PASADENA, Calif. -- HBO, which has been steadily building a reputation as the place to do quality television, made it official yesterday, becoming the first cable channel to lead the networks in Emmy nominations.
Among the 90 nods HBO received were a dozen for "Miss Evers' Boys" and 16 for "The Larry Sanders Show."
However, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences once again snubbed the otherwise celebrated "Homicide: Life On the Street." NBC's Baltimore-based police drama received only two nominations -- one for casting and one for Anne Meara as best guest actress in a series.
By comparison, NBC's "ER" received 22 nominations, including one as best drama series. The other contenders for best drama are: ABC's "NYPD Blue," NBC's "Law & Order," Fox's "The X-Files" and CBS' "Chicago Hope."
Actors from four of those series won nominations as best lead actor in a drama series: Dennis Franz and Jimmy Smits of "NYPD Blue," David Duchovny of "X-Files," Anthony Edwards of "ER" and Sam Waterston of "Law & Order."
"Homicide," which was honored with Peabody and Television Critics Association awards for its 1996-1997 season, has had worse Emmy years. In 1994, the series received one nomination, and, in 1995, it got none.
The best the series ever did was in 1993, its first year, when it received four nominations and won its only two Emmys. Last year, it had three nominations, but no Emmys.
NBC declined comment on HBO's victory or on specific shows yesterday. Warren Littlefield, the president of NBC Entertainment, issued a statement saying, "We celebrate and salute the writers, producers, directors and actors who delivered such outstanding work to our network. Congratulations to all the nominees."
However, in the past, Littlefield and "Homicide" executive producer Tom Fontana have attributed the shabby treatment of "Homicide" to the "Hollywood Chamber of Commerce" factor.
Their explanation is that Hollywood is a company town in which members of the academy tend to vote for shows that provide jobs for them and their friends in Los Angeles and, to a lesser extent, New York. So, at Emmy-nomination time, "Homicide" pays the price for being filmed in Baltimore, away from the membership center.
Fontana could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Overall, NBC finished second to HBO with 89 nominations. CBS had 60, ABC 44, Fox 19 and PBS 18.
