This spring, TVScreener.com was honored to become a member of the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, an offshoot of the Broadcast Film Critics Association. The BFCA hosts the annual Critics Choice Movie Awards that air on VH1, and our TV group will dole out our own set of accolades, via the first Critics Choice Television Awards.

The TV awards ceremony will be hosted by So You Think You Can Dance star Cat Deeley on June 20 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, and VH1.com will stream them live (June 20, 3:30PM ET), while on June 22, the ceremony airs on TV  at the ReelzChannel (8PM ET).

And here, our first class of nominees. I think it’s a great mix of shows, including some truly fantastic series and actors and actresses who have been overlooked at other TV awards ceremonies. I am particularly thrilled that we have nominated It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Charlie Day, one of the funniest guys on TV, and one who’s still flying a bit under the radar, for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, as well as shows and stars of shows like The Middle, Sons of Anarchy, Raising Hope, Archer and Justified, all so deserving of being called out as among the best TV has to offer.

Sound off in the comments about our nominees … do you like the mix? Who would you choose as the winner in each category? Are there shows and stars you think we missed?

And be sure to tune in for the first annual Critics Choice Television Awards on ReelzChannel on June 22!

Best Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Dexter – Showtime
Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Fringe – FOX
Game of Thrones – HBO
The Good Wife – CBS
Justified – FX
The Killing – AMC
Mad Men – AMC
The Walking Dead – AMC

Best Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Kyle Chandler – Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Michael C. Hall – Dexter – Showtime
Jon Hamm – Mad Men – AMC
William H. Macy – Shameless – Showtime
Timothy Olyphant – Justified – FX

Best Actress in a Drama Series
Connie Britton – Friday Night Lights – DirecTV
Mireille Enos – The Killing – AMC
Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife – CBS
Elisabeth Moss – Mad Men – AMC
Katey Sagal – Sons of Anarchy – FX
Anna Torv – Fringe – FOX

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Alan Cumming – The Good Wife – CBS
Walton Goggins – Justified – FX
Shawn Hatosy – Southland – TNT
John Noble – Fringe – FOX
Michael Pitt – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
John Slattery – Mad Men – AMC

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Michelle Forbes – The Killing – AMC
Christina Hendricks – Mad Men – AMC
Margo Martindale – Justified – FX
Kelly Macdonald – Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Archie Panjabi – The Good Wife – CBS
Chloë Sevigny – Big Love – HBO

Best Comedy Series
Archer – FX
The Big Bang Theory – CBS
Community – NBC
Glee – FOX
Louie – FX
The Middle – ABC
Modern Family – ABC
The Office – NBC
Parks and Recreation – NBC
30 Rock – NBC

Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock – NBC
Steve Carell – The Office – NBC
Louis C.K. – Louie – FX
Charlie Day – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia – FX
Joel McHale – Community – NBC
Jim Parsons – The Big Bang Theory – CBS

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Courteney Cox – Cougar Town – ABC
Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie – Showtime
Tina Fey – 30 Rock – NBC
Patricia Heaton – The Middle – ABC
Martha Plimpton – Raising Hope – FOX
Amy Poehler – Parks and Recreation – NBC

Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Ty Burrell – Modern Family – ABC
Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother – CBS
Nick Offerman – Parks and Recreation – NBC
Ed O’Neill – Modern Family – ABC
Danny Pudi – Community – NBC
Eric Stonestreet – Modern Family – ABC

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Julie Bowen – Modern Family – ABC
Jane Krakowski – 30 Rock – NBC
Jane Lynch – Glee – FOX
Busy Philipps – Cougar Town – ABC
Eden Sher – The Middle – ABC
Sofía Vergara – Modern Family – ABC

Best Reality Series
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – ABC
Hoarders – A&E
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Bravo
Sister Wives – TLC
Undercover Boss – CBS

Best Reality Series – Competition
The Amazing Race – CBS
American Idol – FOX
Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Project Runway – Lifetime
RuPaul’s Drag Race – Logo
Top Chef – Bravo

Best Reality Show Host
Tom Bergeron – Dancing with the Stars – ABC
Cat Deeley – So You Think You Can Dance – FOX
Ty Pennington – Extreme Makeover: Home Edition – ABC
Mike Rowe – Dirty Jobs – Discovery
Ryan Seacrest – American Idol – FOX

