WITH THANKS TO MARC BERMAN’S PROGRAMMING INSIDER:

TV Tidbits:
Notes of Interest

Lauren Graham to Headline ABC Sitcom:
Former Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham will star in an untitled ABC comedy about a self-help guru who teaches women how to live a stress-free life but does not follow her own advice. This will actually be Graham’s fifth sitcom, with appearances to-date in short-live half hours Conrad Bloom (NBC, 1988), Good Company (CBS, 1996), Townies (ABC, 1996) and M.Y.O.B. (NBC, 2000).

The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards…And the Nominations Are…:
HBO led the television pack of the just announced Golden Globe Award nominations, with 22, including five for freshman drama In Treatment, and multiple nods for the recently introduced True Blood, Entourage and made-for movies Recount and Bernard and Doris. Next was Showtime, with eight, including sitcoms Californication and Weeds; dramas Dexter and The Tudors; and made-for An American Crime. AMC’s Mad Men was also on the ballot with three nominations, including Best Television Series - Drama, and Jon Hamm and January Jones in the lead acting categories.

NBC topped the broadcast networks with six nominations, including sitcoms 30 Rock and The Office, and prior winner Mariska Hargitay of Law & Order: SVU for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama. ABC received five nominations, including Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths for Sunday drama Brothers & Sisters. Fox had three (for House and 24: Redemption), while CBS’ sole nomination was for How I Met Your Mother’s Neil Patrick Harris as Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television. The CW was not recognized.

Notably missing from the ballot was ABC critic darling Pushing Daisies, and the majority of top-rated network shows, including CBS’ CSI, NCIS and The Mentalist; and Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy on ABC.

The 66th Annual Golden Awards will be presented live on NBC on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009 at 8 p.m. ET.

Best Television Series - Drama:
Dexter (Showtime)
House (Fox)
In Treatment (HBO)
Mad Men (AMC)
True Blood (HBO)

Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical:
30 Rock (NBC)
Californication (Showtime)
Entourage (HBO)
The Office (NBC)
Weeds (Showtime)

Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made-For Television:
A Raisin in the Sun (ABC)
Bernard and Doris (HBO)
Cranford (PBS)
John Adams (HBO)
Recount (HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama:
Sally Field (Brothers & Sisters, ABC)
Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU, NBC)
January Jones (Mad Men, AMC)
Anna Paquin (True Blood, HBO)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer, TNT)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama:
Gabriel Byrne (In Treatment, HBO)
Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Showtime)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men, AMC)
Hugh Laurie (House, Fox)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors, Showtime)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy or Musical:
Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?, ABC)
America Ferrera (Ugly Betty, ABC)
Tina Fey (30 Rock, NBC)
Debra Messing (The Starter Wife, USA)
Mary Louise Parker (Weeds, Showtime)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy or Musical:
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, NBC)
Steve Carell (The Office, NBC)
Kevin Connolly (Entourage, HBO)
David Duchovny (Californication, Showtime)
Tony Shalhoub (Monk, USA)Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:
Judi Dench (Cranford, PBS)
Catherine Keener (An American Crime, Showtime)
Laura Linney (John Adams, HBO)
Shirley MacLaine (Coco Chanel, Lifetime)
Susan Sarandon (Bernard and Doris, HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:
Ralph Fiennes (Bernard and Doris, HBO)
Paul Giamatti (John Adams, HBO)
Kevin Spacey (Recount, HBO)
Kiefer Sutherland (24: Redemption, Fox)
Tom Wilkinson (Recount, HBO)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:
Eileen Atkins (Cranford, PBS)
Laura Dern (Recount, HBO)
Melissa George (In Treatment, HBO)
Rachel Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters, ABC)
Dianne Wiest (In Treatment, HBO)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series of Motion Picture Made for Television:
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, CBS)
Denis Leary (Recount, HBO)
Jeremy Piven (Entourage, HBO)
Blair Underwood (In Treatment, HBO)
Tom Wilkinson (John Adams, HBO)