oh, don't worry!" Perry pooh-poohs the whole thing. "The Pulitzer is just like the Oscar. Nobody remembers what you won for!"

Last night the audience at Grauman's Chinese Theater laughed uproariously at the line during a media screening taking place, curiously, at a Hollywood landmark that hosted the Academy Awards ceremony during another period of global crisis: World War II.

Photo: Like the 1978 version of "Superman" starring Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, the new "Superman Returns" succeeds spectacularly as a high-flying love story featuring Brandon Routh and Kate Bosworth. How will it do at the Oscars? The 1978 version lost all four of its nominations, including John Williams' notable bid for best score, which was defeated by Giorgio Moroder's less memorable music for "Midnight Express." However, Williams' original melodies now make an unforgettable, soaring return in "Returns."
(Warner Bros.)

Four of the five series cited below never received a single Emmy nomination, not even in a lowly tech category. One series did receive some nominations, but never won. Name it.

a.) "Dynasty"
b.) "The Brady Bunch"
c.) "Munsters"
d.) "My Favorite Martian"
e.) "Superman"

To see the answer, click here!

"I'd like to see Fox push Meryl Streep for supporting actress," says our forums poster Seanflynn after attending a screening of "The Devil Wears Prada." "I think she'd have a real chance of winning."

"The reviews for 'The Devil Wears Prada' have been (a) universally laudatory to Streep; and (b) all at least somewhat complimentary towards the film itself," adds SteveO.

"Well, if she does get a nom this year, its much more likely for this than 'Prairie,'" says dannyboy. "Though she was cute and fun in 'Prairie,' she (and the whole cast) didn't really have anything to do except have fun."

Here's what Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly has to say about Streep's bravura turn: "As legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland used to say in the era before daunting editor Anna Wintour, who inspired the character of terrifying editor Miranda Priestly, who, in the yummy, carb-lite fashion-world fantasy 'The Devil Wears Prada,' rules the fictitious magazine Runway like a magnificently cruel empress — well, as DV used to say, People Are Talking About . . . Meryl Streep.

"Streep is Priestly, and I mean that from the topmost swoop of her divine, leonine silver coif to the polished tip of her pointiest Manolo. As she throws her PETA-disapproved fur jackets around, she exudes fearsome power with every shriveling glance she tosses over the tops of her reading glasses, every despotic command she murmurs. Streep has noodled around with comedy before — air kisses are in order for her great silliness in the Lemony Snicket movie, and her hilarious ballbusting in the remake of 'The Manchurian Candidate.' But we haven't seen our Meryl like this until now, relishing the role as if it were the swellest Best of Everything achievement award a 13-time Oscar nominee could receive."

Join our forums discussion — click here!

"It's Streep who pops our flashbulbs," cheers Entertainment Weekly about the celluloid satire that rips the fashion biz to threads.
(20th Century Fox)