tv + media

LOS ANGELES -- "Ugly Betty" looked beautiful when Emmy nominations were announced Thursday, leading all network series with 11 nods, including one for its breakout star, America Ferrera.

The ABC series will compete in the outstanding-comedy category against last year's winner, "The Office," as well as "30 Rock" -- which had 10 nominations -- "Entourage" and "Two and a Half Men."

Ferrara goes up against Felicity Huffman ("Desperate Housewives"), Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds"), Tina Fey ("30 Rock") and Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Old Christine"), all of whom already have Emmys on their mantles.

HBO's "The Sopranos" earned 15 nominations for its final season, including nods for James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. Both will be vying for their fourth awards for their iconic roles. In the outstanding-drama category, their mob faces "Grey's Anatomy" (which got 10 nominations), "Boston Legal,"Heroes" and "House." Last year's winner, "24," did not make the cut.

HBO's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" received 17 nominations, tying a TV-movie record set by 1977's "Eleanor and Franklin." The TNT miniseries "Broken Trail" lassoed 11 nods.

It was a particularly good morning for some with Minnesota connections. Native T.R. Knight and Guthrie alum Rainn Wilson were recognized for their respective hits, "Grey's Anatomy" and "The Office." The Minneapolis-based Fallon Agency earned an outstanding-commercial nod for its work on a Travelers' ad entitled "Snowball" and Prince was among the beautiful ones in the outstanding special class category thanks to his Super Bowl halftime show.

There were a number of nice surprises. Queen Latifah got her first Emmy nomination for the HBO movie "Life Support." Minnie Driver also got her first nod, for her role in FX's "The Riches," but co-star Eddie Izzard was overlooked.

Driver will have stiff competition in the dramatic-lead category from former winners Patricia Arquette ("Medium"), Mariska Hargitay ("Law & Order: Special Victims Unit") and Falco and early favorite Kyra Sedgwick ("The Closer").

NBC, the fourth-place network, had reason to be proud as a peacock. It got 69 nominations, well above last year's 47. Fox, the most-watched network among the younger demographics most coveted by advertisers, dipped from 41 nods to 28. Coincidentally, Fox will broadcast this year's Emmy ceremony, to be held Sept. 16 in Los Angeles.

Neal Justin • njustin@startribune.com