2013 Emmy nominations: ‘Downton Abbey,’ ‘Breaking Bad,’ ‘Mad Men’ among nominations

Bright and early on Thursday morning (or even so early that the sun is still sleeping for those on the West Coast), the Primetime Emmy Award nominations were first announced. We guess that one of the motivating factors here is that the Emmys get you off to a great or terrible start, and you have all day do talk about why you were nominated / how awful the Emmys are for routinely snubbing you.

The Emmys announced today by Aaron Paul, who sadly did not drop the b-word once during his entire introduction (not that we expect him to say that all of the time, but it would’ve been awesome). He was joined by Neil Patrick Harris, who filled in for Kate Mara.

Lead Actor, Drama – Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”), Jeff Daniels (“The Newsroom”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Damian Lewis (“Homeland”), and Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)

Lead Actress, Drama – Connie Britton (“Nashville”), Claire Danes (“Homeland”), Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”), Vera Farmiga (“Bates Motel”), Elisabeth Moss (“Mad Men”), Kerry Washington (“Scandal”), and Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)

Supporting Actor, Drama – Bobby Cannivale (“Boardwalk Empire”), Jonathan Banks (“Breaking Bad”), Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”), Jim Carter (“Downton Abbey”), Peter Dinklage (“Game of Thrones”), Mandy Patankin (“Homeland”)

Supporting Actress, Drama – Anna Gunn (“Breaking Bad”), Maggie Smith (“Downton Abbey”), Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”), Morena Baccarin (“Homeland”), Christina Hendricks (“Mad Men”), and Christine Baranski (“The Good Wife”)

Lead Actor, Miniseries – Benedict Cumberbatch (“Parade’s End”), Matt Damon (“Behind the Candelabra”), Michael Douglas (“Behind the Candelabra”), Toby Jones, Al Pacino

Lead Actress, Miniseries – Jessica Lange (“American Horror Story: Asylum”), Laura Linney (“The Big C: Hereafter”), Helen Mirren, Elisabeth Moss (“Top of the Lake”), Sigourney Weaver (“Political Animals”)

Outstanding Host, Reality – Tom Bergeron (“Dancing with the Stars”), Anthony Bourdain (“The Taste”), Cat Deeley (“So You Think You Can Dance”), Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn (“Project Runway”), Ryan Seacrest (“American Idol”), Betty White (“Betty White’s Off Their Rockers”)

Lead Actor, Comedy – Alec Baldwin (“30 Rock”), Jason Bateman (“Arrested Development”), Louis C.K. (“Louie”), Don Cheadle (“House of Lies”), Matt LeBlanc (“Episodes”), and Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory”)

Lead Actress, Comedy – Laura Dern (“Enlightened”), Lena Dunham (“Girls”), Edie Falco (“Nurse Jackie”), Tina Fey (“30 Rock”), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”), and Amy Poehler (“Parks and Recreation”)

Supporting Actress, Comedy – Jane Krakowski (“30 Rock”), Jane Lynch (“Glee”), Sofia Vergara (“Modern Family”), Julie Bowen (“Modern Family”), Merritt Wever (“Nurse Jackie”), Mayim Biliak (“The Big Bang Theory”), Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)

Supporting Actor, Comedy – Adam Driver (“Girls”), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (“Modern Family”), Ed O’Neill (“Modern Family”), Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”), Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”), Tony Hale (“Veep”)

Reality Competition – “The Amazing Race,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Project Runway,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Top Chef, and “The Voice”

Variety Series – “The Colbert Report,” “The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” and “Saturday Night Live”

Miniseries – “American Horror Story: Asylum,” “The Bible,” “Behind the Candelabra,” “Political Animals,” “Top of the Lake”

Comedy – “30 Rock,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Girl,s.” “Louie, “Modern Family,” and “Veep”

Drama – “Breaking Bad,” “Downton Abbey,” “Game of Thrones,” “Homeland,” “House of Cards,” and “Mad Men”

What do you think about these nominations, and do you think that the right people were recognized by the Academy? If you click here, you can see so much more of our Emmy coverage … and we’ll have quite a bit more of it very soon. The show itself will air this year on CBS on Sunday, September 22.

Photo: Emmys