  Jon Hamm earned one of Mad Men's 16 Emmy nominations yesterday.
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad world.
That's 16, count 'em, 16 Emmy Award nominations for the most talked-about TV show of the past year, Mad Men.
But with that much Madness, there's bound to be Damages.
Both Mad Men, which originates on AMC in the United States, and Damages, which originates on FX, made history yesterday by becoming the first American basic-cable series to earn Emmy nominations in the outstanding-drama category.
In Canada, that would be the equivalent of an original series on, say, Bravo or Showcase getting nominated in the marquee category against big-network fare.
U.S. Cable shows such as HBO's The Sopranos obviously earned tons of Emmy nods in previous years, but that counts as "premium cable" in the U.S. -- kind of like The Movie Network and Movie Central in Canada.
"It's phenomenal," said Jon Hamm, the lead actor in Mad Men, when asked during the Television Critics Association tour about the show's critical success. Hamm also received a personal Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actor in a drama.
"It's a wonderful experience, but the sort of swirl that happens around the show kind of exists outside the show," Hamm added.
"I think I speak for everybody when I say, it remains fun to go to work."
How could it not be fun when you're starring in a show that is set -- meticulously so -- in the early 1960s?
"To me, there's really before and after the '50s," said Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner, describing how history breaks down for him. "It was a golden age for the United States.
"The creative process is mysterious. But I had an obsession."
Speaking of obsessions, Damages is a legal thriller that stars Glenn Close as a defence attorney who is obsessed -- really, really obsessed -- with winning.
"For me it's a consummate creative experience," said Close, who also earned an outstanding-lead-actress nomination for her portrayal of Patty Hewes.
The first season of Mad Men presently is airing on CTV. The second season begins July 27 on AMC, and will air on CTV's A-channel affiliates this fall. The second season of Damages will air early in 2009 on Showcase in Canada.
The overall leader in Emmy nominations was the HBO mini-series John Adams, with 23. To be numerically fair, there's less competition in the mini-series/movies categories. The HBO made-for-TV movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee benefited from the same phenomenon last year, when it led the entire Emmy field with 17 nominations (it won six).
Other nominees in the outstanding-drama category, besides Mad Men and Damages, were Dexter, House, Lost and Boston Legal.
Dexter is great, and House and Lost both bounced back last season, but we still can't fathom the Emmy folks' continued fascination with the good-but-not-great Boston Legal.
Some observers thought HBO's The Wire, which ended its five-season run earlier this year, might finally get some Emmy love as kind of an outstanding-drama lifetime-achievement award, but no such luck.
Nominees for outstanding comedy series were 30 Rock, The Office, Two and a Half Men, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage. 30 Rock won the category last year and this year it collected an impressive 17 nominations overall, the second-most of any show, behind John Adams.
Nominations in individual categories that we particularly were glad to see: Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey for 30 Rock; Steve Carell and Rainn Wilson for The Office; Paul Giamatti for John Adams; Christina Applegate for Samantha Who?; Mary-Louise Parker for Weeds; Ted Danson for Damages; Vanessa Williams for Ugly Betty; Laura Dern for Recount; and Amy Poehler for her sketch work on Saturday Night Live.
The 60th Emmy Awards ceremony takes place Sept. 21.
CBC is one of several international broadcasters who have a hand in the production of The Tudors, which received two Emmy nominations, for casting and costume.
THE EMMY NOMINATIONS
Nominees in major categories for the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which were announced yesterday by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:
Drama Series
* Boston Legal, ABC
* Damages, FX
* Dexter, Showtime
* House, Fox
* Lost, ABC
* Mad Men, AMC
Comedy Series
* Curb Your Enthusiasm, HBO
* Entourage, HBO
* The Office, NBC
* 30 Rock, NBC
* Two and a Half Men, CBS
Miniseries
* The Andromeda Strain, A&E
* Cranford (Masterpiece Theatre), PBS
* John Adams, HBO
* Tin Man, Sci Fi Channel
Made-for-TV Movie
* Bernard and Doris, HBO
* Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale, HBO
* The Memory Keeper's Daughter, Lifetime
* A Raisin in the Sun, ABC
* Recount, HBO
Actor, Drama Series
* James Spader, Boston Legal, ABC
* Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad, AMC
* Michael C. Hall, Dexter, Showtime
* Hugh Laurie, House, Fox
* Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment, HBO
* Jon Hamm, Mad Men, AMC
Actress, Drama Series
* Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters, ABC
* Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer, TNT
* Glenn Close, Damages, FX
* Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NBC
* Holly Hunter, Saving Grace, TNT
Supporting Actor, Drama Series
* William Shatner, Boston Legal, ABC
* Ted Danson, Damages, FX
* Zeljko Ivanek, Damages, FX
* Michael Emerson, Lost, ABC
* John Slattery, Mad Men, AMC
Supporting Actress, Drama Series
* Candice Bergen, Boston Legal, ABC
* Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters, ABC
* Chandra Wilson, Grey's Anatomy, ABC
* Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy, ABC
* Dianne Wiest, In Treatment, HBO
Actor, Comedy Series
* Tony Shalhoub, Monk, USA
* Steve Carell, The Office, NBC
* Lee Pace, Pushing Daisies, ABC
* Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock, NBC
* Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men, CBS
Actress, Comedy Series
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine, CBS
* Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?, ABC
* Tina Fey, 30 Rock, NBC
* America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, ABC
* Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds, Showtime
The full Emmy nomination list is at http://www.emmys.tv/
