‘L.A. Law’ Gets 19 Emmy Bids, Cable Shows Get 15 : NBC’s 114 Nods Lead Field Again

“L.A. Law,” the NBC series about the glamorous legal eagles at a Los Angeles law firm, received 19 Emmy nominations today, while cable shows won 15 in their first outing against the networks.

NBC’s 114 nominations once again led the field, followed by CBS with 87. ABC earned 75, while PBS had 27 and Showtime, Home Box Office and Fox Broadcasting Co. garnered six each. The Disney Channel captured two nominations and one went to the Turner Broadcasting System, while syndicated shows earned 13.

Nominations for “L.A. Law” included best drama series, best lead actor nominations for Michael Tucker and Corbin Bernsen, best supporting actress for Susan Ruttan, lead actress for Jill Eikenberry and Susan Dey, two writing nominations for former producer Terry Louise Fisher and four directing nominations.

‘Great Ensemble Group’

“We like to think we don’t insult” the audience, said executive producer Steven Bochco. “We have good stories and that great ensemble group. We draw inspiration from their ability.”

The CBS cult favorite “Beauty and the Beast,” about the unrequited love affair between a half-man, half-beast living beneath New York City and a beautiful woman lawyer, and NBC’s “The Golden Girls,” a comedy about four retired women with tart tongues and lingering passions, each received 12 nominations.

The Television Academy of Arts & Sciences allowed cable programming to compete with regular broadcast television in this year’s 40th annual Emmy Awards because cable shows are now available to a wide national audience.

Live Broadcast Slated

The nominations were announced from more than 4,500 entries. The awards will be presented live on Fox Broadcasting on Aug. 28 from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium.

NBC’s “Cheers” captured 11 nominations and ABC’s “thirty-something” got 10. CBS’ “Frank’s Place,” a so-called “dramady” which has been put in limbo by the network, got nine nominations.

Showtime’s “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” received four votes, putting it ahead of all other cable shows.

Other major cable nominations included: “Shelley Duvall’s Tall Tales and Legends” on Showtime, for best children’s program; Gilda Radner as outstanding guest performer in a comedy series for “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” and Billy Crystal for best individual performer in a comedy or variety show for HBO’s “All-Star Salute to The Improv.”

The nominees for best comedy series, besides “Frank’s Place,” “Golden Girls” and “Cheers,” were NBC’s “Night Court” and ABC’s “The Wonder Years,” a new show about growing up in the 1960s, told from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy.

Top Drama Series

Nominations for outstanding drama series went to “Beauty and the Beast,” “thirtysomething,” “L.A. Law” and “St. Elsewhere.”

In the outstanding miniseries category, nods went to four shows based on real or historic events and one fictional account of a ruffled old lawyer in London.

The nominees are “Baby M,” NBC’s “Billionaire Boys Club” and “Gore Vidal’s Lincoln,” “The Murder of Mary Phagan,” and PBS’ “Rumpole of the Bailey.”

Actress Ann Jillian’s movie about her battle with cancer, NBC’s “The Ann Jillian Story,” was nominated as best drama or comedy special, along with CBS’ “The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank,” CBS’ “Foxfire,” NBC’s “Inherit the Wind” and NBC’s “The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story”

The Governors Award this year will go to William Hanna and Joseph Barbera of Hanna-Barbera for their many animated shows, including “The Flintstones,” “The Jetsons” and “The Smurfs.”