Best Talk Show
Chelsea Lately – E!
The Daily Show – Comedy Central
The Ellen DeGeneres Show – Warner Bros.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! – ABC
The Oprah Winfrey Show – Harpo

• 2 Comments
• Filed in Award shows, Boardwalk Empire, Comedy, Dexter, Drama, Fall 2010-11 TV season, Glee, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, Mad Men, Project Runway, Real Housewives, Reality, Sons of Anarchy
• Tags: Critics Choice Television Awards, Critics Choice TV Awards

(ALL TIMES ET)

10PM | MTV – 3RD SEASON PREMIERE
16 & Pregnant – Yup, I’ve read all the arguments against the show, and it’s true that the celeb mags have helped turn the teen mamas, unfortunately, into D-list celebs. Still, it’s tough to imagine that the series hasn’t opened some teenage eyeballs to the truth about just how devastating becoming a teen mom can be. In tonight’s season opener, a teen mom not only has the usual stresses of teen mommyhood to deal with, but she’s also being torn between her babydaddy and her twin sister, both who are demanding her attention.

8PM | NBC
The Biggest Loser: Couples – If only all exercise was this much fun: As the contestants begin to compete as individuals, they go rock climbing, zip lining and bungee jumping.

8PM | COOKING CHANNEL
Eat Street – On tonight’s episode of the show devoted to the best food trucks in the country, it’s the NYC foodie experience everyone should experience: The Big Gay Ice Cream Truck. Get the vanilla soft serve with Trix, or, for the Maude/Golden Girls devotees, the Bea Arthur.

8PM | FOX
Glee – Cheyenne Jackson guest stars. Oh yeah, so does Gwyneth Paltrow.

8PM | THE CW
One Tree Hill – The impossibly adorable Jamie gets a new sibling when Haley gives birth to her second child.

9PM | FOX
Raising Hope – Jerry Van Dyke guest stars as Maw Maw’s (Cloris Leachman) new boyfriend. Man friend. Really, really old man friend.

10PM | ABC
Body of Proof – Mad Men star Christina Hendricks guest stars in the new drama that also happens to star her real-life hubs, Geoffrey Arend.

10PM | FOOD NETWORK
Chopped – It’s back with new episodes! And in the dessert basket: cheese crackers and fruit.

10PM | NBC – 2ND SEASON FINALE
Parenthood – Adam’s upset about Max, Sarah’s upset about Amber after the accident and Crosby is upset Jasmine hasn’t visited his new home in the season two ender. Here’s hoping it all leads to a well-deserved third season.

10:30PM | PLANET GREEN – SERIES PREMIERE
Dresscue Me – The new reality show stars Shareen Mitchell, a clothing stylist whose specialty is reworking vintage clothing. In the opener, she performs makeover magic on an Army wife who hasn’t seen her husband in months.

10:30PM | COMEDY CENTRAL
Sports Show with Norm McDonald – Barry Bonds and Kobe Bryant‘s homophobic slur are among the topics that catch Norm‘s attention in week two of his new show, one of the freshest, funniest new series on the tube so far this year.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– Trina ‘fesses up to her DUI on Braxton Family Values (9PM, WE);
– Week five results are revealed on Dancing With the Stars (9PM, ABC);
– New Deadliest Catch on Discovery (9PM);
– Mike can’t relax around a male masseuse on Traffic Light (9:30PM, Fox);
– Brent and Josh promise not to argue before the second annual Harvest Festival on Fabulous Beekman Boys (10PM, Planet Green);
– More piggies run amuck on Hogs Gone Wild (10PM, Discovery);
– A woman gets away with murder, almost, on I (Almost) Got Away With It (10PM, ID);
– Marcel makes a carrot cake that looks like a camp fire for a celebration honoring volunteer firemen on Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen (10PM, Syfy).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Tina Fey and Dr. Sanjay Gupta;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Billy Crystal (REPEAT);
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Andrew Chaikin (REPEAT);
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Katie Couric (REPEAT);
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Robert Pattinson (REPEAT);
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Gary Busey, Lee DeWyze and Dax Shepard;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Dwayne Johnson and Sammy Hagar;
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Russell Brand (REPEAT);
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Kathy Griffin;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Janelle Monae (REPEAT).

