娱乐英语新闻:"The Pacific," "Mad Men" among top contenders as Emmy nominations announced

LOS ANGELES, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The HBO miniseries "The Pacific " leads a strong field of contenders for the 62nd annual Primetire Emmy Awards with 24 nods while AMC's "Mad Men" aims to defend its crown in outstanding drama series, as the 62nd Emmy Awards nominations were announced Thursday morning.

"The Pacific" led all nominees with 24. The 10-part World War II drama whose executive producers include Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg was nominated for outstanding miniseries along with PBS' "Return to Cranford (Masterpiece)."

As a new comer, the Fox hit "Glee" which has landed 19 nominations overall, will face off with NBC's "30 Rock" for best comedy as the latter was trying to walk away with the title for fourth time. The contenders also include HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," ABC's "Modern Family," Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" and NBC's "The Office."

Actress Sofia Vergara (L) and actor Joel McHale (R) announce the nominations for lead actress in a comedy series for the 62nd Emmy Awards at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles July 8, 2010. The awards will be presented on August 29

"Mad Men," which collected 17 overall nominations, will compete with fellow AMC drama "Breaking Bad," Showtime's "Dexter," CBS' "The Good Wife," ABC's "Lost" and HBO's "True Blood."

Bryan Cranston of "Breaking Bad" and Glenn Close of FX's " Damages" will both be looking for their third consecutive wins for acting in a drama series.

Alec Baldwin, who won the Emmy last year for best comedy actor for "30 Rock," and "Glee" songstress Lea Michele were nominated for best actor and actress in a comedy series respectively.