Shout out to The Hollywood Reporter for pointing us to this CBS promo (how very edgy for the network!) for How I Met Your Mother and the Frosty the Snowman holiday specials. The clip is a combo of HIMYM‘s Barney (Neil Patrick Harris), putting his bro code ways (and dialogue) into the Frosty cartoon:

The clip reminds me of another great holiday ‘toon spoof: The Scrubs take on A Charlie Brown Christmas. Of all the Charlie Brown types in primetime, J.D. (Zach Braff) is the Charlie Browniest, and Dr. Cox’s (John C. McGinley) spin on Linus’ meaning of Christmas speech/rant is perfection:

Any other holiday cartoon spoofs floating around the Web?

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• Tags: Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown Christmas spoof, Frosty the Snowman, Frosty the Snowman spoof, Neil Patrick Harris, NPH, Scrubs, Scrubs Charlie Brown Christmas

All the tube news that’s fit to surf …

– It’s a very NPH Christmas: Neil Patrick Harris will provide voicework for CBS’ new animated holiday special Yes, Virginia, the story of Virginia O’Hanlon, of “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” lore. NPH will provide the voice of Virginia’s dad in the ‘toon, which premieres Dec. 11.

– Reruns of Curb Your Enthusiasm, including the current (and best, I’d argue) seventh season, will begin airing on the TV Guide network in February 2010, and then on TV Land in 2013. Some creative editing, a la Sex and the City, will be necessary for some storylines, of course, like last night’s “neck injury” bit.

– There is clearly so much more to this story: Taylor Jacobson, whose uber-moodiness has been on full display on The Rachel Zoe Show, has reportedly been fired from Zoe’s company and show.

– Among the CBS shows that will become videogames: Ghost Whisperer, Criminal Minds and The Amazing Race.

– Don’t forget to set your DVRs to record tomorrow’s very special episode of Sesame Street, which kicks off the show’s 40th anniversary.

– John Mayer is the latest musician to perform a “Live on Letterman” Webcast concert. The performance will unfold live from the Ed Sullivan Theater on Nov. 19, at CBS.com, Last.fm, mp3.com, TV.com, etonline.com and theinsider.com, two days after Mayer’s latest CD, “Battle Studies,” is released.

– Wanda Sykes made an impressive ratings debut with her new Fox Saturday night talk show.

– March 22, 2010: The season two premiere date for Showtime’s Nurse Jackie.

– Also coming to Showtime: The TV premiere of the vamp-y teen flick Twilight, on Jan. 23.

– J.J. Abrams may direct the pilot for his latest series, a Mr. & Mrs. Smith-meets-The Bourne Identity-ish spy thriller Undercover.

– The Jackson family, sadly, isn’t going away; they’re starring in the A&E reality series The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, premiering on Dec. 13.

– Sadly for Numb3rs fans, that show is likely going away, as the current sixth season of CBS’s Friday night drama is likely its last.

– And tonight in primetime: Lincoln Heights wraps its fourth season on ABC Family (8PM ET); the much-ballyhooed threesome happens on Gossip Girl (9PM, The CW); Laurence Fishburne guests on CSI: Miami (10PM, CBS), kicking off a week of crossover storylines that continue on CSI: NY on Wednesday and CSI on Thursday; George Lopez‘s new nightly talk show, Lopez Tonight, premieres on TBS and TNT (11PM).

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• Tags: J.J. Abrams Undercover, Jacksons A&E reality show, Neil Patrick Harris, Numb3rs canceled, Sesame Street 40th anniversary

Neil Patrick Harris hosting, great presenters like Michael J. Fox, Tina Fey, Jon Hamm, Justin Timberlake, Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick (presenting together), Ricky Gervais and Kiefer Sutherland … this year’s Emmy telecast (Sunday, 8PM ET, CBS) has the potential to be the best one in recent years. Too bad networks like AMC and HBO decided to go ahead and roll out new episodes of Mad Men and Curb Your Enthusiasm on the same night. Program those DVRs now …

In the meantime, here are my picks for who should and will – not always the same, certainly – take home Emmy statues Sunday night:

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Nominees:
30 Rock
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Weeds

Should win: Of those nominees? 30 Rock, for sure. Would have been nice to see Chuck and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia get well-deserved nods, but alas …
Will win: 30 Rock.