• No Comments
• Filed in Glee, Late Night, Mad Men, TV Picks
• Tags: 16 & Pregnant, Body of Proof, Chopped, Dresscue Me, Eat Street, Glee, One Tree Hill, Parenthood, Raising Hope, Sports Show With Norm McDonald, The Biggest Loser: Couples

(ALL TIMES ET)

10PM | FX
Justified – Bummed about son Coover’s death (despite what she did to his hand), Mags Bennett (Margo Martindale) decides to get her affairs in order, which means a pile of cash and the promise of peace for one Givens family member, and a nice hunk of humiliation and trouble for one of Mags’ own. Meanwhile, when Winona lets Raylan know that she’s finally divorcing the hapless Gary, Raylan starts contemplating his own future, and Boyd … well, let’s just say Boyd starts to thoroughly embrace his inevitable role as the new king of Harlan County.

8PM | FOX
American Idol – It’s down to the final eight, who perform songs from movies tonight. Will this week lead to another “shocking” ouster? Not for me … the only thing shocking at this point is how overrated this group of contestants is, especially when it comes to the judges’ criticisms (or lack thereof). The season started off with much promise, but, as Idol expert and author Richard Rushfield points out today at The Daily Beast, what we’ve ended up with is another lackluster season, and one that definitely has us all missing Simon Cowell very, very much.

8PM | ABC
The Middle – Brick is humiliated (humiliated) when Frankie makes him wear his cousin’s old clothes.

8PM | CBS
Survivor – What does a double tribal council mean? Two players are headed to Redemption Island, of course..

9PM | ABC
Modern Family – Everyone has fame on their minds, as Phil tries to convince his fam to appear in his realty business commercial and, in what’s sure to be one of the season’s most fun storylines, Cameron becomes the music director at Luke and Manny’s school.

9PM | DISCOVERY – 8TH SEASON PREMIERE
MythBusters – A magazine + a toaster = an explosive device? Adam and Jamie test that movie myth.

9:30PM | FOX
Breaking In – Alyssa Milano guest stars as a dentist who’s impressed by Cameron’s (Bret Harrison) job.

9:30PM | TLC
Extreme Couponing – Remember Nathan, from the original Extreme Couponing special, the guy who donated all that cereal to a food bank? The philanthropic coupon clipper is at it again tonight, as he tries to put his money-saving skills to work to assemble enough goodies to send 1,000 care packages to American military men and women. Awesome.

9:30PM | ABC – SERIES PREMIERE
Happy Endings – 24 daughter Elisha Cuthbert (yeah, I always wished that mountain lion would have eaten her, too) stars in back-to-back episodes of this new comedy about a woman who throws her group of friends into chaos when she leaves her fiancé at the altar.

Worth flipping to during commercials:
– Bobby tries to make the best Baked Alaska on Throwdown with Bobby Flay (8:30PM, Food Network);
– The Criminal Minds team travels to San Diego to investigate a series of killings involving college students (9PM, CBS);
– A couple wins their dream wedding on the season one finale of Shedding for the Wedding (9PM, The CW);
– The BAU team digs into the kidnappings of new mothers on Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (10PM, CBS);
– Benson’s still looking after her young charge, while also searching for his druggie mom on Law & Order: SVU (10PM, NBC);
– Will Adam become the latest Real World roommate to get the boot? (10PM, MTV);
– Back-to-back Storage Wars episodes (10PM, A&E);
– Mad Men star Christina Hendricks challenges the contestants to perform a retro-themed challenge on Top Chef Masters (10PM, Bravo);
– Eyewitness video, from news crews and amateur videographers, of the tsunami and earthquake disaster in Japan make up NGC’s Witness: Disaster in Japan special (10PM).

And the late-night line-up:
– Conan (11PM, TBS): Anthony Anderson and Dax Shepard;
– The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (11PM, Comedy Central): Tracy Morgan;
– The Colbert Report (11:30PM, Comedy Central): Morgan Spurlock;
– The Late Show with David Letterman (11:35PM, CBS): Aziz Ansari and Courteney Cox;
– The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (11:35PM, NBC): Diane Lane and Chris Jericho;
– Lopez Tonight (Midnight, TBS): Prince;
– Jimmy Kimmel Live (12:05AM, ABC): Eva Longoria, Patrick Warburton and Robyn;
– Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (12:35AM, NBC): Mike Tyson (REPEAT);
– The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (12:37AM, CBS): Ashley Judd;
– Last Call with Carson Daly (1:35AM, NBC): Producer Gale Anne Hurd (REPEAT).

