64th Primetime Emmy Awards – Just a few hours away

The 64th Emmy Awards are just around the corner, and there is a lot of debate about this year’s nominees. The Primetime Emmy Awards will be telecast live on ABC on Sunday at 5 p.m. from the historic Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. "Downton Abbey," "Mad Men" and "Homeland" are competing head to head again this year.

This year, the Emmys are somewhat special, as none of the four major American broadcasting TV networks was nominated in the categories of the Outstanding Drama Series, the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, and the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

The award show will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who is all set to rock on Sunday night. Critics and fans are debating over whether AMC's “Mad Men” will make television history.

“Mad Men” is nominated for a staggering 17 awards. This is the second straight year that the show is leading in nominations. The series has won the best drama award in the past four years. The only other drama series to win four Emmys are “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and “The West Wing.” Nevertheless, “Downton Abbey,” “Homeland,” “Mad Men,” “Game of Thrones,” “Boardwalk Empire” and “Breaking Bad” are in fierce contention against each other, and while the odds are in favor of “Mad Men,” it could be some other show as well.

As far as the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama is concerned, Bryan Cranston of “Breaking Bad” seems to be a strong contender. Cranston has the honor of winning this award each year from 2008 to 2010, but was ineligible last year because the show was on a lengthy hiatus. If he wins this year, he will make the record of winning four Emmys in the best drama actor category. Previously, only one actor has won four Emmys in the category. He is Dennis Franz of “NYPD Blue.” He won in 1994, 1996-97 and 1999 from a total of eight nominations.

Cranston has a strong competition from Damian Lewis of “Homeland” and Jon Hamm of “Mad Men.” These gentlemen are top three favorites for the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama.

As far as the networks are concerned, HBO leads the ladder with 81 nominations, followed by CBS, which has 60 nominations, and PBS, which is closely following with 58 nominations.

Don’t forget to catch the actual action, the glamorous red carpet and lots more live from the Nokia Theater on ABC this Sunday.