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Nominees:
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Steve Carell, The Office
Jemaine Clement, The Flight of the Conchords
Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
Tony Shaloub, Monk
Charlie Sheen, Two and a Half Men

Should win: Who doesn’t love Jim Parsons, a first-time nominee for Big Bang Theory? Still, Alec Baldwin’s 30 Rock role is the role he’s always been meant to play, and he’s just so fantastic in it, that I have to give it to him.
Will win: Baldwin. Clement and Parsons would also be cool, but if any of the other three win – Shaloub, again(?!?!) … Sheen: He’s just playing himself … Carell: It was not the best season for The Office – it’s really just more proof that a big number of Emmy voters don’t actually watch much TV.

LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Nominees:
Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
Toni Collette, United States of Tara
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, The New Adventures of Old Christine
Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
Sarah Silverman, The Sarah Silverman Program

Should win: Tina Fey. She’s the funniest chick on TV, hands down.
Will win: Fey. Because I’m certainly not the only one who thinks so.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Nominees:
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Kevin Dillon, Entourage
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
Jack McBrayer, 30 Rock
Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
Rainn Wilson, The Office

Should win: Jack McBrayer! The biggest, most welcome surprise of the nominations announcements was his nod, and after Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin, his performance as naïve, TV-lovin’ Kenneth the Page is the best part of 30 Rock. Tracy Morgan, as well, would be a deserving winner, and, of course, you can never go wrong with NPH for anything.
Will win: Harris. And as much as I’d like to see McBrayer win, there would be something extra cool about seeing NPH accept the award while he’s also hosting the show. As for the others … Cryer: meh. Dillon: Has deserved it in the past. Wilson: He’s not even the best supporting actor on The Office anymore; Ed Helms should have gotten that spot.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Nominees:
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
Elizabeth Perkins, Weeds
Amy Poehler, Saturday Night Live
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Vanessa Williams, Ugly Betty

Should win: Perkins. She’s been hilarious since About Last Night, and she continues to steal every scene she’s in as the deliciously bee-otchy, plotting, sometimes deranged Celia on Weeds.
Will win: Wiig. It felt like she was the only performer on SNL in some episodes last season.

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

Should win: Sons of Anarchy should have gotten a nomination (as should 24), and I would have put In Treatment on the list above House, at the least. Those oversights aside, Breaking Bad and Mad Men would both be fine winners, though a true surprise, albeit completely deserving one, would be Big Love, whose third season was far and away the show’s best.
Will win: Mad Men. Don’t think the Emmy folks are looking to go out on a limb, and a repeat win by Mad Men is the safest bet.

LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
Simon Baker, The Mentalist
Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter
Jon Hamm, Mad Men
Hugh Laurie, House

Should win: No nod for Kiefer Sutherland? Pffft. So okay, it should be Bryan Cranston. His is a tough role, and it’s still a great surprise to see the man who was Tim Whatley and Malcolm’s dad Hal pull off such an amazing performance in such an intense drama.
Will win: Hamm. Not that he doesn’t deserve it – he does – but it just feels like this is the year that Emmy wants to reward Mad Men across the board.

LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
Glenn Close, Damages
Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Holly Hunter, Saving Grace
Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
Kyra Segdwick, The Closer

Should win: Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy‘s motorcycle mama, who isn’t even nominated, in one of the biggest oversights amongst this year’s nominations.
Will win: Moss. Mad Men is a great show, hers was a great performance (the scene where she finally tells Pete about the baby, alone, earned her a nod), and again, I think the Emmy folks will take any excuse they can get to give the series another award.