• No Comments
• Filed in American Idol, Justified, Late Night, Mad Men, TV Picks
• Tags: American Idol, Breaking In, Extreme Couponing, Justified, Modern Family, MythBusters, Survivor, The Middle

Well, they’ve been announced, and Katey Sagal, Sons of Anarchy, Justified, Walton Goggins, The Middle … no nominations. Unbelievable. I’m most bummed about Sagal, who deserved a nomination for Sons of Anarchy‘s first season, and deserved to win for its second. Sigh.

Other snubs: They were numerous, and you can read about them in my feature at TV Squad. And if you want to read the entire list of 2010 Emmy contenders, right down to the costume and hair nominees, check out the 39-page document of nominations at Emmys.org.

More good Emmy-related reads today:

– Sons of Anarchy creator (and real-life husband of Katey Sagal) Kurt Sutter‘s blog response to today’s (lack of) nominations

– A round-up of nominee reactions at TV Squad

– Analysis from Alan Sepinwall, the go-to TV critic as far as I’m concerned, on the Emmy nominations

What did you think was the day’s biggest snub? Any of the nominations surprise you? Any that you’re particularly happy about?

Yesterday:
It’s heeere … well, almost, anyway. Tomorrow morning (8:30AM ET), Community star Joel McHale (who should be a nominee) and Modern Family‘s Sofia Vergara (who shouldn’t) will gather at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles to announce the shows and stars that are nominated for the 2010 Emmy Awards. Winners won’t be announced until the Emmy telecast, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, on August 29 on NBC, but the nomination announcement brings its own round of excitement, and, inevitably, disappointment, as there will always be some well-deserving performances that get overlooked.

Here’s my list of dream picks for who should expect to receive celebratory phone calls tomorrow AM when the Emmy nods are announced (along with a few notes on who/what shows are so not Emmy-worthy). Weigh in with your picks in comments, and tell me the name of the one show or actor or actress who absolutely should not be overlooked by the Emmy folks, in your opinion. Oh yeah, make sure you leave a contact e-mail address along with your comments, because next week (on July 15), I’ll pick one comment maker at random and that person will win a goody box of TV swag!

2010 EMMY NOMINATION WISH LIST

Outstanding Drama Series
Justified
Sons of Anarchy
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Mad Men
Lost

NOTES: Please, no nods for the so-played-out Grey’s Anatomy. Move along, Emmy voters … nothing to see there.

Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Michael C. Hall (Dexter)
Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad)
Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy)
Timothy Olyphant (Justified)
Kiefer Sutherland (24)

Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife)
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer)
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men)
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights)
Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad)

NOTE: If Katey Sagal does not get a nomination this season, after being ridiculously overlooked for Sons of Anarchy‘s premiere season, I will lose faith in all that is good and right with the world. Okay, maybe not, but I will definitely have to question the tastes of the Emmy people.

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad)
John Slattery (Mad Men)
Walton Goggins (Justified)
Michael Emerson (Lost)
John Goodman (Treme)
Josh Holloway (Lost)

NOTE: Walt Goggins would get a nod for reading the phone book as far as I’m concerned, and he certainly deserves one for Justified‘s fantastic debut season. But it would be really great to see Josh Holloway finally get one for Lost‘s final season, because I think he is the most underrated actor in the show’s run. And I really, really wish there would be a spin-off series with his Sawyer and Ken Leung‘s Miles as buddy cops.

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Maggie Siff (Sons of Anarchy)
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men)
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife)
Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter)
Joelle Carter (Justified)
Khandi Alexander (Treme)

Outstanding Comedy Series
The Middle
Glee
Modern Family
30 Rock
Curb Your Enthusiasm
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

NOTE: That’s right, The Middle, which I argue once again is a better show than Modern Family, last season’s critical darling. Reasoning: Modern Family is a great show, with good writing and performances, and which manages to combine humor with heartfelt stories and characters. But the show is also rife with the sorts of comic scenarios that lend themselves to sure-thing hilarity, namely that almost every character is playing against a stereotype. The Middle, meanwhile, manages to do the same thing, but by wringing every ounce of humor and heart out of a show about the average suburban (middle America-suburban, no less, which is often ignored or cajoled by Hollywood) family.

NOTE 2: That’s right, It’s Always Sunny. One of the most underrated comedies on the tube, especially by viewers and critics who haven’t taken the time to suss out the pithy commentary that’s often buried in the show’s silliness. Sunny is often compared to Seinfeld, and like that classic show, Sunny isn’t really a show about nothing.

NOTE 3: And please, skip The Office. To throw the once-great series a nomination at this point would just be out of habit, because, upon honest evaluation, with or without Steve Carell and barring a major comeback for the season ahead, it’s time for The Office to be downsized. Ditto Entourage.

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Ed O’Neill (Modern Family)
Alec Baldwin (30 Rock)
Joel McHale (Community)
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory)
Zachary Levi (Chuck)
Neil Flynn (The Middle)

NOTE: Please, no Charlie Sheen. He’s been playing a slightly less skeevy version of himself on Two and a Half Men all these years, and now that there’s no denying just how skeevy he is in real life, it makes his performance on the show way less funny, way more sad.

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Patricia Heaton (The Middle)
Brooke Elliott (Drop Dead Diva)
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie)
Lea Michele (Glee)
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation)
Tina Fey (30 Rock)

NOTE: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, again, for The New Adventures of Old Christine? Sigh, no. Couldn’t argue with an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy nod for her role in the Seinfeld reunion on Curb Your Enthusiasm, though.

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family)
Atticus Shaffer (The Middle)
Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
Jack McBrayer (30 Rock)
Danny Pudi (Community)
Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation)

NOTE: This is, easily, the toughest Emmy category, and I could have added at least another dozen names to the list, including Neil Patrick Harris, Ty Burrell from Modern Family, Ken Jeong for Community, Chris Pratt from Parks and Recreation, almost every actor on Chuck who isn’t Zach Levi, Chris Colfer and Mark Salling from Glee, Bill Hader and Kenan Thompson for Saturday Night Live, Justin Kirk from Weeds and kid actors like The Middle‘s Charlie McDermott and Modern Family‘s Rico Rodriguez.

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Jane Lynch (Glee)
Eden Sher (The Middle)
Julie Bowen (Modern Family)
Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie)
Lizzie Caplan (Party Down)
Kaitlin Olson (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

NOTE: If there was a way to nominate not only scene stealer Sher, but the entire kiddie line-up of The Middle and Modern Family, who are probably the least annoying kid stars ever on TV, I’d be for it.

• 9 Comments
• Filed in Award shows, Breaking Bad, Glee, Justified, Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy
• Tags: 2010 Emmy nominations, Emmy nominations

The Mad Men star returning to 30 Rock, with Jason Sudekis and Dean Winters? That’s more awesome than Don Cheadle on a bed of rice!

That reference, of course, is a nod to one of this season’s best 30 Rock episodes, “Anna Howard Shaw Day,” which featured that trio of actors as Liz Lemon’s (Tina Fey) ex-boyfriends, and, in a Liz hallucination, that trio of actors playing Jamaican receptionists working in her dentist’s office and gossiping about their Don Cheadle fantasies.

Well, good news: In the May 13 episode of 30 Rock, Hamm and Winters return to play Liz exes Drew and Dennis, who she visits in hopes of sparking a reunion so she’ll have a date for the wedding of another of her exes, Floyd (Sudekis).

In the same ep, Michael Sheen also returns as Liz’s alleged “Future Husband,” while Elizabeth Banks and Julianne Moore also return as part of Jack’s (Alec Baldwin) love triangle. And Tracy (Tracy Morgan)? He enlists Kenneth’s (Jack McBrayer) help in his never-ending quest for the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards).

Good times.

• No Comments
• Filed in 30 Rock, Mad Men, Saturday Night Live, TV News
• Tags: 30 Rock, Jon Hamm, Jon Hamm Jamaican receptionist 30 Rock