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
Christian Clemenson, Boston Legal
Michael Emerson, Lost
William Hurt, Damages
Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad
William Shatner, Boston Legal
John Slattery, Mad Men

Should win: Aaron Paul. It’s no small feat to stand out alongside Bryan Cranston’s incredible Breaking Bad act, but Paul, who does double duty in cable dramas with his role on Big Love, hangs with Cranston scene-for-scene. Oh, but, by the way: Carlos Bernard totally should have gotten a nod for bringing Tony Almeda back from the dead on 24.
Will win: I think Paul has a good shot. If not him, it’ll be Slattery, who also is fantastic in the role of his career. Just please, please, please, Emmy folk, no more Emmys for the Boston Legal gang. It’s good that Shatner finally got a statue (two, actually, for playing Denny Crane on BL and The Practice), but that show was over-the-top unwatchable well before ABC booted it, so let’s just allow it to ride off into the TV land sunset, hmmm?

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Nominees:
Rose Byrne, Damages
Hope Davis, In Treatment
Cherry Jones, 24
Sandra Oh, Grey’s Anatomy
Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy

Should win: Elizabeth Mitchell, who wasn’t even nominated as Lost‘s Juliet, unfortunately. Of those who were nominated, Jones was terrific as the first female POTUS on 24.
Will win: Oh or Wilson, as the Emmy voters apparently have not yet recognized that the entire GA line-up is packed with TV’s most self-involved, whiny, annoying characters.

Now let’s hear hear your predictions … anybody think, for example, that there’s any way 30 Rock won’t take home another Outstanding Comedy Series statue?

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30 Rock with 22 nominations, 99 nods for HBO … big numbers for them at this morning’s 2009 Emmy Awards nominations announcement, but those weren’t the biggest surprises when Grey’s Anatomy star Chandra Wilson and The Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons read the list of Emmy contenders.

Among the surprise snubs:
– No Best Drama nod for 24
– No Best Actor in a Drama nod for Kiefer Sutherland (what?!)
– No Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy nod for Jeremy Piven, who won the award last year. Guess people are still really ticked off about that whole mercury poisoning business
– A near shut-out for buzzworthy HBO drama True Blood, which got nominations for title design, casting and art direction … and that’s it

Now, among the surprise, mostly happy surprises, nominees:
– Family Guy and Flight of the Conchords for Best Comedy
– Big Love and Breaking Bad for Best Drama
– Sarah Silverman for Best Actress in a Comedy for The Sarah Silverman Show
– Jemaine Clement for Best Actor in a Comedy for Flight of the Conchords
– Elisabeth Moss for Best Actress in a Drama for Mad Men (so deserved)
– Aaron Paul for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Breaking Bad (ditto)
– And Jack McBrayer, one of the most delightful guys on TV, for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for 30 Rock

And the nominations that really sum up this year’s contenders: in the Best Writing – Comedy category, four out of five nods went to 30 Rock, while Mad Men snagged four out of five nominations for Best Writing in a Drama.

With some of TV’s more popular – with viewers, not just with critics – shows earning some Emmy nomination recognition this year, it’s clear that the Emmy folk are trying to make sure the telecast fares better than last year’s show, which was the lowest-rated in Emmy history. Having Neil Patrick Harris as host (he’s also a Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy nominee for How I Met Your Mother – yay) is another step towards that, so here’s hoping that the Sept. 20 Emmy telecast will be one worth watching.

So, were your faves nominated? Are you bummed about 24, Kiefer or Piven’s snubs? Anyone or any show you think didn’t deserve the nomination(s) they got? And does NPH as host have you looking forward to the 61st annual Emmys show on Sept. 20?

And now, the rest of the nominees (the complete complete list, including technical awards, is available at Emmys.org)…

Outstanding Comedy Series
30 Rock
Entourage
Family Guy
Flight of the Conchords
How I Met Your Mother
The Office
Weeds

Outstanding Drama Series
Big Love
Breaking Bad
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men

…Read more

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• Tags: 24, 30 Rock, Aaron Paul, Big Love, Elisabeth Moss, Emmy nominations, Flight of the Conchords, Jack McBrayer, Jemaine Clement, Kiefer Sutherland, Mad Men, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman

My fondest wish for this year’s Emmy ceremony (Sept. 20): that first-time Emmy host Neil Patrick Harris also becomes a first-time Emmy winner. NPH should be a shoo-in for a nomination in the Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy category when the noms are announced Thursday morning (8:40AM ET at Emmys.com).

Who will rack up Emmy nods in the other categories? Will it be a good year for the Mad Men (and women!) of AMC? (I think yes.) Will Tina Fey and her 30 Rock cohorts dominate the comedy categories? (All signs point to yes.) And will last year’s surprise – and totally deserving – Best Actor in a Drama winner, Breaking Bad‘s Bryan Cranston, be a two-time winner? (I’d bet against that one.)

Here are the rest of my picks about who will be on the ballots when Grey’s Anatomy star Chandra Wilson and Big Bang Theory‘s Jim Parsons – who should both be among the contenders – announce the 2009 Emmy Awards nominees (note: each category will have six, instead of five, contenders this year, as the major networks try to avoid a sweep by the cable networks; note 2: these are my predictions for who/what WILL be nominated, not necessarily who/what I WANT to be nominated, i.e. in a perfect world, Sons of Anarchy would be a Best Drama contender and Two and a Half Men would never get another nod again):

Best Drama Series
– 24
– Damages
– Dexter
– Lost
– Mad Men
– True Blood
My Dream Pick(s): Sons of Anarchy

Best Actor in a Drama
– Jon Hamm – Mad Men (who also deserves a Guest Actor in a Comedy nod for his 30 Rock stint)
– Kiefer Sutherland – 24
– Bryan Cranston – Breaking Bad
– Hugh Laurie – House
– Michael C. Hall – Dexter
– Simon Baker – The Mentalist
My Dream Pick(s): Charlie Hunnam – Sons of Anarchy

Best Actress in a Drama
– Glenn Close – Damages
– Mariska Hargitay – Law & Order: SVU
– Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men
– Holly Hunter – Saving Grace
– Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer
– Anna Paquin – True Blood
My Dream Pick(s): Katey Sagal – Sons of Anarchy

Best Comedy Series
– 30 Rock
– The Office
– Two and a Half Men
– Entourage
– Weeds
– The Big Bang Theory
My Dream Pick(s): It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Chuck

Best Actor in a Comedy
– Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock
– Steve Carell – The Office
– Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men
– Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory
– Tony Shaloub – Monk
– David Duchovny – Californication
My Dream Pick(s): James Roday and Dule Hill – Psych and Zachary Levi – Chuck

Best Actress in a Comedy
– Tina Fey –30 Rock
– Christina Applegate – Samantha Who?
– Julia Louis-Dreyfus – The New Adventures of Old Christine
– Mary-Louise Parker – Weeds
– America Ferrera – Ugly Betty
– Toni Collete –The United States of Tara
My Dream Pick(s): Yvonne Strahovksi – Chuck and Portia de Rossi – Better Off Ted

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama
– Michael Emerson – Lost
– John Slattery – Mad Men
– John Mahoney – In Treatment
– William Hurt – Damages
– William Shatner – Boston Legal
– Josh Holloway – Lost
My Dream Pick(s): Jorge Garcia – Lost, Carlos Bernard – 24 and Kim Coates – Sons of Anarchy

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama
– Rachel Griffiths – Brothers & Sisters
– Diane Wiest – In Treatment
– Chandra Wilson – Grey’s Anatomy
– Elizabeth Mitchell – Lost
– Cherry Jones – 24
– Chloe Sevigny – Big Love
My Dream Pick(s): Annie Wersching – 24, Christina Hendricks – Mad Men and Maggie Siff – Sons of Anarchy

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
– Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother
– Kevin Dillon – Entourage
– Jeremy Piven – Entourage
– Jon Cryer – Two and a Half Men
– Justin Kirk – Weeds
– Rainn Wilson – The Office
My Dream Pick(s): Charlie Day – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, John C. McGinley – Scrubs, John Krasinski – The Office, Ethan Suplee – My Name Is Earl and Bill Hader – Saturday Night Live

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy
– Jean Smart – Samantha Who?
– Holland Taylor – Two and a Half Men
– Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock
– Jenna Fisher – The Office
– Elizabeth Perkins – Weeds
– Vanessa Williams – Ugly Betty
My Dream Pick(s): Kaitlin Olson – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Kristen Wiig – Saturday Night Live

Are any of your favorites MIA from my predictions?

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